4.30 As mentioned above, the Joint Committee cannot enter a contract of employment directly with staff because it is not a separate legal entity, although it can agree on behalf of any or all of its constituent authorities that they will do so. In practice, each of the constituent authorities can employ staff and make them available to the joint project, or one authority can take on a role as lead authority employing staff and making them available to the joint project, and recharging a fair proportion of the employment costs to each constituent authority under the IAA. Where the Joint Committee is running a major project, it is beneficial to have a unified officer team working under the instruction of the Joint Committee. For officers who are engaged full time on the project, it is convenient for management purposes if they are all employed by the same constituent authority, but that team may be supplemented by officers who are seconded part time from other constituent authorities, for example if the project needs a part time financial or legal adviser.