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+1 vote
I complained to my local Parish Council about the Council Clerk, specifically ignoring valid points of order (which later lead to a code of conduct violation by another Councillor) writing substantially inaccurate minutes, and misrepresentation in the press (It was libellous but I didn't want to escalate it). I offered overwhelming evidence supporting each claim (they refused to consider the evidence) and subsequently the personnel committee exonerated the Clerk and did not explain their decision in detail.
FYI: most members of the personnel committee don't like me as I commonly ask 'difficult' questions and are they are all friendly with the Clerk.

I tired to get the Local Government Ombudsman and my local monitoring officer to investigate however both have stated it is not in their remit. It seems that this Clerk is completely unaccountable for her actions.

What options are there to seek redress for the behaviour of this Clerk?
by (360 points)

6 Answers

0 votes
Of course the problem here is that such matters all  points have a subjective face that should be considered .In such cases clear specification of the matter being complained about should be the basis upon which an investigation can be progressed. It is a mistake to provide a long list of gripes which can look like an emotional build up. Times, places and factual evidence should be presented which enables a clear and precise answer to be provided on the points made. If such answers are not forthcoming then the failure point can be pressed home until an answer is given.
Making multiple accusations in one big package allows the accused the possibility to pick and chose which items are incorrect or inaccurate thereby casting doubt on ALL points raised and prove the point they  are being attacked by someone who doesn't like them .If you then have a biased committee(your assumption) this does not allow the best investigation to take place and an honest conclusion to be arrived at. Do not give them the reason to kick  it into the long grass
by (26.4k points)
0 votes
It might be possible to get your Council's external auditor to at least inform the Council that they have governance issues and issue recommendations to resolve them which would appear in the public domain.  That would depend on the Clerk making false declarations on the governance return section of the AGAR and being responsible for actions that could have an adverse financial impact on the council.
by (34.9k points)
+3 votes
Short answer there is no way to seek redress

What’s happening to you is commonplace throughout the country where some Clerks are allowed to do exactly what they want and Councillors are either incapable of addressing the problem or don’t want the aggravation of trying to address it
I know of Parish Councils where the Clerks poor behaviour is tolerated even though they would be instantly suspension or dismissed in other parts of the public sector or private industry
Don’t get me wrong I’ve met many brilliant Clerks but even they would admit that some of their colleagues fall far short of expectations
by (11.5k points)
0 votes
The role of the parish clerk is changing and they are starting to have to be more accountable and more IT literate.

some clerks are struggling with this evolution
by (6.3k points)
+1 vote
It isn't clear from your post whether the Clerk's deemed shortcomings result from a determination to act in a particular manner or merely a lack of understanding and/or training. I am aware of several clerks who were appointed by councils seeking somebody to take the minutes and record the financial transactions and these elderly ladies now find themselves trapped, completely out of their depth, in a role that has changed beyond all recognition. There's an unspoken agreement between the two parties to look after each other, but this can have unforeseen consequences.
by (52.9k points)
I can honestly say I am a strong person but the behaviour of Councillors and the Clerk is grinding me down. When I asked association of Parish councils a question they provided a response. The clerk is not having it and neither is the Staff Committee, the clerk contacted the associations CEO did not share the information pre meeting and proceeded to challenge my proposals on her interpretation of the CEO's reply during the meeting, on top of this I was challenged on why I had not asked Staff Committee, there are only so many times one can ask and be ignored. I have returned to the association who have renegade on the information provided to me. Is the association worth the cost since they appear to support the Clerk and not the council. On top of this the ToR for staff committee being presented for ratification at the AGM has been amended to 'The committee is appointed to make decisions about staffing matters, subject to annual budget limits set by Full Council'
I take 2 really key points from your post which describes a sadly familiar story.

