Change of Clerk Handover Checklist

Change of Clerk Handover Checklist

When there is a change of clerk it can be daunting to think of the number of things which must be handed over in a timely manner. In an ideal world, the outgoing clerk will have some overlap with the new clerk, but this rarely happens because many clerks are only required to work a month’s notice. If a council is fortunate, it will enjoy a good working relationship with its outgoing clerk and may be able to arrange some form of handover to the new clerk.

This article nowhere near an exhaustive list. It simply highlights the point that the handover between clerks needs some careful thought and planning. Otherwise it will consume more time than it needs to, and things will fall through the gaps.

The real key is to remember that handovers take time and patience and there will inevitably be some things that take much longer than expected. For example, a task such as “Set up laptop in new clerk’s house” is something that could take 5 minutes or 5 hours! And if the new clerk is only contracted for 10 hours per week those hours could disappear quite quickly!