What steps it is taking to promote awareness and uptake of the joint STUC and Volunteer Scotland Volunteer Charter, and how it encourages o…

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the joint Volunteer Charter, developed by Volunteer Scotland and the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), in promoting good practice in volunteering and ensuring that volunteers complement, rather than replace, paid workers. The Charter sets out ten key principles to support positive relationships between volunteers and paid staff and help prevent the exploitation of either group.We promote awareness of the Charter through our ongoing engagement with Volunteer Scotland, Third Sector Interfaces, public bodies and volunteer-involving organisations.The Charter is also promoted through Volunteer Scotland's training, events, knowledge-sharing platforms and Charter Champion programme, which encourages organisations and individuals to publicly commit to its principles.We endorse the Charter and encourage organisations to sign up to it. However, we recognise that it is a voluntary framework rather than a legal requirement. While the Charter is not a condition of Scottish Government funding, we expect organisations that receive public funding to comply with relevant legislation, follow good volunteering practice and consider its principles when involving volunteers.