The best resources for locum GPs in the UK

Locuming gives you freedom, but it also means you’re the HR department, the finance team and the admin office all at once. Nobody hands you a handbook on day one.

This is the list we wish we’d had: the organisations, tools and guides that are genuinely useful for UK locum GPs, grouped by the problem they solve. It isn’t exhaustive, and things change, so check each link before you rely on it.

1. Community and representation

Locum work can be isolating. These are the places where you’ll find people who understand the job.

• BMA Sessional GPs Committee. Part of the GP Committee, it represents salaried and locum GPs nationally. The BMA publishes a model locum practice agreement (terms and conditions plus a work schedule that together form a contract), pay guidance including the DDRB pay range, and a locum chambers toolkit. Some guidance is for members only.
• NASGP (National Association of Sessional GPs). A membership body for sessional GPs. It runs locum chambers, which are local collectives of self-employed locums with shared support and governance, and offers webinars, handbooks and a rates calculator. It also runs LocumDeck, a work-management platform that connects locums directly with practices.
• Your local LMC. Local Medical Committees are often overlooked. Many publish local guidance on pay, indemnity and pensions, and can help if you hit a problem with a practice in their area.
• Local sessional GP groups and WhatsApp groups. Often the quickest way to hear about work, what practices are paying, and which practices are well organised. Ask colleagues or your chambers.

2. Finding work

You have more routes to work than ever, and most locums use a mix.

• Direct relationships with practices. Practices that like you will rebook you, and you avoid agency margins. This is where a chambers or a good local network helps.
• Digital platforms. LocumDeck, Lantum and Patchwork Health are widely used for booking shifts and, for many people, syncing bookings into a calendar.
• Agencies. Useful for filling gaps or starting out in a new area. Compare rates and read the terms carefully, especially around cancellation and payment timing.

3. Setting your rate

• BMA pay guidance. Look at the DDRB pay range and the BMA’s recommended locum rates as a reference point.
• NASGP rates calculator. Helps you work out what a session needs to pay once you account for the costs salaried colleagues don’t carry: indemnity, pension contributions, sick pay, annual leave, CPD time and unpaid admin.
• Your own numbers. Your average hourly rate across a year, after expenses, tells you far more than any headline rate. This is one of the things LocumBook tracks for you.

4. Pensions and NHS admin

• NHSBSA (NHS Business Services Authority). The official source for NHS Pension Scheme forms and guidance, including the GP Locum Form A and Form B for each financial year. Always use the current year’s forms, because older versions can contain outdated rates and delay processing.
• PCSE Online (England). Where locum pension forms are submitted in England. Wales and Scotland use different routes, so check the arrangements for the nation you work in.
• BMA pensions guidance. Clear explanations of how the scheme works for sessional GPs.

We cover the process step by step in our guide to GP locum forms.

5. Tax and accountancy

• HMRC. The official source for Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000 had to start from April 2026, with the threshold falling to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.
• A specialist accountant. Worth paying for if your affairs involve the NHS pension, a mix of income types or a limited company. Our guide on choosing a locum accountant covers what to look for.
• Good records. Whatever else you do, keep session, mileage, parking and expense records as you go. Reconstructing a year in January is miserable.

6. Indemnity and insurance

• State-backed indemnity (England). The Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice covers clinical negligence from NHS GP contract work in England, but it doesn’t cover everything.
• Medical defence organisations (MDOs) and insurers. MDU, MPS, MDDUS and others provide cover and support for what the state scheme doesn’t.

Our guide to GP locum insurance explains the gaps.

7. Professional development and appraisal

• Your designated body and appraiser. Locums still need a designated body for revalidation, so make sure yours is sorted.
• RCGP. Learning resources, curriculum guidance and CPD material.
• Clinical references. NICE guidance and CKS, the BNF, and your local ICB formulary, which varies more than you’d think between areas.
• Keep a running log. Learning, significant events and feedback are easy to capture on the day and painful to recall at appraisal time.

8. Looking after yourself

• Practitioner Health. A free, confidential NHS service for doctors and dentists with mental health or addiction concerns.
• BMA wellbeing support. Counselling and peer support services are available to doctors.
• Your chambers or peer group. Having someone to debrief with after a hard day matters more than people admit.

Where LocumBook fits

LocumBook is an app for UK locums that tracks sessions, mileage and invoices, helps prepare your NHS Pension Form A and B figures, and exports figures for your self-assessment. It can also read calendar feeds from platforms like Lantum, LocumDeck and Patchwork, so you aren’t re-typing shifts. It sits alongside everything above rather than replacing any of it. New to locuming? Start with getting organised as a new locum.

This is general information, not personal financial, tax, legal or insurance advice — rules and rates change, so check the official sources and talk to a qualified adviser about your own situation.