As an organisation that puts our community first, Till Payments is excited to launch the new Paid Volunteering Leave Policy, as it marks Volunteering Australia’s National Volunteer Week.
One Day Paid Leave
As part of its new Paid Volunteering Leave Policy, Till is offering one day of paid leave for all staff across offices in five countries, with the aim of supporting volunteer activities that enhance and serve the broader community.
Employees will be able to take one ‘Volunteer Day’ each year to
volunteer for organisations that contribute to community wellbeing,
within animal welfare, children & youth, environmental, health,
international aid & development or community welfare organisations.
Declining number of Australian Volunteers
According to Volunteering Australia[1],
the rates of formal volunteering in Australia has experienced a steady
decline amongst both men and women over time from 36.2 percent in 2010
to 28.8 per cent in 2019.
Ali Long, Chief People Officer at Till Payments, says this downward trend, coupled with the challenges of the past few years signals the need for better corporate support and engagement for volunteering activities.
“We’ve all experienced critical challenges in the past few years – everything from natural disasters impacting communities in multiple regions, to the decline in mental wellbeing as a direct result of the pandemic,”
“No matter what the situation, we’ve witnessed first-hand the power of bringing people together and the potential to create a lasting positive impact through volunteering and charitable giving. At Till, our One Team, One Family value underpins our approach to business, to our people and to our broader community. The rollout of our new Paid Volunteering Leave Policy is a testament to the company’s commitment to giving back to our community.”
Community Engagement Program to come
The
policy marks the first step in the development of a larger-scale
community engagement program and comes off the back of Till’s most
recent employee survey. It found that 22.5% of respondents are active
volunteers and 45% of respondents who previously volunteered are no
longer volunteering but interested in picking it up again.
Volunteer Heroes at Till
To celebrate
National Volunteer Week, we will also be launching a content series,
spotlighting the existing volunteers in its team. The content series can
be viewed in full on Wednesday 18 May on https://tillpayments.com/blogs/volunteer-heroes-at-till or on the Till Payments LinkedIn page during National Volunteer Week.
[1] Volunteering Australia, Key Volunteering Statistics, January 2021, https://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/VA-Key-Statistics_2020.01.pdf