Does ACCA Voluntary Hrs Work Count As Part Of 20Hrs p/w

[ESCO]

I am on a/have a Student Visa doing do my ACCA exams with limited permit to stay.
I am only allowed to work 20hrs p/w during school periods and work normally during holiday.
I have passed 3 exams of 9.

I have a part-time job with Employer(A) of which I do 14hrs p/w, during school periods.

I NEEDED to gain expeience, so 6 MTHS later, I approached Employer(A - who initially employed me for the 14hrs job)
to see if they could give me a VOLUNTARY JOB in their Finance/Accounts department in order to gain experience.

Employer(A) offered me the voluntary job, allowing me to work for another 12hrs p/w on VOLUNTARY BASIS.
Employer(A) pays me £50 p/w for transport for the voluntary work experience.

My payslip NOW shows a total of 26hrs p/w (14hrs p/w + 12hrs p/w)
Prior to taking up voluntary job, I made no Tax Or NI contribution as the amount earned were not enough for tax or NI.
With the voluntary job NOW added on my payslip (the Employed & voluntary Hrs) I now have to pay National Insurance (NI)

I now need to renew my visa in order to sit my next set papers.

My questions are :

Q1. Do/Would they count my Voluntary hours (ie the 10hrs I do on voluntary basis) as part of the 20Hrs p/w ie is the voluntary Hrs p/w inclusive/exclusive of the 20hrs p/w.

Q2. If they would they count my Voluntary hours as working hours.

Q3. On the application form they ask for our NI numbers. Is this used to track/trace how many hours we work?

Q4. Can I do to explain its voluntary when I fill my application form to renew my visa.

Any help/comments would be appreciated

Regards

[Wanderer]

Work is work mate, paid or not.

[Frontier Mole]

If the hours appear on the pay slip - paid or not - you are working those hours.

As a secondary point by receiving "expenses" you are being paid for your work. The very fact that your "expenses" are on your pay slip show it for what it is - paid work. Any explanation you provide is of little value.

Good luck with the new application, you might need it.

[taiwookunade]

Why is your employer including the expenses paid for voluntary work as part of your income. That is basically a reimbursement of expenses and should not form part of your income. Moreover, you are not supposed to be paid as a staff since you are only working for the employer in a voluntary capacity. There should be no NI, Pension, Tax or anything whatsoever on the money given to you by the company.

The above will only be valid if you usually present to the company evidence to substatiate the expenses incurred by you in coming to work. Please get in touch with your employer to educate them on this. The only document you need from your employer is a payment advice to let you know that the amount claimed in respect of your expenses has been paid into your account. There should be no pay-slip in this kind of arrangement.

I am telling you this from experience and legal point of view.