Guidance for Macmillan volunteers

Updated to reflect recent government announcements 

Updated 31 May 2022

As of early May 2022, we have removed many of our COVID-19 related restrictions on activity, in line with changes that have taken place in wider society over the past few months.

The safety of our volunteers, staff colleagues and people with cancer remains our number one priority and consequently we will maintain COVID-19 control measures in some circumstances, and we would encourage all staff and volunteers to continue to exercise caution when meeting others.

There are three key scenarios where restrictions are still in place:

1. You should not volunteer for Macmillan if you have COVID-19 symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19 (for a minimum of five days following a positive test or 10 days when meeting with people living with cancer).
2. When meeting indoors with people living with cancer, all volunteers must carry out a lateral flow test earlier that same day and must always carry and offer to wear a face covering during the visit.
3. When volunteering at certain third-party events, we may need to ask volunteers to follow restrictions set by the event organiser (eg. social distancing, wearing facemasks, lateral flow tests). Any such restrictions will always be made clear to you in the event briefing notes.

Outside of the scenarios above, the decision about whether to wear a face covering when volunteering is a personal one but we ask volunteers to be mindful that not wearing a face covering may make others feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

If you are unsure about volunteering at this time, you may also wish to consider supporting us in one of the following ways…

• Fundraise for Macmillan
• Support our campaigns
• Use your cancer experience as a Cancer Voice.