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Original poster

£203 for a day of work - thought I'd share for those who fancy it

115 replies

BatFaceOwl · 20/04/2023 16:52

I do this a lot but thought I'd share for those who may not be aware - it's a long day (very long!) but easy money

Councils are currently recruiting for polling clerks. The pay is £183 for the day (obviously 4th May!) plus £20 for the easy online training.

Just fill in the form online, no interview required, position allocated to you within a day or so.

I don't actually 'work' for the council! I run my own business but I do this when I can as it's nice and easy - although long!

Any questions, just ask away and I'll see if I can answer

OP posts:
Greensleevevssnotnose · 20/04/2023 16:53

Nice one. I always thought they were volunteers

WhiteBobbin · 20/04/2023 16:54

How do you apply? Is it a l all council thing?

Mimosa08 · 20/04/2023 16:54

Do you have a link?

WhiteBobbin · 20/04/2023 16:54

*local

Anythingbutsnow · 20/04/2023 16:55

What hours?

Original poster
BatFaceOwl · 20/04/2023 16:56

God not volunteers! I swear to god I wouldn't willingly do it!!

It's 6.30am ish to 10pm ish so a long slog so don't be under any illusions

Google 'polling clerks+ your local council' and it'll come up with all sorts of positions

You could be a runner for £18 an hour or a counter for about £20 etc etc

OP posts:
ItsNotWhatItsNot · 20/04/2023 16:56

The hours and how to apply will vary across all council districts. I looked in to doing it in my area, but couldn’t be bothered going to the library to use their computer and printer for the format of the forms.

Original poster
BatFaceOwl · 20/04/2023 16:58

I suddenly remembered last night that the election was creeping up so logged on, filled in the form, emailed it ... position for clerk confirmed at 7.30am today

And it's straightforward if you haven't done it before. All you do it check ID, tidy up and try not to look too bored.

For 15 long hours

OP posts:
Original poster
BatFaceOwl · 20/04/2023 16:59

So to give you an idea here's the link for my local areas - they'll all be similar. Different but similar

www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/vale-of-white-horse-district-council/local-democracy-and-elections/elections-and-voting/job-opportunities-at-elections/

OP posts:
Original poster
BatFaceOwl · 20/04/2023 16:59

@ItsNotWhatItsNot that's a shame. I do it all from my iPhone - the form for my council is very easy

OP posts:
caringcarer · 20/04/2023 17:02

That is very kind of you to share this information. I'm sure some people will be interested.

TankFlyBoss · 20/04/2023 17:04

I used to do this a lot and have worked maybe 15 elections as a poll clerk. I always quite enjoyed it, it's quite sociable and although it is a long slog, I agree it's very easy money.

Original poster
BatFaceOwl · 20/04/2023 17:06

@caringcarer it suddenly entered my head that actually, others could really benefit from this and they've honestly usually got lots of positions that they're keen to fill. Doesn't have to be the extremely long day of boredom 😀

OP posts:
Original poster
BatFaceOwl · 20/04/2023 17:06

@TankFlyBoss yes it's pretty excruciating when you look at the time to see you've still got about 100 hours to go 😀

OP posts:
redspottedmug · 20/04/2023 17:29

DH and I both do this. He's counting postal votes for the next few days, think it's about £14/hour.

And we're both doing the polling station. It IS a long day, you cannot leave the station at all, so have to bring food and drink with you.

Blondeshavemorefun · 20/04/2023 17:43

Sounds fab but shame can't do half a day as for many with young kids they can't do early start and late finish

hettiethehare · 20/04/2023 17:48

I've done this before - it is very easy money if you can give up a full day to do it. I did the count the next day the last time I did it as well.

£550 for one long day and one short day (plus a bit of training) - and it was lovely to meet all the voters as well.

StrawberriesSW1 · 20/04/2023 17:55

Must you be a resident if not council worker? When I worked at a council many colleagues did it.
If you keep at it you get the more senior roles which come with a chauffeur driven car.

Showersugar · 20/04/2023 18:00

Is this classed as taxable income? I'm worried about it messing up my self-employed status!

Chowtime · 20/04/2023 18:02

Showersugar · 20/04/2023 18:00

Is this classed as taxable income? I'm worried about it messing up my self-employed status!

Yes the income is taxable. It won't mess up your self employed status, just add this income to your tax return.

hettiethehare · 20/04/2023 18:03

@Showersugar - mine was paid PAYE (which meant I got a tiny amount of holiday pay as well) but I just added it in the employed section of my tax return with no issues.

Showersugar · 20/04/2023 18:05

Really helpful thank you

unsync · 20/04/2023 18:09

I've Poll Clerked a lot. It is quite fun, especially if you are always with the same people. Once you have clerked a few, you can go for Presiding Officer. It carries more responsibility, but the pay is better. Also, if there is more than one ballot, you get more pay - so elections for Parish, District and County = 3 payments.

It is interesting to be part of the election process. You will not be working in your own area though, so as you cannot leave your Polling Station during opening hours, if you want to vote, remember to register for a postal vote.

lljkk · 20/04/2023 18:11

I applied weeks ago, they didn't take me on.

I used to count overnight but i was so bad at it that my tablemates had to recount everything I did. Mortifying. Not signing up for that again.

Ragwort · 20/04/2023 18:21

I imagine it will be quite tough at next month's local elections with the requirement for photo ID for the first time ...

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