Terms and Conditions
MY CAUSE UK TERMS AND CONDITIONS
For all My Cause UK Volunteers
Thank you for applying to volunteer with My Cause UK.
If you have any queries regarding the My Cause UK Terms and Conditions, you are advised to contact My Cause UK in writing before submitting your application and paying your deposit. You can do this by contacting hello@mycauseuk.com.
These terms and conditions apply specifically to My Cause UK volunteers, and apply in conjunction with the terms of entry to any specific festival applied to by you the volunteer. These terms and conditions are subject to change and in light of any changes an update will be sent to you directly.
By signing up to volunteer with My Cause UK, you agree to all points stipulated within this document.
By completing and submitting an application you are agreeing to abide by the My Cause UK:
1. Terms and Conditions;
2. Code of Conduct;
3. Volunteer agreement
By completing and submitting an application you are agreeing to the submission of your email address to the My Cause UK Database and PAAM account notifications database. If you select the relevant option in the application form, you may also agree to your contact details being made available to your personally nominated charity beneficiary.
By completing and submitting an application you are agreeing that any photographs; video; sound recordings taken of you or by you may be used by My Cause UK and the clients of My Cause UK for any promotional purposes.
By completing and submitting an application you are agreeing that for the safety of the general public prior to arrival on any festival or event site your personal details may be passed to the police to allow for a Police National Computer (PNC) check and/or Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check to be performed.
By completing and submitting an application you are agreeing that if your performance is deemed less than satisfactory by My Cause UK, your volunteer offer will be withdrawn, resulting in the termination of our volunteer agreement with you and your deposit will be retained. We reserve the right not to offer you further voluntary or paid opportunities with My Cause UK as a result of this action.
When working as a volunteer of My Cause UK you are working under a fixed term volunteer agreement. The specifics of positions with My Cause UK vary dependent on the event and role. The initial briefing and training sessions at each event form part of your volunteer agreement, as does your agreement to volunteer with My Cause UK for the duration of the event. Any failure on your part to meet with; the terms of the volunteer agreement, any festival specific terms and conditions, the Code of Conduct, and the My Cause UK Volunteering policy will result in the termination of your volunteer agreement and may lead to your removal from site, the requirement to pay any costs to My Cause UK that may have been incurred, forfeit of your deposit and retraction of offer of all future paid or voluntary opportunities with My Cause UK.
Borders and Immigration - proving your right to work and volunteer in the UK.
To undertake unpaid voluntary work, as well as paid work in the UK, you must have the right to work either through your citizenship or a work visa. Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act of 2006, My Cause UK is required to check your right to work before we can allow you to start working on the festival site.
This means that before you can start volunteering with us, you will need to produce documentation to prove you have this right. If you do not produce this documentation, we cannot let you work or volunteer with us. The list of valid proof of right to work is produced by the UK Border Agency not by My Cause UK and these are the ONLY documents that will be accepted by My Cause UK. We need to see the original documents which means you need to bring them to the festival or event site. We also need to hold a copy of the documents.
Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, we are only able to offer volunteering opportunities to people who have the legal right to work in the UK and can no longer accept applications from all EU/ EEA identity card holders. If you hold either a UK or Republic of Ireland passport or identity card you have the automatic right to work in the UK. Any European Economic Area/Swiss passport or a non-UK/EEA passport will require a valid visa showing your right to work/volunteer in the UK as acceptable proof. We will require home office approval of your right to work, which you can obtain via https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work
Please note, that My Cause UK are not curently able to offer sponsorship for visas to work or volunteer with us at festivals.
If you do not have a passport, we can accept a long birth certificate AND either your National Insurance card or an official document from a previous employer with your NI number clearly shown.
A UK Driving License IS NOT valid as proof even in combination with a birth certificate or NI card.
For more information please see the documents available via the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
DEPOSITS
Paying a deposit does not guarantee your position at an event; applications are assessed, and positions allocated after a deposit has been paid. We operate a variable deposit scheme, and the value of a deposit will vary depending on which events you are applying for. Please ensure you read the details of the deposit value before applying for an event.
If you are applying for more than one event, you will need to pay a deposit equivalent to the highest value event you are applying for. This deposit will then be held against multiple events and returned to you following completion of your final event.
