What's the difference between volunteering and being an employee?

[wonderingwondering]

I volunteer for a small local group, and they've now asked us to agree to help out for a set number of hours in a local playgroup, for which I think they get paid (but we, the volunteers, don't, just expenses like our parking costs). I don't mind doing it, but it feels a bit more like I'm an employee, and while I don't want minimum wage etc, I wouldn't want my local group to run into trouble.

Am I right to be concerned?

No I wouldnt be concerned - what part of it is concerning you? I mean they cant draw up a contract saying you HAVE to be there 12 hours a week or whatever as you are a volunteer...

This factsheet will help you.

Thank you. The factsheet is helpful. A friend had raised a concern when I told her about the playgroup.

I don't want to be in a position where I'm working, for personal reasons. And I wouldn't want another volunteer to raise the point and then us all be classed as employees for the work we'd done in the past, or for the lady who runs the group to have done something wrong - she's quite elderly so I wanted to look in to it for her. But it seems we'll be OK.