Co-op member / volunteer agreements
A plain-English policy to clarify the different roles held by volunteers and paid members within a youth work cooperative. Includes simple outline template agreements for volunteers and for cooperative members.
Archives Policies
Rad policies, processes & structures…
Member volunteer induction process
A simple 1-page process guide to support a newer member to get involved in a particular working group within the organisation. It aims to provide clarity for members looking to get involved in a new part of the cooperative.
Equality and diversity
A plain-English youth work cooperative equality and diversity policy, which makes explicit the range of types of oppression that can play out amongst young people and the cooperative, as well as the ways in which those experiences are often reflections of wider social power dynamics. Outlines the responsibilities of both the organisation and of individual youth workers.
Team dynamics & tension shifting meeting
A meeting template and policy description for a small workers' cooperative to improve communication, surface and address tensions or conflicts that exist amongst the group. It's about making space for the kinds of conversations around group needs and dynamics that are easily side-lined.
Safeguarding policy & procedure
A radical approach to safeguarding that questions the definition of "vulnerable" and instead places all people we work with at the heart of the policy holistically. We propose a shared opportunity to use non-punitive procedures, ask for consent, offer a matrix to attempt to diffuse conflict or avoid involving external agencies and supporting both victim and perpetuator.
Staff undertaking training courses or volunteering roles
A policy aiming to support employees undertaking short courses and those of a longer duration such as certificates, diplomas or MAs that require intensive study. The policy also recognises that small organisation often have has limited resources. The policy also covers sabbaticals and extended voluntary work.
Reparative rest leave
Our rest policy acknowledges that due to structural inequalities in the cultural sector, not everyone experiences work in the same way. It offers up to three additional days of paid rest per year for staff members who experience inequality.
Employee health and wellbeing policy
A values based policy aimed at supporting staff health and wellbeing based on years of adapting and learning to shape our practice which we have now formalised into a policy.
Team-wide mentoring
A policy that establishes monthly sessions for team members with external mentors. The sessions aim to provide support, facilitate realistic workplanning, and offer an external perspective on team dynamics. Annual appraisals and anti-oppression meetings are also conducted by mentors. Confidentiality is maintained with three clear exceptions.
Sick leave agreement
This is a sick leave policy for a small collective with limited funds. On average, for each 10 days of work, you have the right to one paid sick day. However, we have decided to pool our sick days. Pooling addresses the fact that we do not all have the same health and to alleviate the stress of having “enough sick days”.