Advisory service

Parish and town councils increasingly take on more responsibilities, providing various essential services to their communities. This growth underscores the need for robust human resources management to support these efforts effectively. Ensuring parish and town councils have well-trained, competent staff is crucial. Proper HR strategies are vital for recruiting, developing, and retaining talent. Through effective HR practices, parish and town councils can uphold the quality and sustainability of their services and activities.

We have partnered with WorkNest to provide free and confidential advisory services to parish and town councils. WorkNest is a powerhouse of employment law, HR and health and safety support services, weaving pragmatic advice with powerful technology platforms. They provide high-quality and professional advice and support. Their services, whether working alongside internal teams or providing a fully outsourced solution, help employers proactively solve their employment, safety, and well-being challenges, ensure compliance, and achieve their strategic objectives. Over 40,000 UK employers across 45 vertical sectors now seek their help on some of their most sensitive issues. Recognised by The Legal 500 as a leading employment law firm, WorkNest’s legal team comprises solicitors, barristers and chartered legal professionals whose combined experience of supporting organisations is unrivalled, so you can be sure you’re safe.

Our members can access HR advice from professionals specialising in parish and town council employment through their county association. This support comes from our HR advisers or through local arrangements managed by county associations.

Your county association will triage your query, signposting to existing guidance and information or submitting your query to us or a local adviser. We cannot accept queries directly unless your parish or town council is part of the Direct Access Scheme. Once we have logged your query, we will respond to requests for advice within 15 days. We receive a high volume of requests with urgent deadlines. We endeavour to meet these deadlines. This will, however, depend on our capacity.