General election jobs available at Leicester City Council

A number of electoral jobs have become available on Leicester City Council’s website since Rishi Sunak announced that a new general election will be held on Thursday 4th July.

The website explained that the role of polling station staff was to ensure that voters could cast their vote secretly, without influence and in a calm atmosphere. Staff should arrive at the polling station at 6:15 a.m. to set up the equipment in time for the opening at 7 a.m. on July 4, the release said.

On that day, staff would not be allowed to leave the premises during voting hours to preserve the secrecy of the vote and protect the integrity of the process. The polling station will close at 22.00.

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There are seven roles in total, including Poll Clerk, Evening Poll Clerk, Presiding Officer, Postal Ballot Collection Team, Postal Ballot Opening, Unused Ballot Team and Ballot Verification and Counting.

Some of the roles are for Thursday 4th July and others are for both polling day and the early hours of Friday 5th July. Vote-by-mail staff will be needed from Thursday, June 27 through Thursday, July 4. To apply for jobs, the city council says you must be over 18, have the right to work in the UK, have a good level of English, not have worked for a candidate in the election you want to work and be able to work for the full period indicated.

Polling station roles are available

Voting Clerk

What the site says you’ll do:

Working in a polling station located across Leicester, you will help the polling station run smoothly on the day. This includes registering people when they arrive at the station, checking their voter ID and issuing ballot papers. Helping those who may need assistance in the voting process. You will work a 16 hour day, taking adequate breaks throughout the day. Polling station staff are not allowed to leave the premises during voting hours.

Working hours for this role 06:15 – 23:00, Thursday 4th July. Total salary £212.

Evening polling clerk

What the site says you’ll do:

You will carry out the same duties as the poll clerk (as above) in the evening.

Working hours for this role 5.15pm – 10.15pm, Thursday 4th July. Total salary £80.

chairman

What the site says you’ll do:

You will be responsible for conducting voting in the polling station with a good knowledge of voting procedures.

Working hours for this role 06:00 – 23:00, Thursday 4th July. Total salary £344.81.

Postal Vote Collection Team

What the site says you’ll do:

You will visit around seven locations to collect postal votes which have been handed in at the polling station. The first round of visits will take place between 18:00 and 19:00 and the second round of visits will take place between 20:00 and 21:00. After each round of visits you must go directly to Mattioli Arena, Memory Lane, to send in all the postal votes you have collected.

Working hours for this role 6pm – 9pm, Thursday 4th July. Total salary £53.28

Opening of postal votes

What the site says you’ll do:

You will open postal ballot envelopes, ensuring completeness of documentation. You will count the ballots in batches while maintaining the secrecy of the votes. You must be available to work on all days and times listed. If all postal votes are processed on a given day, you may be released early, but you will still be paid for a minimum of 4 hours each day. You must be available to stay until the completion of each session you are assigned to and have transportation arrangements in place for late shifts.

Working hours for this role 10am – 5pm, Thursday 27 June – Thursday 4 July. Hourly pay £13.32.

Team unused ballots

What the site says you’ll do:

You will unpack unused ballots and check them against a ballot account. You will be handing out verified ballots, some calculation work is involved.

Working hours for this role 10pm – 2am, Thursday 2 July 4 to Friday 5 July. Total salary £79.92.

Verification and counting of ballots

What the site says you’ll do:

You will work from 9pm until the count ends overnight. Pay is based on six and a half hours of work. Hours worked beyond these hours will be paid at £19.98 per hour. Accuracy is crucial in this role. You will check the votes first, this means confirming the total number of votes in each box. Then you will move on to sorting and counting. All votes are tallied in batches of 20 and then checked by another team member. You must ensure that you can stay until the verification and counting process has been completed, even if it extends beyond the above time, as this is only an estimated time and may vary if there is a large turnout or requests a recount – your payment rate will be adjusted accordingly.

Working hours for this role 9.30pm on Thursday 4th July until the early hours of Friday 5th July. The total salary is £129.87.

If you would like to apply for these roles, search for ‘jobs’ on the Leicester City Council website. Entries close on Tuesday 4th June.