Who pays for clerk/RFO training?

Question

Myself and another new councillor were co opted onto the council a month ago. Since then the chair has abruptly resigned after serving 20 years (15 of those being the chair). She has also been the acting clerk/RFO for the last couple of years apparently due to the difficulty in recruiting a new clerk.
It has been resolved that she continue as unpaid acting clerk/RFO (for the stipulated one year after resignation) and also resolved that the council pay for her training to become a qualified clerk/RFO.
Is the council responsible for paying for her training?

Answer 1

Basically yes, the Council should have a training budget and in the private sector companies pay for staff training so why not in the public sector.  The Council will also end up with a better qualified and experienced clerk.

Comments

In normal circumstances I'd agree. However if you are effectively covering training costs to a temporary unpaid officer (whose just departed as long standing Cllr) your not really investing in staff. Presumably no decision has been taken in terms of paid future appointment for the role of Clerk/RFO. I've never been that comfortable idea a Cllr makes switch across and becomes the paid Clerk (after the time elapses doing it for free which find problematic enough).

Answer 2

Seems to be a conflict within your statement. A councillor can take on the duties of the clerk/RFO as a temporary unpaid position. ( councillors cannot be employed by the authority and an elected member.) With the chairs resignation ( as a councillor and chair) they are no longer an elected member. The council cannot employ someone as clerk as an unpaid person as it goes against all concepts of employment and therefore cannot have a contract of employment to bind them.

As far as paying for the clerks training this can only be done if the person has a contract of employment within which the payment for training is indeed enshrined as a council edict. A wise council would of course add a clause that the payment of costs of such training over what could be an extended period have a minimum period of employment by the clerk after completion otherwise a proportion or all of the cost financed by the council would need to be repaid to the council by the employee. This would restrict the use of a council as purely a free training place for an employee who then can move on thereby not allowing some equitable reward to the council as well as the employee.

Answer 3

What it seems you have here is the ASSUMPTION that the recently resigned long standing councillor / chair who was fulfilling the role of temp acting unpaid clerk will (has) resign as a Cllr and continue as unpaid Clerk for 1 year and then assume a paid / employed position as the permanent clerk.
Whereas a Cllr may undertake the temporary unpaid  role of clerk in an emergency or between resignation and recruitment, paid officers must be appointed on merit and there should be a properly constituted recruitment selection process.
If your 30 year Cllr cannot manage the unpaid acting job in the interim whilst the recruitment process is initiated then probably best to thank them and let them be on their way.
De facto what is being proposed here is that the PC pay to qualify somebody that may not even be selected for the permanent position.
Has the post be advertised?

How can you be sure there isn’t an already or better suited candidate out there who is better suited to the investment??

You can’t just assume the old guard is a shoe in for the job.