Locum Rates in London

Hospitals in Greater London have collected agreed to cap the hourly rates that they will pay locum doctors, as part of a cost-cutting measure. This articles explains where those rates apply, how much you will get paid and your options if you want to earn more.

Where do the rates apply?

This map shows where the pan-London rates apply (in blue), and a selection of hospitals surrounding London where you can expect to receive higher rates. See the bottom of the article for a full list.

These rates apply to locum work both through the hospital banks and locum agencies.

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What are the Pan-London rates?

The rates are as follows:

Senior House Officer

Core: £36.14 per hour
Anti-social: £43.37 per hour

Registrar ST3+

Core: £45.18 per hour (£56.48 per hour in A&E)
Anti-social: £54.21 per hour (£67.77 per hour in A&E)

Consultant

Core: £73.05 per hour (£89.11 per hour in A&E)
Anti-social: £86.61 (£106.05 per hour in A&E)

There tends to be more flexibility for Registrars than SHOs, with £55-60 per hour for core hours achievable in some cases, and much variability for Consultants depending on the specialty, the level of seniority of the Consultant and the level of demand.

Can I ever get more than this?

Yes, occasionally. There are cases where the hospitals can escalate rates above these levels (called ‘break-glass’ provisions) in certain cases. Typically, however, if you're looking for a longer term block of locums in London this will almost always be at the Pan-London rates.

How often the break-glass rules are invoked varies significantly from hospital to hospital, so it's best to check with colleagues or your recruitment consultant to see what is achievable.

At the SHO level for example, you might expect to get £40-45 per hour for Core hours, and up to £50 per hour at best for Anti-social hours.

Of course, the obvious way of increasing your hourly rate is to look at hospitals outside of London, where these rates are commonplace. We have included some of the closest hospitals to London which have non-capped rates onto the map above and the list below.

If you are looking for locum work and keen to quickly found out what work is available from the best locum agencies, you can check out the Messly locum app. The best locum agencies compete for you, offering you real shifts before you’ve shared your contact details. Most doctors on Messly get pitched suitable shifts by three or more agencies within 24 hours. More choice means better rates, less travel and your pick of departments. See more at messly.com.

Within Pan-London Rate Cap

Barnet Hospital

Central Middlesex Hospital

Charing Cross Hospital

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

Croydon University Hospital

Ealing Hospital

Epsom General Hospital

Guy's Hospital

Harefield Hospital

Hillingdon Hospital

Homerton University Hospital

King George Hospital

King's College Hospital

Kingston Hospital

Newham University Hospital

North Middlesex University Hospital

Northwick Park Hospital

Princess Royal University Hospital

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich

Queen's Hospital, Romford

Royal Brompton Hospital

Royal Free Hospital

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

St Helier Hospital

St Mary's Hospital

St Peter's Hospital

St Thomas' Hospital

The Royal London Hospital

The Whittington Hospital

University College Hospital

University Hospital Lewisham

West Middlesex University Hospital

Whipps Cross University Hospital

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Outside Pan-London Rate Cap

Basildon University Hospital

Broomfield Hospital

Colchester Hospital

Darent Valley Hospital

East Surrey Hospital

Frimley Park Hospital

Lister Hospital

Luton & Dunstable University Hospital

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospital

Medway Maritime Hospital

Princess Alexandra hospital

Royal Berkshire Hospital

Royal Surrey County Hospital

St Peter's Hospital

Stoke Mandeville Hospital

Watford General Hospital

Wexham Park Hospital

Wycombe Hospital

‍+ many others further afield