Legal aspects of voluntary work
Changes in association law
The Act to Strengthen Volunteering ( Ehrenamtsstärkungsgesetz ) of March 21, 2013 made numerous changes to both income tax law and the tax code.
Important changes from 1.1.2013:
- Increase in the trainer allowance from 2,100 euros to 2,400 euros
- Increase in the lump sum for voluntary work from 500 euros to 720 euros
In addition, procedural simplifications and legal clarifications were adopted to improve procedural certainty.
You can view the exact text of the law here.
The laws on limiting the liability of honorary association board members from October 3, 2009 and on facilitating electronic registrations for the register of associations and other changes to association law from September 24, 2009 have already made the law on associations easier.
Child and youth protection
With the entry into force of the Federal Child Protection Act, Section 72a SGB VIII has been amended so that volunteers and part-time employees who supervise, care for, educate or train children and young people in the context of youth welfare or have comparable contact must now also submit extended certificates of good conduct. This certificate of good conduct can be requested from all registration authorities and is free of charge for volunteers who can provide proof of their commitment.
Information on the procedure, the agreements and the information brochures can be found at http://www.imblick.info/jugendschutz-im-ehrenamt/
Detailed information on the certificate of good conduct: https://www.bundesjustizamt.de/DE/Themen/Buergerdienste/BZR/FZ_node.html
If you have general questions about child and youth protection and the implementation of the child and youth protection concept, you can contact the contact persons for the City of Aachen, Mr. Hütten and Ms. Alles, on 0241/432-45330 and -45312 or at horst.huetten@mail.aachen.de and silvia.alles@mail.aachen.de.
Insurance cover for voluntary work
Volunteers - just like full-time employees - take risks in their work. For example, they may suffer an accident that leads to disability or cause damage for which they must pay compensation.
In order not to put volunteers in a worse position than full-time employees in this respect, the state of NRW has taken out accident and liability insurance for volunteers who are not already protected in any other way. You can find more information on the NRW volunteering portal.