Questions about town and parish councils
Follow Councillor Q&A on BlueSky

Follow us on BlueSky

0 votes
The Parish Clerk stopped all communications with the Parish Council, switched off dedicated mobile phone, doesn’t respond to emails, ignores all attempts of the council to contact her for months. Was notified in writing of her need to submit a letter of resignation, so to allow the PC to appoint a new Clerk. No response, no resignation.

Can we legally dismiss the clerk for gross misconduct and abandoning the duties?
by (130 points)

4 Answers

0 votes
Was there a break down in relations before this happened? Could she be dead?

Just make sure you follow proper process and then of course you can sack her if she is behaving as you say. But if you don't follow the proper process to the letter then it could come back to bite you.
by (6.9k points)
No, she’s not dead as she’s still attending other parishes as a clerk.
None of us are aware of any break in relations as one meeting everything was ok, next she was supposedly ill, and then no more comms were received.
0 votes
A wise solicitor who I trusted implicitly once said to me "start from the inquest and work backwards".  In other words assume that whatever could go wrong, does go wrong, and get your act together!

In these circumstances I would be doing one (or both of) a) getting advice from ACAS, and/or b) getting an hour's advice from an employment law solicitor and acting on it.  That may be considered by some to be a waste of money ... but it could also be a prudent investment.

You need to be able to DEMONSTRATE that you have acted reasonably.
by (11.6k points)
0 votes
101% agree with ensuring you follow your legal and contractual obligations as an employer regardless of the employees actions or inaction in this case. Record everything ( and prove) every action and communication you make.
by (28.8k points)
+1 vote

Send a recorded delivery letter, or better still, 'serve' a letter by dropping it at their feet during a meeting of one of the other councils (thereby achieving witness of service) which sets out the breaches of contract and the remedies required within a specified timeframe.

ACAS guidance is perfectly clear here:

https://www.acas.org.uk/unauthorised-absence

click 'next' twice to get to the section about dismissal.

Don't be panicked into spending money on legal advice, all the guidance you need is readily available and if they are continuing similar work elsewhere it's obviously not a 'concern for welfare' scenario.

If they Ian't working they ain't entitled to be paid...

by (24.8k points)

Welcome to Town & Parish Councillor Q&A, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of the community. All genuine questions and answers are welcome. Follow us on Twitter to see the latest questions as they are asked - click on the image button above or follow @TownCouncilQA. Posts from new members may be delayed as we are unfortunately obliged to check each one for spam. Spammers will be blacklisted.

You may find the following links useful:

We have a privacy policy and a cookie policy.

Clares Cushions logo Peacock cushion

Clare's Cushions creates beautiful hand made cushions and home accessories from gorgeous comtemporary fabrics. We have a fantastic selection of prints including Sophie Allport and Orla Kiely designs and most covers can be ordered either alone or with a cushion inner. Buying new cushions is an affordable and effective way to update your home interior, they're also a great gift idea. Visit our site now

3,125 questions
6,178 answers
8,608 comments
10,922 users
Google Analytics Alternative