159.—(1) The F240[chief executive] shall for the purposes of discharging the responsibilities set out under section 149 make such staffing and organisational arrangements as may be necessary for the purposes of carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible.

(2) Subject to this Part the functions of a local authority may be discharged through or by the employees of that authority or any other local authority for which the F240[chief executive] is responsible.

(3) An employee of a local authority shall—

(a) perform such duties as may from time to time be assigned to him or her in relation to his or her employment and as may be appropriate to any particular function of any local authority for which the F240[chief executive] is responsible, and

(b) carry out such instructions as may be duly given in relation to the performance of his or her duties.

(4) Where by an agreement or arrangement under Part 10 or otherwise a local authority exercises or performs a function of another body or provides a service to another body,

(a) it is the duty of every employee of the local authority to perform such duties appropriate to the nature of that function or service as the local authority may decide, and

(b) in case the other body is a local authority, it is the duty of every employee of that local authority to refrain from performing such duties appropriate to the nature of that function or service as that local authority may decide.

(5)(a) An employee of a local authority shall not engage—

(i) in any gainful occupation, other than as an employee of the local authority, to such an extent as to impair the performance of his or her duties as an employee of the local authority, or

(ii) in any occupation which might—

(I) conflict with the interests of the local authority, or

(II) be inconsistent with the discharge of his or her duties as a local authority employee.

(b) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), an employee of a local authority, the qualifications for whose post are wholly or in part professional, shall not engage in private practice in the profession in which he or she is employed by the local authority or local authorities or in any cognate profession.

(c) Where an employee of a local authority is in breach of paragraph (a) or (b), the local authority shall determine the appropriate disciplinary action to be taken, which action may include suspension with or without pay or termination of employment or such other action as the local authority considers appropriate.

(d) In considering the action to be taken under paragraph (c) a local authority may have regard to the need to uphold public confidence in the integrity of the discharge of its functions.