What Happens If a Volunteer Doesn't Follow the Rules? A Church Leader's Guide to Handling Bad Behavior by Volunteers

A lot of churches rely on volunteers to help with ministry activities by giving their time and skills. But what if a volunteer breaks the rules by being nasty, not doing their work, or breaking church rules? When dealing with volunteer misbehavior, you need to establish a careful balance between compassion, legal understanding, and clear mechanisms to protect the ministry, the congregation, and the people involved.

This handbook will help churches keep their volunteers in line, make sure that laws are followed fairly, minimize the risk of legal difficulties, and promote a healthy ministry culture. You'll also learn how Church Law and Strategy may help churches make good rules for volunteers and deal with problems with confidence.

Why It's Crucial to Have Clear Guidelines for Volunteers

The most important thing you can do to manage expectations and punishments is to give volunteers clear, written regulations. These rules set the tone for accountability, spell out what behavior is and isn't acceptable, and define roles and obligations.

• Giving volunteers clear instructions to follow
• Making a plan on how to handle negative behavior
• Lessening arguments and misunderstandings
• Taking the right steps to legally defend the church

Policies should cover things like privacy, behavior, how to deal with disagreements, keeping kids safe, using church property, and respecting state and federal laws.

How Volunteers Often Break the Rules

There are several ways that volunteers can break the rules, including but not limited to:

• Breaking rules to keep kids safe
• Bad behavior or harassment
• Using church money or other resources for the wrong things
• Not executing the things you were given or being late
• Not keeping promises about privacy

Leaders may make their response and prevention plans more detailed if they know what kinds of violations arise.

How to Handle Violations in Steps

1. Write down what happened

It is essential to have precise and up-to-date records of every time someone breaks the rules. Make a note of the behavior's dates, times, witnesses, and other data.

1. Check out the rules that apply

Look at the church's volunteer handbook or code of conduct to see what rule you broke and what penalty you need to provide.

1. First Talk

In a confidential, respectful, and factual way, tell the volunteer what your worries are. Let someone explain.

1. Find out what will happen

The penalties could be a verbal warning, a suspension, or being taken off of voluntary duties, depending on how serious and how often it happens.

1. A formal written warning

If someone breaks the rules a lot or in a big way, offer them a formal written warning that describes the problem, what you expect them to do, and what will happen if they break the rules again.

1. The Last Step

If the behavior doesn't improve or is particularly poor (such as abuse or breaking the law), remove the volunteer from their ministry duties straight away.

Managing Risk and Legal Problems

Churches need to be very careful about how they punish volunteers so they don't get sued for discrimination, firing someone without cause, or libel.

Make Sure Everything is the Same

Make sure that all volunteers follow the same regulations so you don't get accused of discrimination.

Privacy

Tell them only what they need to know about discipline concerns.

Write Down Everything

Keep track of what happened and what you did to fix it.

Get in Touch with a Lawyer

If something happens that could lead to a lawsuit or breaking the law, call a church lawyer right away.

Helping to Build a Healthy Culture in the Ministry

Following the rules isn't just about punishment; it's also about making the church community a secure, trustworthy, and respectful place to be. Tell volunteers what you want them to do, be honest with them, and congratulate those who do a good job.

Stopping People from Breaching the Rules Before They Do

Checking on Volunteers

Screening volunteers properly makes sure they know what is expected of them and are a suitable fit for ministry work.

Getting Started and Training

The church's culture and norms stay strong when people are given clear directions and ongoing training.

How to Talk to Each Other

Before problems get worse, make it easy for anyone who wants to help to ask questions or voice their concerns.

Being Kind and Strong When Things Are Bad

When church leaders deal with bad behavior, they need to be nice and hold individuals responsible at the same time. It's necessary to retain the ministry's reputation, but it's also important to give people chances to make things right when they can.

How Church Law and Strategy Can Help You Work with Volunteers

We have the following subscription plans:

• Writing and going over regulations and policies for people who want to help out
• Training volunteers on how to deal with disagreements and penalties
• A legal checkup to discover difficulties with managing volunteers
• Getting legal help when things are tough

Working with Church Law and Strategy helps churches keep their volunteers' behavior in check, lower hazards, and maintain their ministry spaces healthy.

Questions That People Often Ask

Can We Let a Volunteer Go If They Don't Follow the Guidelines of the Church?

Yes, volunteers can be booted out if they disobey the guidelines, especially when it comes to safety or trust. Make sure that the process is well-documented and follows the same rules every time.

What Happens If a Volunteer Doesn't Agree with the Claims?

Let them have a fair chance to explain their side of the story, but make sure you follow the regulations and keep good records.

Do Volunteer Agreements Protect the Church from the Law?

The church can use volunteer agreements and codes of conduct to set expectations, but they need to be clear and signed.

The End

Volunteers are a big part of church activity, but breaching the rules can put the mission and safety at danger. Churches need to have clear norms, mechanisms to enforce them consistently, and legal protections in place to deal with inappropriate behavior effectively.

Church Law and Strategy gives churches the legal guidance, rules, and advice they need to deal with challenges that come up when managing volunteers with confidence and care.

No legal responsibility: This blog post is just for information and does not give legal advice. If you read this, you are not a client of Church Law and Strategy or any of its agents. Please go to a lawyer if you need legal advice that is specific to your church or group.

Links Inside

• Find out what the law says about how churches safeguard their volunteers.
• Learn about the church's policy on keeping kids safe. Legal for all-encompassing safety frameworks.
• Read our Church Legal Audit and Compliance Report to get a thorough risk assessment.

Links to Other Websites

• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Summary — Federal Trade Commission: https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/fair-credit-reporting-act
• Volunteer Management and Discipline Best Practices — National Council of Nonprofits: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/volunteer-management
• Church Volunteer Policies — Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA): https://www.ecfa.org/Content/VolunteerPolicies