Is it the chairman job to make sure the clerk works the right hrs

Question

Also is it the chair’s duty to make sure the clerk takes the right holidays due or does the parish council just trust the clerk

Answer 1

Unless your standing orders say otherwise, it is the collective responsibility of all councillors to ensure the clerk takes the correct allocation of days as annual leave.  If the clerk was chair of a staffing committee and that committees terms of reference said that the annual leave had to be approved by the chair if that committee, then it could apply.

Comments

Ask the Clerk to keep a time sheet which includes a holiday tracker and submit it to the Full Parish Council each week / month / meeting as appropriate.
I have started doing this and I am very surprised how many hours extra I have been working ( This is not my main job). Holidays need to be run past the Council as there will potentially be some planning of resource required ( If only a Part time Clerk) .

Answer 2

The chairman of the council only has two jobs greater than any other councillor. 1) to chair the meetings of the council and 2) to represent the council in matters as instructed by the council.

Anyone who has been part of a council will of course know that many chairs feel that they take on extra duties to ensure the smooth running of a council.

Answer 3

The council, perhaps via the HR committee, should manage the clerks working schedule and leave allocation.
Are you asking because nobody is doing it and nobody knows what hours are worked, when leave is due / taken / outstanding?  That seems to be a common situation and it also seems commonplace that clerks will take advantage of the peculiarities of their employment to exploit such information and management deltas.
If, as an individual Cllr, you cannot reconcile to support the salary liability when presented, vote no for payment and when enough cllrs realise they have absolutely no idea what they are voting for maybe it will bring the necessary change…

Comments

Surely this is a potential breach of contract by the Council? I would not think any councillor would want to stop the clerk being paid if they have a legally sanctioned and executed  contract of employment ? The HR or staffing committee should be engaged in an appraisal of the clerk and review of workload / timesheets .

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Hi I was just asking be cause no one seems to know what holidays the clerk should have The clerk does report in her item to report when she is going on holiday the chair does an appraisal once a year know one ever see a time sheet or asks for one we have councillors who have been on the council for 40 years plus if some one asks questions we are told to trust the clerk it looks to me the pc  is so badly run it makes me think it time to leave

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I was ‘reading between the lines’ of your original question Andrew - and it seems, we’re on the same page.
Do not despair, do not give up, do not quit - please!

So many good people seem to give up because they simply cannot break through the treacle of mediocrity and lack of vision.
If you give up - you hand it to them on a plate! Even on these pages you see people saying they are planning to throw the towel in because they cannot break through the ignorance and mediocrity.
Just stick to what you know to be the right path. Challenge the norm and insist on information exchange and answers to simple questions.
Don’t give in, there are probably more people than you realise that have frustrations and impatience with ‘the system’ and at some point it WILL come right — but only if you stick to your principles!

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The Clerk's annual leave entitlement should be specified in the contract of employment. Ask for a copy of it and if you are not given one let us know why.