First time locuming

Re: First time locuming

Thorn — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:10:47 GMT

Ive done a fair bit of locumming, hopefully I can help a bit...

-Payment can be a bit of a PITA. Some practices seem to pay their locums (regardless of you are there a day, a week, a month) monthly, presumably to maike their lives easier, but this means if you have just covered a weekend you can be waiting weeks for the money to actually come through. other practices are brilliant and cough up right away, If you are doing it self employed, you invoice the practice yourself. If you are doing it through an agency/unbrella company, you send your umbrella contact the hours y0ouve worked, practice details and your rate of pay and they sort it out for you-the practice sends them the money and they send you the money. Occasionally, practices sign you up for PAYE and pay you direct but these tend not to be the norm.

-Umbrella company fees differ. Mine charge me 1% of whatever Ive earned and Ive never used anyone else so cant say if thats a good or a bad rate. You are likely to lose about 40% of your wages to the tax man (though sometimes you get this back at the end of the year in a rebate if you havent had contant work). Lots of agencies are themselves free to you as they make their money through charging practices. Dont forget though, as a locum you end up paying your own RCVS retention fees and CPD fees.

-Hourly rate depends on you. Ive know unqualified student locums get £12 per hour. If its your first locum job or you havent moved around practices much, its fair to start off asking for £10-£12 (you can up your rates as you gain more experience-super experienced, well trained senior locums Ive met sometimes ask for £16+ per hour)

-You can sign up to an umbrella company yourself. I use MACProfessionalSolutions. They seem alright. Ive never tried anyone else though so someone else on here might have a better group.

-You can sometiems claim travel expenses from the practice but not all will pay. If not, you can claim expenses as a tax deduction

Hope that helps a bit :)

Re: First time locuming

bonny10 — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:38:28 GMT

Ok so i've decided to bite the bullet and do some locuming but have a few questions before i hand my notice in at work. Any help/advice appreciated because im a bit confused about a few things.

How do you get paid? Do you invoice the practice and they pay you or if using a agency do they do it for you?
What percentage of your wage is tax/NI/agency fees/umbrella company fees?
Whats a fair hourly rate for 2 year qualified nurse?
Can i find work myself without using an agency but still be paid through an umbrella company?
How much am i expected to take home after fees based on a 40 hour week at £12 an hour?
Can you claim travel expenses?

I don't really know who to ask, don't have any friends who have locumed and if i ring an agency im sure they will just tell me what i want to hear to get me on their books. Sorry for all the questions. Thanks

Re: First time locuming

bonny10 — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:01:56 GMT

Thanks guys for all the advice!

I am very excited....something i haven't felt for a while. Just need to do a bit more research before i give up my permanant job but its all sounding great so far. To start with i think i will use agencies until i get a feel for it and then may find my own work, i guess its worth popping CVs into local practices.

Il keep you updated with what i decide :)

Re: First time locuming

Tracy Windler RVN — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:49:24 GMT

Hi, I locummed from August 2009 til April 2010 and really enjoyed it. Although I was sick of the travelling by the end. I'm in the West Midlands and travelled all over. I usually found positions with accommodation if they were too far from home to travel every day. There was only one point when I thought I wouldn't have a position and was coming to the end of another one, but something came up.

I also didn't bother with an agency. I have developed a distinct dislike of the way they operate from personal experience. Filling in my tax return wasn't a big deal, as long as you get it in on time and I used this site and connections I gained through previous jobs to get work. My last job, I stayed there and it was the only one where I used an agency. They tried to charge her thousands of pounds for employing me permanantly and insisted I was "their" employee. All they did was advertise the position and forward my cv to the practice!!

Good luck!

Re: First time locuming

louise170388 — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:50:28 GMT

O and many places provide accomodation, I tend to stick to places I can travel to or places with accomodation to keep expenses to a minimum.

Re: First time locuming

louise170388 — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:44:14 GMT

I have locummed since 2009 and I love it :) Im in the north west area and I have found that once you have been to a practice and become familiar with them, they are likely to ask you back next time they need someone. Some jobs are longer than others I was at one place for 15 months and others for a few weeks, but I have never been stuck for work. If anything I find too many jobs and not enough weeks in the year lol. :)

Re: First time locuming

bonny10 — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:10:33 GMT

Do you think there is enough work around the midlands area (staffordshire/cheshire/derbyshire)? Most of the agencies i see online seem to have most vacancies down south :(

I am willing to travel down south but i who pays for travel and accomodation? I have a mortgage to pay and being single it falls on only me to pay it so i need enough work each month to cover the costs of keeping my appartment.

Re: First time locuming

Julie-Anne Wilson — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:35:09 GMT

I'm that same as you, I'm keen on locuming but I'm a bit of a wuss and the thought of not having permanent employment kind of freaks me out. Especially with my partner currently being unemployed.

Just a wee note but Google chrome thinks locksmithing is a suitable replacement for locuming. Gave me a wee tee hee, anyway.

Re: First time locuming

SmegSlayer — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:52:48 GMT

if you go through an agency they will sort out all of your tax and national insurance through an umbrella company and find you placements. The umbrella company will charge you for using their services but it is usually worth it to avoid doing your own tax etc. you can also claim for any milage to and from your accommodation to the work place and your lunch depending on how many hours per day you work.

fitting into a practice is luck of the drawer but i've made many friends through it. there is usually plenty of work particularly if you are willing to travel. I locumed from march to the end of august last year at various practices and was earning £12/hr