All deposits are subject to a 6% admin charge. Your deposit will be returned to you within 1 month of the end of your final event. Once your refund has been made, the payment may take a few days to arrive in your account. The email that you receive to let you know that your deposit has been returned will tell you that you have received a partial refund. This is your entire refund, less the 6% admin charge.
Some or all your deposit will be withheld if you:
1. Fail to sign in and out from, or fail to complete any full shift allocated to you
2. Lose any uniform and/or equipment allocated to you*
3. Turn up to shift under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol
4. Miss your onsite briefing/s;
5. Do not sign in and sign out onsite to your manager **
6. Breach My Cause UK Terms & Conditions, or Terms & conditions set by the event;
7. Breach the My Cause UK Policies & Procedures;
*For uniform and equipment losses and/or damage My Cause UK may only withhold part of your deposit; dependent on the value of the uniform/equipment lost/damaged. Amounts will be set by My Cause UK Management and are non-negotiable.
** It is your responsibility and no one else to make sure you sign in and sign out of every shift. If you fail to do this, we can only assume that you have either not turned up to shift or not completed your shift and you will lose your deposit.
Deposits will be refunded back to the account holder from which the deposit was originally received less the standard 6% admin fee providing you have met the terms and conditions of your specified role. Deductions will occur only where you have failed to fulfil the terms and conditions of your role. Please see the specific terms and conditions of your job role for more information on deductions.
It is your responsibility to let us know on your application form if someone else is paying your deposit on your behalf. Failure to include the name of the card holder on your form in the payment section will delay the return of your deposit.
If you have indicated that you wish to donate part or all your deposit to your specified charity beneficiary this deduction will be made before returning your deposit.
All deposit returns will be processed within one month of the final shifts and may take longer to arrive in your account. It is your responsibility to check the amount you receive and raise any queries or objections regarding deductions made by emailing hello@mycauseuk.com no later than 31st October 2024. Any objections or queries raised after this date will not be considered.
If you do not gain a position due to failing a PNC and/or CRB check your deposit will be returned post-event.
CANCELLATIONS
You have the opportunity to cancel your application to an event at any time, and your deposit will be returned in full less the transaction fee, and any cancellation charges outlined in our Cancellation Policy (if applicable).
With the ever changing national response to Covid-19. We reserve the right to change this policy at any point. We will communicate this to all volunteers in the case of any changes to guidelines that our clients, the government or any parties change.
If you have any MEDICAL REASON that means you are unwell and feel unable to undertake volunteering. We fully encourage you not to attend the event. You will not be penalised so long as you keep us informed with as much notice as possible. Simply follow the steps outlined in our Cancellation Policy. Please note, simply being a “no show” to an event or a shift at an event without giving prior notice through our official channels as outlined in the cancellation process will result in the forfeit of your deposit.
Our cancellation deadlines are 5 weeks before the first onsite date of any given festival. This is the last date that you can cancel your volunteering position with us without losing your full deposit.
From the date you pay your deposit, a "cooling off" period of seven days applies during which time you may cancel the festivals you have booked without incurring any charges other than our standard 6% admin fee. After this period, you will be charged an admin fee, whatever the reason for your cancellation.
For last minute applications to events that are within 7 days of the event start date, the cooling off period does not apply and you will forfeit your entire deposit if you do not attend the event.
If you cancel before the cancellation deadline:
If you cancel one festival before the cancellation deadline, a £20 admin fee will be deducted from your deposit, along with any additional optional donation you have made. If you cancel two or more festivals on the same occasion before the cancellation date, you will be charged a £40 admin fee. If you cancel on separate occasions before the cancellation date, you'll be charged £20 each time you cancel, up to your full deposit. Once the admin fee, plus any additional optional donation you have made, has been deducted the remainder of your deposit will be returned within 4-6 weeks of your email cancellation, or within 4-6 weeks of your final festival with us if you are attending more festivals.
If you cancel after the cancellation deadline:
For cancellations that occur after the cancellation deadline that are due to ill health or bereavement, My Cause UK may at their discretion choose to waive the full deposit forfeit and instead only charge the standard £20 cancellation fee. In all cases evidence must be provided, such as a fit note from your GP.
