“We have now resolved the issue and payments will be made on Wednesday [December 21],” a spokesperson for the multiple told C+D this morning (December 20).

The spokesperson clarified that a “technical IT glitch” had resulted in locum payments not being “processed and paid on Monday”, as had been expected.

C+D has approached the multiple for clarification on the time period during which locum shifts were affected by the payment issue.

However, C+D understands that Rowlands usually pays locums within two weeks of a completed shift.

The spokesperson apologised “for any inconvenience caused” by the delay.

Rowlands told C+D this summer that it had “no plans to introduce flat fees for locums” working across its branches.

It followed the news that locums working in Tesco pharmacies would start to be paid fixed rates, capped at £36 an hour for emergency cover.

A recent analysis conducted by booking platform Locate a Locum recorded the UK-average rate at £38.86 per hour across the UK in the third quarter of this year.

This presented a 3.7% rise on the £37.49 average rate recorded across the UK in the previous quarter.