4) Abuse/harassment;

5) Vandalism/damage to property;

6) Unauthorised disclosure of confidential information;

7) Action or inaction putting self or the public at risk

Further to this and depending on the nature of the complaint, the volunteer may be asked to withdraw his/her services on a temporary basis, while the matter is being investigated. Before any action is proposed to deal with a complaint, the complaint itself needs to be verified. The steps which may be taken to rectify a situation would include:

1) Nature of the complaint;

2) Why the behaviour has occurred;

3) Implementing change (additional support, training etc.) within a given time frame.

4) Review of change.

If, no change or insufficient change in attitude or behaviour is observed, in spite of additional support, it may well be necessary to ask the volunteer to leave the organisation if for no other reason then to enable the other volunteers to continue to contribute without feeling duress and or to prevent a feeling of ‘unfairness’ .

Bearing in mind the concerns expressed above, questions have to be raised as to how far it is possible for an organisation to take action 'against' a volunteer, unlike in paid employment there is in fact very little action that can be taken other than removing the disruptive influence. Due to this fact that nothing can be done other than that quite extreme measure, avoiding problems and minimising risks is preferable to trying to resolve problems after the event.

Throughout any process and during the time a volunteer is with an organisation, it needs to be made clear that their services can be withdrawn, without redress, on either side, this is why the issue of volunteer protection under employment law must be avoided at all costs, as these two ideas are totally irreconcilable

Deciding on the best methods of dealing with complaints requires thought, preparation and review. The NAVB suggest that the involvement of volunteers (and other related members of staff) in the formulation in the methods to deal with complaints is often helpful. As the NAVB state, the positive consequences of this are two fold: Firstly, it raises awareness of the process and secondly helps to ensure that volunteers are happy with the decision about such issues that affect them directly, (NAVB, 1995, p.5). Due to the nature of unpaid work, it is important that those effected are consulted and their input is valued and recognised.