Cancellation after the cancellation deadline has passed without valid reason - including work, social commitments, holidays, and illness without documented evidence will result in your full deposit being forfeited.
In addition, we operate the following cancellation charges:
£20 - cancelling after the deadline with evidence due to bereavement or health issues.
Charges also apply for losing equipment such as Hi-Vis and Radios. Radios will be charged at £150, and Hi-Vis at £50.
If extenuating circumstances make cancellation unavoidable, we will consider these on a case by case basis, but otherwise, the cancellation policy will apply.
To cancel your position, you MUST email cancellations@mycauseuk.com with the email heading CANCEL followed by the festival name- e.g. CANCEL BOOMTOWN with details of why you are cancelling.
PLEASE NOTE CANCELING YOUR POSITION ON PAAM WITHOUT EMAILING US DOES NOT CANCEL YOUR POSITION.
Please make yourself familiar with the cancellation dates for all events before applying.
YOUR NOMINATED CHARITY BENEFICIARY
My Cause UK Volunteers nominate a charity beneficiary as part of their sign-up process. This beneficiary must be a registered UK charity and have a charity registration number in the UK as registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales.
The Exception to this rule, is that you may choose to nominate My Cause UK CiC as your chosen beneficiary.
Please make yourself familiar with the set donation amounts for each festival as these vary from event to event. All monies will be paid directly to your nominated charity beneficiary following the event. We make all payments following the completion of our last event of the season and donations are grouped to ensure we minimize banking and administrative costs when making donations.
This amount will be paid in full to one charity only as specified in your application form. This payment may be made separately from any amount donated from your volunteering deposit.
Should you fail to complete all, or any part of your allocated shifts this payment will be withheld.
Any disputed records with regards to your completion of shifts must be raised with My Cause UK within 30 days of your final shift. We will ensure to carry out due diligence in investigating any records however in all cases of dispute, the decision of My Cause UK is final.
Staff and volunteers are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses.
VOLUNTEERING HOURS
The hours you are required to volunteer are detailed in your volunteer agreement and exact shifts are specifically defined in relation to your specific position.
Volunteer shifts may vary but will not exceed 8 hours and 15 minutes long (including one 30 min break to be arranged at your manager’s discretion); the time it takes you to sign-in and travel to and from your position is additional to your 8-hour shift.
In the case of self-induced incapacity for work you will forfeit your position; any allocated positions at current or future events. Termination of your volunteer agreement for any reason may lead to a deduction or forfeit of your deposit. This is due to the nature of the positions being for a fixed period.
Your volunteering agreement is for a fixed term and expires at the end of each position.
Your Volunteer offer and confirmation of position are temporary and may be withdrawn at any time due to any of the following reasons:
1. My Cause UK does not gain a contract of services at named event;
2. The named event does not take place or is cancelled;
3. You are in breach of the My Cause UK or event specific Terms & Conditions; or My Cause UK or event specific Code of Conduct
If you are dissatisfied with any disciplinary decision you should apply in the first instance to the My Cause UK on site Volunteer manager. You should make your application by speaking to the My Cause UK on site Volunteer manager who will document your conversation.
If you have a grievance about your employment you should apply in the first instance to the My Cause UK on site Volunteer manager. You should make your application in writing to My Cause UK at hello@mycauseuk.com
Further information on disciplinary procedures or grievances is available in the relevant My Cause UK policy.
WORKING ON AND ACCESS TO SITES
All My Cause UK staff and volunteers must camp within the crew area specified to you in pre-festival information and on your arrival.
If you are given meal tickets as part of your volunteering offer these tickets may not be redeemable at concessions near your place of work so you are recommended to plan ahead and bring your own food with you for consuming on shift.
All My Cause UK staff and volunteers will be issued with an appropriate pass by the client of whom My Cause UK is providing a service. This pass will enable the wearer to access those areas relevant to the position and responsibilities allocated. When off-shift and where authorised by a License Holder this pass may be used to access and participate in the event ‘s public activities under the Terms and Conditions of the License. Any pass allocated will remain the property of the License Holder at all times.
