Volunteering in another Member State

  1. Definition of the legal framework

    The deployment of volunteers abroad to provide a voluntary service is governed in Czechia by Act No 198/2002 on voluntary service and other legislation. The deployment of volunteers abroad under this law only applies to volunteering projects/programmes accredited by the Ministry of the Interior. In this light, it is important to note that volunteers may be deployed abroad to engage in volunteering outside the scope of the Voluntary Service Act, in which case the situation is governed by general legislation, in particular by Act No 89/2012, the Civil Code.

    Volunteers may also be deployed abroad within the scope of European projects (e.g. the European Solidarity Corps) and non-European projects (as United Nations volunteers), in which case the situation is governed by the relevant rules of those projects.


      

  2. Specific conditions laid down by the Voluntary Service Act
     
    2.1 Agreement between the volunteer and the sending organisation

Volunteers who are to provide voluntary service abroad as part of an accredited project must be older than 18, and under the Voluntary Service Act the agreement concluded between the volunteer and the sending organisation that is implementing the accredited project or programme (if a non-governmental organisation) must be drawn up in writing (Section 3(1) and (2)). Section 5 of this law also establishes the following essential particulars of the agreement:

  • information identifying the volunteer and the sending organisation;
  • provisions concerning the volunteer’s participation in pre-deployment preparations. This includes informing the volunteer of the potential risks associated with voluntary service;
  • provisions requiring the volunteer to prove that they have a clean criminal record;
  • confirmation of the volunteer’s state of health, and the submission of confirmation that the volunteer has been acquainted with the prevention of infectious diseases in the area where they are to be deployed;
  • the place and period in which voluntary service is to be provided, the subject of voluntary service, and arrangements for board and lodging;
  • provisions on the reimbursement of expenses associated with the preparations necessary for the volunteer’s participation in the volunteering programme, on the reimbursement of expenses associated with travel to and from the area of operations abroad, on pocket money to cover sundry expenses in the area of operations, and on the provision of work equipment and personal protective equipment;
  • working hours and rest periods, and the conditions under which the voluntary service can be ended prematurely.

2.2 Insurance

Before deploying a volunteer abroad to provide voluntary service under an accredited project/programme, the sending organisation running the accredited project or programme is required (Section 7(1) and (2)):

  • to enter into an insurance contract covering liability for damage to property or health caused to the volunteer or by the volunteer themselves in the provision of voluntary service (the volunteer is liable only for damage that is caused intentionally);
  • to take out health insurance for the volunteer reflecting the nature of the voluntary service and the conditions in the country in which the voluntary service is to be provided.

2.3 2.1 Agreement between the sending and hosting organisation

Prior to deploying a volunteer to the area of operations abroad, the sending organisation, i.e. an organisation accredited in accordance with the Voluntary Service Act, is required to enter into a written contract with the hosting organisation (Section 8(1)), i.e. the organisation where the volunteer is to provide the voluntary service. The law gives examples of these contractual provisions:

  • the conditions in which the voluntary service is to be provided;
  • the subject and duration of the voluntary service;
  • the arrangements for volunteers’ board and lodging, and the work equipment and personal protective equipment they are to be provided with;
  • the method that is to be used by the sending organisation for examinations of how the voluntary service is progressing in order to check compliance with the contract and to assess the volunteers’ work;
  • provisions on the hosting organisation’s obligation to inform the sending organisation of the risks to a volunteer’s life or health arising during the provision of the voluntary service, and the adoption of measures to mitigate or eliminate such risks.
Similar to voluntary service in Czechia, volunteers are not entitled to payment for their voluntary service, their work must not generate a profit, and the activities they do must not replace operations carried out at the hosting organisation by employees of other such workers.