| Graduate appointments in Parliament | Part I |
General InformationClerkships and Library clerkships in the two Houses offer rewarding and interesting careers to those with an interest in Parliament, the constitution, and public and political affairs. Careers may appeal to those whose interests are divided between the academic and the practical, and who enjoy proximity to the parliamentary process without wishing, themselves, to engage in the cut and thrust of politics.Essential qualities for all these posts include an interest in current affairs, the capacity to work as a member of a team and the ability to produce information which is clear and accurate and advice which is persuasive, both in writing and orally, when under pressure. In both Houses political impartiality is essential to ensure the confidence of Members of all parties. The Department of the Clerk of the House of Commons has a staff of around three hundred and the Parliament Office in the Lords has a staff of about two hundred. In the Lords there are some thirty Clerks, while the Commons Department includes around seventy Clerks. There are usually up to three vacancies each year in each House. The House of Commons Library Department has a total staff of around two hundred, of whom about fifty are in the Library Clerk grades and above. There are usually at least two vacancies for Library Clerk posts each year. There are also five Library Clerk posts in the House of Lords. Vacancies for these posts arise less frequently. Clerks and Library Clerks are Officers of the appropriate House, not civil servants, and serve Parliament, not the Government of the day, although conditions of service and the grading structure are linked by statute to, and kept broadly in line with, the home Civil Service. Promotion prospects are similar to those in the fast stream Civil Service. The majority of graduate recruits to these Departments of the two Houses remain in parliamentary service for the whole of their careers.
A feature of service in Parliament is the liability to work night duty - until the rising of the appropriate House - on one or two days a week. There is greater flexibility of working hours when Parliament is not sitting. Thus, while working hours in a year may be broadly comparable with the public service generally, they are worked in a less rigid pattern. Leave can normally be taken only when the House is not sitting but the summer recess provides an opportunity to take a longer period of leave at one time than might be possible elsewhere in the public service. All Clerks and Library Clerks have personal computers and access to databases, including those made available on the Parliamentary Data and Video Network, and the Internet. Clerks and Library Clerks in both Houses have the opportunity to make a wide variety of contacts, with Members of Parliament, Peers, Civil Servants, Clerks from parliaments overseas, and the international parliamentary assemblies. From early in your career you would be expected to meet foreign visitors and from time to time join the temporary staff of international assemblies to which the British Parliament sends Members. Recruitment and promotion is strictly on ability and performance. We value ethnic, religious and cultural diversity and welcome applications from all qualified individuals. Further informationFor further information please contact:
Clerk Assistant House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Tel: 0207 219 6585 e-mail: gradapp@parliament.uk Further information on Parliament can be found on www.parliament.uk
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| © Parliamentary copyright 2002 | Revised 19 November 2002 |