Part 1 of 3: The Clerk as Employee & HR Advisor Series

When I was asked to present on this topic for Scribe Academy, I knew immediately it would resonate with clerks across the country. My credentials include being a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (FCILEx), Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD), and Chartered Manager with the Chartered Management Institute (CMgr FCMI), alongside qualifications in HR and Strategic Management and CILCA certification.

After over 25 years as a chief officer at councils, 8 years as a part-time parish clerk, 10 years as a National Advisor for the SLCC, and 8 years as a senior lawyer at a Unitary authority I've seen firsthand the HR challenges that trip up even experienced clerks.

At Council HR and Governance Support, we're continuously carrying out investigations at councils—we currently have three ongoing and three more commissioned. While about 70% involve councillor behaviour, 30% are either jointly clerk issues or solely clerk issues. Many of these stem from basic HR mistakes that could have been easily avoided.

This three-part series will help you navigate your dual role as both an employee and HR advisor. In this first instalment, we'll focus on building solid HR foundations through essential policies.

Understanding Your HR Responsibility

As the proper officer of your council, you're responsible for ensuring HR policies are in place—even if you're not an HR specialist. This is often where clerks make their first mistake, assuming the council should provide policies to them rather than understanding their role in recommending and implementing these essential framework documents. 

You are responsible for providing councillors with policies to consider and adopt. It's a common mistake clerks make, thinking the council should provide HR policies to them. As the proper officer, this is your responsibility.

Essential Policies: Must-Have vs Should-Have

Must-Have Policies

These are legally required and form the backbone of your HR framework:

Health and Safety Policies are mandatory for councils with five or more employees, but good practice regardless of size. 

Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures are legally required for all employers. These are your most critical policies, but here's the challenge: standard policies often don't cater well for clerk-specific scenarios.

Employment Basics must be covered:

• Holiday entitlements
• Parental or caring duties (maternity, paternity, adoption leave)
• Harassment and bullying policies

Sexual Harassment Policy is becoming mandatory for all employers and will soon include prevention of harassment by third parties. Given our sector's public-facing nature, I expect significant cases once this comes into full effect.

Should-Have Policies

While not legally mandated, these provide crucial protection:

• Redundancy and retirement policies
• Flexible working arrangements
• Performance management frameworks
• Bereavement and compassionate leave

I recently advised a client whose bereavement leave policy stated decisions would be "at the discretion of the clerk or chairman." This creates uncertainty and potential discrimination risks—exactly what policies should prevent.

Equality Act 2010 Requirements

Equality, inclusion and diversity should run through all aspects of your council's policies. You must consider all protected characteristics:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

This isn't just about having a separate equality policy—these considerations should be embedded throughout your HR framework.

The Clerk-Specific Challenge

Here's where most councils fall down: standard disciplinary and grievance policies often do not cater well if the clerk is the subject of the disciplinary or grievance. This creates two major problems:

1. Reliance on non-professionals to manage a poor process: You're depending on councillors without HR experience to conduct professional procedures
2. Inadequate committee structures: Most policies don't establish proper mechanisms for handling clerk-related matters, they need to cater for a primary decision makers and an appeal mechanism,  remembering that all decisions have to be taken in accordance with Section 101 LGA 1972.  

Essential Requirements for Clerk-Specific Policies

Your policies must specifically address:

Professional Support Requirements: Both disciplinary and grievance policies should require the mayor to seek support from a preferably named HR/Local Council specialist. This support should be arranged in advance, not scrambled for when problems arise.

Committee Structures: The mechanism for dealing with processes should be fully established as part of your Annual Meeting:

• Initial matters handled by either a delegated officer or empowered committee (Disciplinary & Grievance Committee or Personnel Committee)
• Appeals go to a separate committee with no overlapping councillors
• All committees must have relevant delegated powers via your scheme of delegation

Practical Solution: I recommend your staffing committee splits into two subcommittees—one for initial disciplinary/grievance matters and another for appeals. This prevents councillors from sitting on both the original hearing and any appeal.

Policy Review and Maintenance Systems

Every policy should include:

• Adoption date at the bottom
• Review date clearly stated
• Regular review schedule: Annual for core policies like standing orders; three-yearly for HR policies unless legislation changes

Critical Timing Insight

Implement policies when relationships are good. After elections, councils can change dramatically, and it's nearly impossible to establish proper HR frameworks when relationships have deteriorated. When things are good, that's the time to ensure you're on top of all your policies.

Mandatory Training Requirements

Here's a governance recommendation that's often overlooked: within your Standing Orders, require councillors on the staffing committee to have undergone HR training. Some councils make this a condition—you can't sit on the HR committee without completing the training course. CHRGS can provide this online. 

This principle should extend to other committees:

• Finance committee members should receive financial training
• Planning committee members should understand planning processes
• It's simply good governance

We're developing an online training program specifically for councillor HR training because we do this all the time for councils currently.

Professional Support Mechanisms

Ideally, a retained HR advisor or HR department should be available who understands councils and their policies. This benefits both the council and you as the clerk.

We often deal with cases where professional support isn't in place. This means councils make mistakes, but it also makes situations incredibly stressful for clerks. I've dealt with cases where clerks needed long periods of sickness absence due to stress caused by inadequate systems.

The mechanism for professional support should be:

• Built into your policies from the start
• Arrangements made in advance when relationships are good
• Accessible to both councillors and the clerk when needed

Common Policy Mistakes to Avoid

The Generic Template Trap

Don't just download generic employment policies. They often:

• Fail to address parish/town council specific scenarios
• Don't consider the clerk's dual role
• Lack cognisance of the need for committee structures for delegation purposes
• Miss key governance requirements

The "We'll Sort It Later" Approach

Trying to establish policies and systems when relationships have broken down is virtually impossible. I cannot stress this enough: get your policies right when times are good.

The Discretionary Decision Trap

Avoid policies that leave too much to discretion without clear guidelines. This creates:

• Uncertainty for employees
• Potential discrimination risks
• Inconsistent application
• Legal vulnerabilities

Next Steps: Building Your Policy Framework

1. Audit your current policies against the must-have list
2. Identify gaps particularly around clerk-specific scenarios
3. Establish committee structures at your next Annual Meeting
4. Arrange professional support before you need it
5. Set review dates for all policies
6. Consider training requirements for your staffing committee

What's Coming Next

In Part 2 of this series, we'll explore Performance Management: From Annual Appraisals to Ongoing Success. We'll cover why clerks struggle with performance management, what effective systems look like, and how to avoid the common mistakes that lead to tribunal claims.

Part 3 will focus on Conflict Resolution: Managing Your Dual Role Under Pressure, including practical scenarios and building resilience through proper HR practices.

Watch the Full Session and Download the Slides

This three-part series is based on my presentation for Scribe Academy.

• You can watch the complete webinar (24mins) recording here.
• You can download the slides here.

About the Author

James Corrigan FCILEx, Chartered MCIPD, CMgr FCMI, DMS, PG DHR, Pg DSM, CILCA is Director of Council HR and Governance Support, bringing over 25 years of experience as a chief officer, 8 years as a part-time parish clerk, and 10 years as a National Advisor for the SLCC.

Council HR and Governance Support provides comprehensive HR services including unlimited ongoing support, dispute resolution, policy development, and training specifically designed for parish and town councils. Our policies are drafted by HR barrister Daniel Barnett and updated automatically as legislation changes.

Contact: jamescorrigan@chrgs.co.uk | 07805 472859

Important Disclaimer: Always take professional advice before acting on HR matters. This guidance is for general information purposes and should not replace specific professional advice for your circumstances.