Campaign group Boycott Workfare is encouraging activists to report to them any charities and organisations involved in workfare to “name and shame” them.

Workfare, officially known as mandatory work activity, involves requiring people on benefits to work for free, either for charities or businesses, or face the loss of benefits.

Boycott Workfare believes charities should not be involved in the practice, and has successfully lobbied a number of organisations to withdraw from mandatory work activity.

Its latest drive forms part of its Week of Action vs Workfare and Sanctions, which it is holding the week before the election and encouraging people to demand an end to forced workfare and benefit sanctions. It is claiming that “charities and sanctions don’t mix”.

It has said that today it is supporting the Keep Volunteering Voluntary Campaign, a petition which charities and voluntary organisations can sign as a promise that they will not participate in government workfare schemes. Over 540 organisations have now signed the petition, including Action for Children, Cafod, Crisis and Oxfam.

Boycott Workfare says it wants “all voluntary work to be freely chosen”, and is asking people to encourage organisations to sign the Keep Volunteering Voluntary pledge.

It is asking people to ask charities they support if they are involved in any such schemes, and to contact “persistent workfare-using charities”, naming the YMCA and Groundwork UK as such examples.

The YMCA and Groundwork UK have not responded to an invitation to comment.