Is a volunteer entitled to discrimination protection at work?

Volunteering is popular – unpaid workers complete 90 million working hours every week. But the recent case of X v Mid-Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau (Case ref 2009 EWCA Civ 340 CA) has forced the Court of Appeal to decide whether a volunteer has the same employment rights as a contracted, salaried member of staff. The case concerned a volunteer, who remains anonymous, who worked for four to five hours a week for a Citizens Advice Bureau. No attendance records were kept during her time there and she frequently failed to attend on the agreed days. She then left under circumstances that she alleged amounted to discrimination on the grounds of her disability.