Does the parish clerk HAVE to sign the contract on behalf of the council for their replacement

Question

We are recruiting a new Parish Clerk but have been advised by our chair that the new clerk’s contract has to be signed on behalf of the council by the current clerk, as they are the only paid employee of the council.

This seems extraordinarily inappropriate to us councillors- Is this the case or can it be signed by the chair, or vice-chair?

Answer 1

Absolutely not. Contracts need to be signed by a councillor, authorised by the council to do so.

Comments

Suggest you check your standing orders and financial regulations first as this may be specified in there.  Whilst the key statement above "authorised by the council to do so" is important, the proper officer of the council is often specified as the person who should sign and in some circumstances standing orders state that contracts (not just employment contracts) must be signed by two councillors and the clerk.  I've seen many variations on this theme over the years.

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I do not believe (and will stand corrected if necessary) that "the proper office of the council is often specified ... ", to sign contracts.  My recollection is that contracts should be signed by two councillors, or if one exists, by attaching the Seal of the Council.  In the case of a contract of employment, it should be signed by the chairman who, as Counterpoint correctly points out, should act on the decision of the council.

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I have checked and our standing orders do not mention employment contracts at all!!

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Thank you very much - this is what we all thought