What do locum adverts quote per hour?
The table below shows the lowest and highest hourly figures in the currently verified part of our example catalogue. It combines different locations, grades, duties and pay arrangements. It is a description of these examples, not a UK market average, a recommended rate or an offer of work.
| Profession | Advertised range | Sample size |
|---|---|---|
| GP | £80–£95 / hour | 4 checked examples |
| Pharmacist | £23–£40 / hour | 43 checked examples |
| Pharmacy technician | £16–£31 / hour | 19 checked examples |
| Practice nurse | Awaiting source verification | 0 checked examples |
This is a small, selected sample of public adverts, including adverts that may be historical or closed. A source check confirms that a quotation still appears on the reference page; it does not confirm that a vacancy remains open. Examples without a published numerical rate are excluded from the table.
Open “About this example & rate” on a work example to see its source, last successful check and any stated pay basis. A number on its own cannot tell you what you would receive: confirm paid hours, breaks and the payment arrangements before accepting a booking.
Four professions, different booking questions
GP locum sessions
General practice work may be organised as morning, afternoon, extended-hours or urgent-care sessions. A session label does not define the amount of paid time or the workload. Confirm appointment length, the number and type of contacts, administrative work, home visits, clinical systems and the local escalation arrangements.
When an advert quotes a session fee, compare it using the actual agreed paid hours. Do not assume every session has the same length. Start with our GP first-session checklist and GP work guide.
Pharmacist locum work
Community pharmacy, hospital wards, specialist services and prescribing roles can involve very different responsibilities. Community examples may include shorter weekend sessions or a full working day. Hospital examples may specify clinical, oncology, mental health or aseptic experience. A prescribing role needs a clear description of the service and support available.
Compare an example with work that matches your own experience. A specialist hospital quotation is not automatically a suitable comparison for a community shift in the same town. Explore published pharmacist vacancies and our pharmacist preparation guides.
Pharmacy technician locum work
Technician examples cover dispensing support, medicines management, accuracy checking and specialist production environments. An accuracy checking qualification and experience in a particular setting may be central to a brief. Agree the exact responsibilities and local induction before comparing rates.
Do not treat pharmacy assistant or dispenser adverts as equivalent to registered pharmacy technician work. Our catalogue keeps those roles out of its technician category. See pharmacy technician vacancies and the technician preparation guides.
Practice nurse clinics
A practice nurse booking should describe the clinics and skills required. Ask about appointment templates, equipment, clinical systems and access to support. The sample here is smaller than the pharmacy sample, so its rate range gives particularly limited information about the wider market.
Use the practice nurse cover checklist to clarify the brief, then explore practice nurse work.
Choose a working pattern as well as a rate
Short sessions
Check the minimum paid time and whether travel makes a shorter booking practical. Confirm how work after the scheduled finish is handled.
Full days or regular cover
Agree the daily hours, breaks and expected commitment. Establish who confirms further dates and how changes or cancellations are communicated.
Evenings and weekends
Confirm the actual start and finish, access to the premises and available support. A weekend label alone does not establish a higher rate.
Remote work
An online service may still require you to work on site. Check the advert’s stated location, system access, equipment and induction before assuming a role is remote.
A checklist for comparing two bookings
- Match the work. Compare duties, required experience and responsibility before comparing the headline figure.
- Confirm the paid time. Record start and finish times, breaks, administrative time and any agreed minimum payment.
- Clarify the pay basis. Ask whether the quotation includes holiday pay, what payment arrangement applies, and whether any deductions or charges affect the amount received. Do not assume two adverts use the same basis.
- Account for travel and preparation. Check parking, travel time, any agreed expenses and the induction needed for a new service.
- Get the booking terms in writing. Agree the rate, duties, dates, timesheet process, payment timing and cancellation arrangements.
Our GP session comparison worksheet (TXT) provides a starting point for recording two session offers. Keep any hypothetical calculation separate from an agreed booking.
How we select and check examples
We use public reference adverts to illustrate different types of work, with short descriptions, original source links and clearly published hourly figures. Automated checks discover references from selected recruitment sites and keep a catalogue of around 80 examples.
Rates update only when the visible hourly figure agrees with the source’s structured pay data. Expired adverts, conflicting amounts and unclear pay periods are excluded from automatic updates. Fresh verified references replace older examples when available. If a source cannot be checked, its quotation is hidden; all quotations expire after 48 hours without successful verification. Reviewed examples may remain without a rate during source interruptions.
This is a selected editorial sample, not a measure of the whole labour market or confirmation that another recruiter is accepting applications. These are not FindALocum vacancies and registration does not apply to the source advert. It records your profession and preferences for similar future work. For available FindALocum opportunities, use the current vacancy search.