You are disqualified from standing as a candidate at elections to a particular parish if you are a paid officer or employee of that parish.1
This would be the case where your appointment:
has been made
could be made
has been confirmed by the local authority itself
has been confirmed by any committee or sub-committee of the local authority
has been confirmed by any joint committee or National Park authority where the local authority is represented by a person holding such an office or employment
However, the disqualification on the basis of being a paid officer or employee does not apply to the office of chairman, vice-chairman or deputy chairman of the parish.
Most parishes will not have committees or sub-committees, but some may. Paid officers of a parish employed under the direction of such committees or sub-committees are disqualified from standing to that parish. In addition, where such a committee or sub-committee has a member, or members, appointed on the nomination of another local authority, the disqualification will also apply to being elected to the other local authority.
If you are a paid officer of a local authority employed under the direction of a joint board, joint or combined authority, joint waste authority, economic prosperity board or joint committee, you will be disqualified from being elected as a member of all of the authorities that are represented on that body.
Joint boards, committees etc. can include various organisations, such as fire services and education authorities. Therefore, as a general rule, if you work in the local public sector, you should seek advice from your employer’s HR department to help you establish whether the disqualification would apply to you. Sometimes employment relationships can be complex and if this is the case for you, we recommend that you seek your own legal advice.
This disqualification applies on both the date of your nomination and on polling day. If you were employed by the parish council, you must have resigned and served any notice period before the date of your nomination to avoid having a contract of employment with the parish council at that time.