Whatever your reason for becoming a locum (freedom, flexible working, being paid your worth, to gain experience quickly), there are clear ways to ensure success.

There are lots of different routes, reasons and success stories in locuming, because we all lead very different lives. These might include success in finding your passion, success in saving for your first home, success in recovering from burnout and low morale.

I have been passionate about educating, empowering and encouraging veterinary professionals to find their place in this industry through being a locum by working through the following 4 steps.

As much as I love locum life, there are areas which require a certain amount of security, education and confidence that will determine whether you simply dip your toes in or dive in head first.

Step 1: Financial route and tax

When you decide you to locum, you are effectively deciding to start a business: a service business offering your veterinary knowledge and skills to practices in exchange for money. You can do this via temporary employment, self-employment or a limited company.

When you choose to be a sole trader/self-employed, the money you earn will be non-taxed money. If you earn more than £1000 in a year, you will need to tell HMRC and be taxed on it. You can claim expenses and overall be more tax efficient.

'You will need to sit down and work out the costs and benefits of each route and compare it to your lifestyle and needs'

This is the same with limited companies. However, no matter what you earn, you will be taxed. It is the most financially beneficial route, although it comes with more paperwork and deadlines. Not to mention, there are still some practices that won't take Ltd locums because of IR35 (a complex government regulation which determines the employment status of a contractor).

(This is not taking in to account tax codes/allowances or expenses).

If you work under an umbrella company you are employed. So, if you are picking up odd shifts alongside your permanent job, in the eyes of HMRC you will have two jobs. The umbrella company will let you work wherever, with whoever, whenever you want. All you need to tell them is when, where and how much is owed. They then sort out your tax and pay you the difference, but for a fee. So, there is no tax work, which is simple and easy, but you pay a cost for that. However, the fee can be recouped by adding it in to your hourly rate.

Another way of locuming by being employed is via temporary contracts with individual practices. In simple terms, this is exactly the same as the contract signed when taking a permanent job but it is temporary. This means there is no requirement to work any inconvenient shifts but the practice is not obliged to give you any shifts if they don't have any. The advantage? No tax work, just a lovely little payslip each month for the shifts you worked. Disadvantage? The more contracts you take the more jobs you have in the eyes of HMRC and the more tax you pay. More than two contracts are not advised so working under an umbrella and/or temporary contract is not considered the best route to successful locuming.

In summary, picking your route requires making an informed decision. To make that informed decision you will need to sit down and work out the costs and benefits of each route and compare it to your lifestyle and needs. Do you feel confident to submit tax returns? If not, maybe an employed route to locuming would be better, or perhaps becoming a sole trader or limited company route and using an accountant for taxes.

If you would like to earn more than £40,000 per annum, a limited company is often the most financially beneficial route but the drawback is that there will be necessary paperwork and deadlines.

Once you find the way best suited to you, it really is quite simple. It is vital to get this part right; it is your money after all! So, take some time to really understand each route's potential earnings as a locum and then focus on one. I am always here to help anyone that requires support so feel free to reach out.

Step 2: Get proper insurance

We are fortunate that the Veterinary Defence Society (VDS) exists. A VDS professional indemnity policy provides you with (according to the VDS website):

VDS professional indemnity insurance is for vets only. VDS can support vet nurses with their legal fees but due the the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, VDS cannot offer professional indemnity or liability insurance to nurses. This will need to be obtained through a different insurer.

The cost of insurance varies from £200 to £700 for vets and around £60 for nurses. It has become something of a necessity when registering with corporations for locum work.

Other insurances like health insurance and income insurance are also important. I strongly recommend income insurance, if locum work is about to become your whole job. Income insurance can continue to pay you up to 60% of your average salary in the event of income being lost.

Costing from as little as £9 per month, it is worth it to sleep easy every night.

Step 3: Find work

Finding work is often seen as the most time-consuming part of locum life: spending hours scrolling through different recruitment agency websites or emailing practices directly with a little cover letter about you and your availability. Recruitment agencies charge the practice per day for you working there but they are free for locums to use. The advantage? The scrolling and negotiations with practices are dealt with by your trusted recruiter. The disadvantages? There are more recruitment agencies than ever before so finding one to trust is more challenging. The fee recruitment agencies charge can also be an issue for some practices (more for independents than corporates).

Going direct to practices requires some graft. Googling practices, reading facebook forums, reverse recruitment on social media, and emailing and calling (sometimes to receive no reply) can be demoralising. However, it only takes one ongoing position or two to three practices offering odd shifts to build a good income.

For those starting their locum journey now, there are management companies to rely on. When I started my locum journey 6 years ago, this was not the case.

Management for Locums, a company I am involved in, has created a place to to help potential locums educate themselves on each financial route with helpful resources and great experts to advise. It has a jobs board filled with trusted agencies, a load of practices and even fellow locums offering out shifts for cover. 

Step 4: Stay organised and up to date

New information on finances, RCVS guidelines and more are released every day. As a locum, you are responsible for keeping yourself up to date. No more practice emails on things ‘to be aware of’. Locums need to find information on changes and updates themselves.

It's not hard: you will most likely hear about it while working. However, the business side is a little different. CPD is also a thing locums can forget about, but the best thing is that as locums work at different workplaces with varied needs and teams, they are learning every day. Locums develop new skills and that is CPD. However, accessing formal CPD will fall to the individual locum to organise and pay for.   

Staying organised and completing invoices and expenses on a monthly basis (sole trader or Ltd locums only) or keeping your payslips safe (umbrella/ contract locums) is vital.

Employ a financial advisor or accountant who can send you reminders and information. There is also accounting software that can be helpful.

Conclusion

 The veterinary industry needs locums because they:

• Promote flexible working
• Can share our skills and knowledge
• Fill vital and difficult-to-fill roles

Even if the veterinary industry was fully staffed, veterinary locums would be needed to cover holiday, maternity/paternity leave, sick leave and more. On average there would be 147,000 shifts per year that would need covering, even if the industry was fully staffed. It is not, so now more than ever, locums are vital.  

When you become a locum, look after yourself, build your business correctly and thrive in the industry you love. Locuming has changed my life and I know it will change yours.

Management For Locums can be found on social platforms, or Molly can be contacted directly on info@managementforlocums.com.