As part of our support for the COP26 summit in November, the University has agreed to match the annual leave for University staff who wish to volunteer with paid volunteering leave on a one-for-one basis (for example, if you choose to volunteer for six days, you will require only three days of annual leave with the rest matched as volunteering leave).

Applications are currently open for volunteers for the summit, which will take place at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow on 1 – 12 November 2021. Colleagues wishing to volunteer should discuss this with their line manager in the first instance before submitting an application at www.ukcop26.org/volunteer.

Applications are open until Wednesday 31 March and applicants will hear if they are successful in Spring. There is more information on available roles on the COP26 website.

A variety of volunteer roles will be available in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, including helping to provide information on the conference and the venues, supporting delegates staying in and travelling around the city, and promoting the best of what Glasgow and Scotland has to offer.

If an application is successful, colleagues will need to book the required leave on CoreHR at the earliest opportunity. This should be done by booking a mixture of annual leave and ‘volunteering leave’ days in line with the University’s commitment to match one-for-one. For example, if volunteering for four days this would be recorded as two days of annual leave and two days of volunteering leave.  Line managers should support and manage any such requests to ensure the appropriate number of volunteering days are utilised.

The provision of one-for-one volunteering leave will be subject to:

  • Proof of official volunteer status
  • Volunteers taking an equal number of annual leave days to match the University Provision (i.e. a one-for-one basis)
  • The leave is arranged with the prior agreement of the appropriate line management and specific dates requested at the earliest opportunity
  • Sufficient numbers of colleagues are available in the relevant areas to maintain necessary performance, safety and service standards

First published: 12 March 2021

<< 15 March 2021