Log your real hours and turn the log into a one-page case for the council

Many clerks work more than they are paid for, and councils may not see it because the work is spread across evenings and weekends. Four honest weeks of logged time is the strongest thing you can put in front of councillors. AI can turn your own log totals into a clear one-page summary and draft the report; it cannot say what you should be paid and does not set your hours.

A free AI chat tool, then your own email or messaging app

Steps

1. For four typical weeks, log every task the day you do it: date, minutes, category (meeting, agenda and papers, finance, information requests, residents, events, other) and whether it fell inside your contracted hours. Add up the totals in the sheet with simple formulas.
2. Keep names of residents and councillors out of the log. Describe the task, not the person.
3. Write down what the council could decide: more paid hours, annualised hours, time off in lieu, fewer tasks, or extra help for a specific task such as information requests. Check your contract for what it already says about overtime.
4. Paste the totals (not the raw log) into the prompt and ask for a one-page summary and a draft report to the council.
5. Check every number against your sheet, check the wording with your chair or county association before it goes anywhere, and let the council decide how it is considered.

The exact prompt

I am a parish or community council clerk in England or Wales. I logged my hours for four weeks. Use only the totals below. Do not calculate anything yourself or suggest a pay figure, a number of hours or a pay scale.
Contracted hours per week: [number]. Weeks logged: [number].
Total hours worked per week (from my sheet): [W1, W2, W3, W4]. Hours outside contracted hours: [number].
Hours by category over the four weeks (from my sheet): [meetings, agenda and papers, finance, information requests, residents, events, other].
Options I want the council to consider (my wording): [list].
Produce: (1) a plain one-page summary of what the log shows, using only these numbers; (2) a short report to the council in a neutral tone, with the numbers, the options as I wrote them, and a line saying the decision is for the council; (3) three questions councillors might ask, with a place for me to add the answers. Do not describe any councillor or resident. Mark anything that needs my input with [CLERK].