All over the country there are pensioners working as volunteers in charity shops. Are we covered legally if, say, we take a fall in the shop through an item being put in the wrong place, or worse still, are knocked about during an attempted till snatch?
You will have to check with the charity’s insurers. Employers are obliged by law to take out insurance to cover liability towards their employees (whatever their ages), but Health and Safety Executive guidelines suggest that such insurance is unnecessary as far as volunteers are concerned. If you were to be injured as a result of negligence on the part of the charity or its paid employees, the fact that the charity didn’t have insurance wouldn’t necessarily prevent you bringing a claim for compensation.