Why The Change?

Our new adjustments process will help us provide reliable support for volunteers with permanent disabilities while also improving on-shift care for everyone. Here’s why we’ve made the change:

Our previous system relied on individual judgment, often from those without specialist knowledge of disability needs, leading to inconsistent decisions and gaps in support.

As our volunteer numbers have grown, so have adjustment requests, making the system harder to manage and resulting in some requests being overlooked. Unfortunately, this meant some volunteers didn’t receive the support they needed and, in some cases, had to cancel their place.

Our new process ensures a fairer, more efficient approach. By working with Nimbus, we can assess requests accurately and consistently, ensuring that volunteers receive the necessary support in a timely and reliable manner.

We've also shortened the window for submitting adjustment requests through your profile. This allows us to implement the necessary shift adjustments in time, ensuring that volunteers can arrive on-site with confidence, knowing their needs have been accounted for.

With an increasing number of adjustment requests, we need to focus on supporting volunteers with permanent disabilities who would otherwise be unable to volunteer.

We have a contractual obligation with festivals to fulfil certain roles, including 24/7 coverage and a large number of positions that require standing (or using a wheelchair). This means there are limits to the number of adjustments we can accommodate at each festival.

In the past, many support needs—such as taking medication during a shift or sitting occasionally—were routinely managed through on-shift conversations with supervisors.

For confidentiality reasons, we’ve never shared specific accessibility details with supervisors. They may have seen an ‘RA’ next to a volunteer’s name but weren’t given further information. Our new system encourages open discussions between volunteers and supervisors, ensuring the right support is provided during shifts.

By focusing on pre-arranged adjustments while enhancing supervisor training, this process strengthens on-site support while empowering volunteers to communicate their needs directly.