• You can still volunteer if you are claiming benefits
• Receiving volunteer expenses will not affect your benefits, providing the expenses you receive only cover what you actually spent in the course of your volunteering
• Volunteering will not affect your entitlement to Job Seekers Allowance provided that:
  • You inform the social Security Office that you are volunteering
  • You are only receiving the reimbursement of your out-of-pocket expenses
  • You agree to give up volunteering if an opportunity for paid employment arises
  • You are still actively seeking work
  • Your volunteering is for a non-profit-making organisation
• If you are unable to work and are receiving disability benefits you can still volunteer.  However you must follow some rules:
  • You receive only the reimbursement of genuine out-of-pocket expenses
  • You inform the relevant benefits branch that you are volunteering.  although there is no guidance about when to inform them, practice has shown that it is best done before you start volunteering.
  • If you are getting Incapacity Benefit (IB) you should wait for a reply from IB Branch before you start volunteering

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