SSAFA is committed to creating an environment in which you can provide excellent support to beneficiaries, while also feeling safe and supported. These guidelines set out how you can keep yourself and others safe by establishing and maintaining professional boundaries.
This document refers to relationships between volunteers and beneficiaries and should be read in conjunction with SSAFA’s Volunteer Code of Conduct Policy.
What are professional boundaries?
Professional boundaries are guidelines, rules or limits that define acceptable and unacceptable behaviour for volunteers when working with beneficiaries.
It is the responsibility of volunteers to be aware of the potential for an imbalance of power in these relationships and to maintain professional boundaries to protect themselves and beneficiaries.
SSAFA’s professional boundaries are set in accordance with good practice or legal requirements and are underpinned by our values and BRAVE standards, and detailed in the Volunteer Code of Conduct, as well as this guidance.
Why are professional boundaries important?
Boundaries help protect you by:
- setting expectations of your behaviour and that of others
- allowing you to adhere to your role and responsibilities.
- promoting your wellbeing and avoiding burnout.
- avoiding potentially compromising situations
Protect beneficiaries by:
- promoting empowerment and independence while avoiding dependency
- protecting them from inappropriate behaviour or abuse
- providing clarity about the limits of the relationship
Protect SSAFA by:
- Promoting a culture of healthy volunteering
- maintaining our reputation as a trusted source of support to the armed forces community.
- supporting our commitment to Safeguarding
- promoting a professional environment where unnecessary risk is mitigated.
How SSAFA supports you to maintain boundaries
SSAFA will support you to be aware of, and maintain appropriate boundaries by
- Providing you with a clear role description
- Letting you know what is and is not expected of you in your role.
- Ensuring you are clear about how to report concerns and issues about yourself and others.
- Providing regular support and/or supervision, appropriate to your role, where you can discuss boundaries.
- Not placing you in situations which are likely to be unsafe.
- Ensuring beneficiaries understand your role and what support SSAFA can provide.
Tips for maintaining professional boundaries - do’s and don'ts.
It is not always easy to identify or uphold boundaries, especially when your role depends on building trusted relationships and when you are passionate about a cause.
Following the Volunteer Code of Conduct, and these tips will help you to maintain professional boundaries and get the most out of your volunteering with SSAFA.
SSAFA’s Learning Base also provides a number of short sessions that can help; Confidentiality & Boundaries, Friendship & Befriending and Personal Safety.
1. Understand your role and its limits
2. Keep a good volunteering/life balance.
3. Respect confidentiality and privacy.
4. Maintain a professional relationship.
5. Take care with your personal details and personal social media
6. Personal and financial affairs
7. Illegal or unsafe behaviour
Personal versus professional boundaries
Personal boundaries are the limits and rules we set for ourselves which govern how we interact with other people and the world around us. Our experiences, values, culture, religious beliefs and the society we live in all have an impact on how we set our boundaries. For this reason, boundaries vary from person to person, and we should be respectful of other peoples’ boundaries, even where we might not necessarily agree with them.
At times you might find that your personal boundaries are in conflict with the professional boundaries outlined by SSAFA. When this is the case, it is important to talk to your named volunteer manager about what is making you feel uncomfortable or any issues you are having maintaining professional boundaries, they can support you and provide guidance.
It is very important to uphold professional boundaries, remember they exist to protect you and those you support.
What to do if I break a boundary
In the majority of situations boundaries are broken without intending to cause harm and sometimes the blurring of boundaries can happen gradually over time, making it hard to notice anything is wrong. However, once a boundary has been broken, it can be difficult to re-establish it and it can also put you at risk of being accused of abuse or harm.
If you or a beneficiary has broken a boundary, even if it seems like no harm has been done, you should report this to your named volunteer manager. They will make decisions about if how this should be addressed, and if it needs to be reported and investigated by SSAFA or any other agencies.
In some cases, volunteers who break boundaries will be asked to change their role, or even end their volunteer relationship with SSAFA in line with the Volunteer Tenure policy.
What to do if someone else breaks a boundary
If you believe that someone has broken a boundary then you should report this to your volunteer manager who will notify the volunteer in question’s own manager.
If you have safeguarding concerns, then please refer to the Safeguarding policy and follow the appropriate procedures. When you have concerns about immediate risk of harm to a beneficiary then you should report this to the emergency services.