Firstly:

We should never underestimate the pernicious and cumulative impact of a poorly functioning PC.
Whether that be through failure to serve the community, failure towards its constituent parts (the Cllrs) or failure to employees.
Whereas it seems relatively commonplace to see clerks complaining of poor PCs - and utilising the well established, gold plated protections afforded by the established systems to facilitate promote and protect the continuation of poor performance -  it is sadly rare to hear of Cllr’s utilising a similar protective system.  I’d go so far as to say there are identifiable barriers to individual Cllr’s holding poorly performing PCs (and clerks) to account.
PCs that fail Cllr’s are (I suspect) much more common than any example of failure of a PC as an employer towards its staff.  The main difference being - a clerk will fall back on the gold plated grievance procedure (sometimes to shield them self from rightful criticism and generate a culture of invincibility) and a Cllr will most likely “put up and shut up” or resign.  Once in a while, there are Cllr’s that are made of sterner stuff and, regardless of the efforts of a PC or clerk, they will not yield to corporate intimidation and they will not tolerate incompetence.
I suspect this theory would be borne out by the figures (if they were available) of repeat resignations and co-options to PCs and the general lack of public willingness to even start down the path of becoming a parish councillor.

Granted, the 2 functions of clerk and Cllr are notably different - one being a direct employee of a PC, the other being a voluntary member.  That said, some of the protections normally associated with being an employee (which are then gold plated and turbo charged in relation to any circumstance where local government / local authority is involved) naturally cross-over (in degrees) to the voluntary sector.

HSE ‘touches’ upon it here:

https://www.hse.gov.uk/voluntary/when-it-applies.htm

Maybe, when time permits, it will be interesting to explore the civil liabilities of a voluntary entity towards its volunteers.

The second point being that of local associations.

From my own perspective, when I joined a dysfunctional PC generating the interest and support to subscribe to the local association was a natural and necessary first step.  The ‘old sweats’ including the 20 year served clerk were naturally opposed to the idea since any perceived ‘challenge’ to their established MO was seen as a threat.

Circumstance came together to result in that clerk “resigning” and the process of seeking and engaging a new one was naturally and unarguably best done as a member of the local association.

As the years rolled by however, it has become apparent that the local association is perhaps not the overarching, super advisor and mentor that it presents itself to be.  There was resistance from clerk, PC chair AND the local association to allow access to the association document library and newsletter for individual Cllr’s.  “Knowledge is power” and it was clearly apparent that shared knowledge was perceived as a threat to power.  
I see the problem being that those in local association executive roles are likely to have gained that position having risen up through local authority or local government positions and - of itself - that carries with it the bad habits and institutionalised way of thinking and working - including the observation that they may appear to be a support function to the clerk rather than the council.  Maybe they should have a little think about who it is that votes to approve the membership and start thinking more about who they should be providing support to.

Local associations - are they worth the money?  Jury still out on that one.
To follow on from the comment above about organisational responsibility towards volunteers (acknowledging that some here don't seem to look upon Cllr's as volunteers) it would appear from recent reading that an organisation that is an employer and has volunteers has a clearly defined role in H&S law (HaSaWA s3) towards volunteers.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/section/3


Now that would make for an interesting test case.  Rather than a clerk complaining that they are stressed because there is too much work, what about a Cllr complaining that they are suffering mental health issues as a consequence of inappropriate corporate behaviour...

It is nicely summarised here:

https://www.lawworks.org.uk/sites/default/files/files/LW-NFPP-C19-VOL-Response-Vol.pdf

and the paragraph headed "liability" on page 4 could quite easily be transcribed to a PC:

"...This could include committee members and senior managers, as well as the individuals directly involved..."

Maybe this is the thus far much elusive means of holding an errant or dysfunctional PC to account - a prosecution under H&S law....
Unfortunately, those who vote the chair are the majority.
I don't understand what you mean.  The chair is always voted by majority.  If what you mean is the majority of the PC are making you feel - "I can honestly say I am a strong person but the behaviour of Councillors and the Clerk is grinding me down" then that may actually 'fit' my proposition that the corporate entity is failing in its responsibility to you as a volunteer.  HaSaWA s3.
0 votes

That's an interesting point about excluding councillor(s) from the HR (or any other committee.

Whilst there is a statutory exemption for the exclusion of the press & public, there isn't - so far as I'm aware - a mechanism for excluding councillors.  I may be wrong, but why not just turn up at the next staffing committee and it in?

by (6.4k points)

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