Tempo Time Credits have no monetary value, a volunteer can earn them for the time they have spent contributing to their community. These can be exchanged within the Tempo Time Credit recognition network for a product, service or activity.

No there is no set period of time. A person might only ever earn one Tempo Time Credit, they may earn them infrequently, or as often as they are able to.

There is no expiry date however, people must sign up to the Tempo Time Credits website in order to earn the credits and some recognition opportunities may be subject to availability.

Tempo Time Credits aim to build stronger communities and using them is a really important part of this. Using your Tempo Time Credits is a way for people to get involved in different activities, develop new hobbies, visit places they may not have been to before and get to know more people in their local area. Using Tempo Time Credits can also help people to do things they may not have been able to afford before or had not thought about taking part in. Making sure that people use the Tempo Time Credits they have earned is vital if they are to get the most from them.

Tempo Time Credits can be exchanged for a wide variety of products, services and activities, subject to availability. Click here for more information. 

Click here for more information to become a Recognition partner or contact our friendly team to get the ball rolling: Hello@wearetempo.org.

We believe everyone has something to give, regardless of age or disability. We work with a wide range of organisations including day centres and social care providers to make sure opportunities for earning and using Tempo Time Credits are available to everyone.

Carers or support workers can be given free entry with anyone who has earned Tempo Time Credits and needs extra assistance, depending on the policy of the venue you are attending. If a member or someone you know or support has accessibility needs, please call our friendly partners before visiting, they’ll be happy to help and advise on their policy.

Please read our separate FAQs for all information on this here.

Yes, Tempo Time Credits are fully transferable. You could give them to a family member or friend to use, or use them to take a friend to an activity with you. We’ve had lots of people use them to say thank you to people who’ve helped them out. Please read our separate FAQs for all information on this here.

From an organisation or group’s point of view, people earning or using Tempo Time Credits should be no different to ordinary volunteers. They should be managed in the same way as other volunteers and any structures or processes that are in place should also apply.

You still need to make sure that your volunteers and community members are safe and may need to provide induction, training and DBS checks as appropriate for your group or service. You are responsible for managing the volunteers and ensuring that any risks are appropriately managed. If you have any concerns about this, we can advise you on where to get support.

A good place to start is volunteering England:

www.volunteeringengland.org.uk

or the Wales Council for Voluntary Action:

www.wcva.org.uk

You are responsible for the health and safety of any people earning or using Tempo Time Credits with you. Any Tempo Time Credit earning and recognition activity must be covered by the health & safety management, insurance, policies and procedures of your organisation or service. We know that some smaller community groups might not have these processes in place so we can also provide support and templates for events where you might need to make sure you’ve thought about risk and health and safety. Just get in touch with your local Tempo Time Credits team. We cannot take responsibility for health & safety procedures or accept liability for any damages that occur at Tempo Time Credit activities organised by your organisation, group or external partners.

taff can earn Tempo Time Credits, however, it is very important that any earning activities are clearly differentiated from their usual work, are not included in their job description and are voluntary, to avoid any suggestion of job substitution. You should also go through any steps you would go through with other people that give their time to your organisation. We suggest that just to make everything crystal clear you ask staff to sign a form that clarifies that earning activity is not expected under their paid role and is being undertaken on a voluntary basis.

If staff are being given paid time off by their place of work to volunteer, they are not able to earn Tempo Time Credits as they are being paid for their time.

Yes. It is possible for trustees or school governors to earn Tempo Time Credits, however, there are some practical considerations. Please read our FAQs on this here.

We also encourage organisations to consider how Tempo Time Credits will help to improve their outcomes and in particular involve and support the users of their services to play an active role in designing and delivering activities.

No. Tempo Time Credits cannot be backdated and should be given out as close as possible to the time they were earned.

This is to avoid flooding the local network with large numbers of Tempo Time Credits suddenly and to avoid individuals having a large stockpile of credits that can lose their perceived value.

Tempo aims to provide groups and services with as much support as possible to ensure that you get the most out of Tempo Time Credits. 

We will support you to set up Tempo Time Credits in your organisation or service, including developing, earning and recognition opportunities, communicating Tempo Time Credits, and understanding administration. If your group is part of a program, it may also be invited to local network events.