Locum pharmacist rates have been the subject of heated debate throughout 2022, with some arguing that there were becoming increasingly unsustainable for contractors to pay.

However, booking platform LocumBell has “seen rates across the UK fall gradually”, a spokesperson told C+D this week (December 19). 

Read more: Locum pharmacist rate woes: how much are they getting for shifts?

Though it ranged “considerably by city”, locum pharmacists using the platform across the UK on average received £35.50 per hour, the spokesperson said.

But despite the gradual dip, the agency predicted “that locum rates will remain high over the coming weeks”, at around £45-£50 per hour.

 

Why are Christmas rates so high?

 

The LocumBell spokesperson said that “shift timing is a key factor that will dictate rates”.

Many permanent pharmacy staff “look to take a well-deserved break over the festive period, thus resulting in more shift cover being needed from locums”, they explained.

“Alongside this, we find there are more emergency shifts during this period,” the spokesperson said.

These are “always posted at a much higher rate than the average rate”, they added.

Locum pharmacists tend to negotiate an average rate of £45-£50 per hour for shifts over Christmas, the spokesperson said.

Read more: Average locum rate rises again as agency warns of market ‘squeeze’

“But even with the higher rates, shifts during this period are in general difficult to fill,” the LocumBell spokesperson stated.

This was echoed by booking agency Locate a Locum.

“Christmas is a busy time for everyone and pharmacies are no exception,” a spokesperson from the platform told C+D today (December 21).

“Unfortunately, very few people actually want to work on Christmas Day and other holidays, which leads to this disparity between supply and demand,” they added.

“When that happens, you can expect rates to change,” they said.

 

Christmas locum shifts break records

 

Locate a Locum collates the highest locum rates of the previous year every January.

“The top ten highest rates of the year are dominated by Christmas Day shifts,” the spokesperson told C+D.

A previous study of locum pharmacist rates by the agency revealed “that Christmas Day has the biggest average pay rate increase of the year”.

Some locum pharmacists in remote locations claimed up to £80 per hour for a Christmas Day shift in previous years, the Locate a Locum spokesperson said.

C+D yesterday reported that Rowlands apologised for an “IT glitch” that led to delayed payments to its locum pharmacists.

Meanwhile, Locate a Locum last month revealed wide regional disparities between the hourly rates charged by locum pharmacists across the UK, after conducting to pay analysis on the third quarter of this year.