Accountability

Question

I have just been told that the clerk does not have to share employment information to the Parish Council ?? I was of the understanding that the PC are the employers. Can anyone shed some light on this.

I have requested a copy of their contract and payscale as they have given themselves a 120% pay increase. 

I have been told by the clerk " Any clerk does not need to explain hours or pay with anyone - this includes Cllrs. It is on a need to basis only "

TIA

Answer 1

Who agreed the 120% payrise?  If it was the personnel committee, then they need to provide the reasoning behind this. The clerk doesn't 'give themselves' a payrise, all payments have to be approved by the council.
Has the come from the fact that the local government pay agreement has just landed?  This should be backdated to 1st April and therefore there will be a balloon payment in this months or next months payroll figure.  Perhaps this explains the 120%...?

Comments

I suppose the increase may justify this, all we have been presented with is a clerk salary gone up by over double in the proposed budget for next year. No explanation given apart from they don't have to explain it to the PC

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Either the whole Council or the Staffing Committee if there is one must make this decision. No individual Councillor may do so and the Clerk certainly can't. If your interpretation of this is correct, it is a disciplinary matter. It's tantamount to theft.

The position of Clerk may need to be re-evaluated if this hasn't happened for a long time, as regrading is sometimes necessary and working hours may need to be increased if the workload justifies it, but this is part of the everyday role of any employer and should follow a proper annual appraisal process.

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The budget must agreed by full council so at the point where you do this, assuming you've not already done this, the question has to be asked why the salaries budget appears to have increased by considerably more than inflation?  It may be, for example, that provision is being made for an increase in staff?  As others have said, the clerk has no authority to "give themselves an increase".  It would have to be approved by whoever has authority to do so (possibly a committee if you've delegated authority to a committee for example but otherwise by full council) and in doing so there should be an explanation of how the figure has been arrived at.

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... and you should be able to read a minuted resolution of the council (or of the staffing committee if it has delegated authority) that states " That the salary of the clerk be increased to £XXX as from XXX date.