Any pass is a functional tool My Cause UK staff and volunteers require to carry out their duties. Breaching any License Holders Terms & Conditions; Policies and Procedures; Code of Conduct; Rules and Regulations will also be a breach of your employment Terms and Conditions with My Cause UK.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Any of the following including the aiding and abetting of others constitutes a breach of the My Cause UK Terms and Conditions of employment and/or voluntary position.
1. Failure to comply with the My Cause UK Terms and Conditions; Code of Conduct; Code of Practice; Instructions; Policies and Procedures and instructions of My Cause UK and festival specific clients.
2. Neglecting to complete a required task promptly and diligently, without sufficient cause.
3. Leaving a position without permission or without sufficient cause.
4. Making or signing any false statements, of any description.
5. Destroying, altering or erasing documents, records or electronic data without permission or through negligence.
6. Divulging matters confidential to My Cause UK or its clients, either past or present, without permission.
7. Soliciting or receipt of gratuities or other consideration from any person, or failure to account for keys, money or property received in connection with the business of My Cause UK, or its clients or partners.
8. Incivility to persons encountered during duties or misuse of authority in connection with the business of My Cause UK or its clients.
9. Conduct in a manner likely to bring discredit to a fellow employee, My Cause UK its clients, or My Cause UK’s client's customers.
10. Use of uniform, equipment or identification without permission.
11. Reporting for duty under the influence of alcohol or restricted drugs or use of these whilst on duty.
12. Failure to notify My Cause UK immediately of any:
I. Conviction for a criminal and/or motoring offence;
ii. Indictment for any offence that may affect your work with My Cause UK
iii. Police caution or legal summons that may affect your work with My Cause UK
13. Permitting unauthorized access to premises; event site; place of work.
14. Carrying of equipment not issued as essential to an individual's role or duties or use of a My Cause UK client's and/or My Cause UK client's customer's equipment or facilities without permission.
15. Not maintaining agreed standards of appearance; identification; and deportment whilst at work.
VOLUNTEER AGREEMENT
1. I will represent My Cause UK in a positive and appropriate way and will demonstrate commitment by fulfilling my role to the best of my ability in line with the briefing and any training provided.
2. I will attend the onsite health and safety briefing/ training event.
3. I will be 18 years old or over on the first day of the first festival I am applying for.
4. I will be onsite and available to work on the days required of me as set out in my volunteer role profile.
5. I will arrive to shifts on time and participate fully for the period of time specified to me. I understand that failing to do this without a valid reason (e.g. a doctor’s note) will lead to my deposit being forfeited and/or to me having my wristband being removed and being evicted from site. My Cause UK reserves the right to initiate this process without first giving a warning if a Volunteer has clearly broken these Standards of Behaviour.
6. I will wear any relevant uniform or Personal Protective Equipment at all times
whilst on shift and I will be well presented and polite to members of the public whilst on shift while representing My Cause UK.
7. My Cause UK or its clients may pass on my data (including personal data) to festival organisers, the police and other checking agencies, as is deemed necessary for the safe and secure running of the festival.
8. I understand that it is expressly forbidden to consume alcohol or drugs whilst (or immediately prior to) volunteering. My Cause UK reserves the right to have any volunteer found to be volunteering under the influence of drink or behaving in a manner that might bring the festival into disrepute, removed from the festival site and their deposit shall be forfeited.
9. I will arrive on the festival site with everything I need to support myself until I leave the festival site. This includes clothing for all weathers, food, money and general camping equipment. I also understand that My Cause UK is not responsible for the personal possessions of any My Cause UK festival volunteer.
10. I will comply with the festivals’ policies at all times during my attendance at each.
11. I understand that the festival management reserves the right to conduct searches on entrance and exit to the festival site whether I am on or off shift.
12. I understand that My Cause UK and its clients may take photographs of me and use them on its website and other media for campaign, marketing and training purposes.
13. I consent to having my contact details added to the My Cause UK volunteer’s database so that I may be contacted in the future
14. I have read and understood that if my behaviour falls outside any of these standards it may lead to my eviction from the site and my deposit being forfeited. My Cause UK reserves the right to initiate this process without first giving a warning if a volunteer has clearly broken these Standards of Behaviour.
In addition, I understand that as a volunteer on any festival site, I must adhere to the same terms and conditions as any public ticket holder and will be dealt with in same way as anyone found to be breaching the terms and conditions of the Festival.
