Elections Staff
Election Staff 2024
Employed by: The Returning Officer
Current Poll Clerk fee: £177.14 (17 hours at £10.42 per hour)
Contract Term: 0 hours
The Returning Officer for Lancaster City Council is seeking applications of interest from members of the public who wish to be part of a pool of casual staff to work on election day.
At every major election the Returning Officer relies on dedicated additional staff to support the democratic process and allow electors to cast their vote. The vital role played by polling station staff ensures that voters can cast their vote in secret, free from influence and in a calm and professional atmosphere.
Applications are welcome from anyone over the age of 18 who has the right to work in the UK.
All staff employed by the Returning Officer must be absolutely impartial and will be required to sign a statement to confirm that they are not a member of a political party and that they must not and will not canvass for, assist or openly support a campaign for a particular political party or candidate at the election.
The next scheduled election is the Police and Crime Commissioner Election on Thursday 2 May 2024.
A UK Parliamentary General Election will also take place before 28 January 2025.
Please email electionsrecruitment@lancaster.gov.uk once you have read the additional information attached and we will send you further documents to complete.
Existing election staff need not reply to this advert.
Recruitment of Poll Clerks to work for the Returning Officer, Lancaster City Council
For each major election, the Returning Officer will recruit over 300 staff to work in polling stations on election day. We welcome applications from anyone over the age of 18 who is not a member of a political party.
- A poll clerk works in a polling station under the guidance of a presiding officer.
- A poll clerk will check that an elector is included on the register of electors, check ID and issue a ballot paper.
- We have over 100 polling stations across the Lancaster district and will try, where possible, to place you at a polling station close to your home. If you are able to travel we can place you further afield and there may be more employment opportunities available to you.
- Polling hours are 7am to 10pm, so you will need to be at the polling station from 6.30am and will be able to leave once everything is packed up and cleared away (by 10.30pm at the very latest).
- You will need to provide an email address as part of your application, and be able to complete online training which is a requirement of your appointment.
- The Returning Officer has a different payroll to the City Council. Once you have completed an application to work on elections, you will be asked to provide copies of documents to verify you have the right to work in the UK.
- Being on the database of staff does not guarantee an offer of employment.
- The fee for employment as a poll clerk at the last election was £177.14.
An email address is essential as most of our communications will be sent to you by email. Once we have assessed your application we will contact you again.
How to apply
Please email electionsrecruitment@lancaster.gov.uk and we will send you a form to complete and return.