locum umbrella agencies

Re: locum umbrella agencies

annaka lee — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 20:18:55 GMT

Hi, I locumed for 12months from Feb 11 to Feb 12. I started out with an umbrella company for 3 weeks as I was told by the first company that booked me that I couldn't locum as just 'self employed'. I felt I was utterly robbed by the umbrella company, who was hailed as the best, not naming any names though. They took a fortune off me, in NI and they even make you pay their employer NI contributions!, I literally lost out on hundreds. Instead I started as self employed and took a copy of my Inland Revenue registered self employed notice, and a letter confirming I would be responsible for organising my own TAX and NI payments, which was accepted by every subsequent company I worked for.

As far as settling in advise, be prepared to adapt to their way of doing things, which might put you out of your comfort zone, but ensured I got rebooked several times.

Practices expect you to be self sufficient and very knowledgeable as they are often paying you higher than the rest of the nursing staff so CPD all the way. Don't be afraid to talk to other nurses about the next practice you are going to as they can often give you an insight into what to expect, and also which companies not to work for.

Good luck.

Re: locum umbrella agencies

Marie Lovell — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 16:34:08 GMT

same question posted 28th October - 4 replies

Re: locum umbrella agencies

bonny10 — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 18:33:27 GMT

Hi :)

I have been locuming since last July and not had any problems, enjoy seeing different practices and the flexibility locuming gives you.

I use i4 as my umbrella company, they take a set amount each week (£28) based on full time hours and ive not had any issues with them.I got a few jobs through an agency, i registered with most of them before i started locuming and they contact me when local work comes in (i wanted to stay local to home if possible).I also sent cv's out to local practices and had a lot of interest from these too, im currently at a practice i regularly go to and you will find if you make a good impression they will continue to have you back.

The main thing i can say is be open minded, i have found practices do lots of things differently some you might not necessarily agree. They also use different drugs, computer systems etc which can take some getting used to but you pick it up quick enough. If you are confident and friendly you should integrate into the practice easily enough, they are usually so glad of an extra pair of hands they will welcome you with open arms!

The best thing about locuming is much better pay, i have been saving to go backpacking around Australia something i would never be able to do in a permanant job.

If i can help in any way let me know, good luck!