How to negotiate locum pharmacist rates

Locum rates are negotiable, and pharmacies expect it. Asking well is mostly preparation: knowing your numbers, knowing the market, and knowing when you have leverage.

Before you negotiate

• Know your minimum. Work out the lowest rate that meets your income and costs, using the rate calculator, and decline shifts below it.
• Know the local market. Watch what shifts in your area are advertised at, and ask other locums. Averages are in the rates guide.
• Know what you offer. Reliability, familiarity with the pharmacy's systems, the services you can provide, and being available at short notice all have value.

When you have leverage

• The shift is soon and still unfilled.
• It is a weekend, a bank holiday or during school holidays.
• The pharmacy is remote or hard to staff.
• You are the locum they know and trust, and they would rather not take a chance on someone new.
• They need a service delivered that few locums nearby can provide.

How to ask

• Name a figure. "My rate for Saturdays is £X an hour" is clearer than "could you do a bit more?"
• Give a reason when there is one: the distance, the notice, the workload.
• Negotiate the whole package, not just the rate: a paid break, mileage, parking, or accommodation for a distant booking can be worth as much as a pound or two an hour.
• Offer something back for a regular booking: a block of dates at a steady rate gives the pharmacy certainty and you a full diary.
• Be prepared to say no. The locum who never declines a shift is the one who is offered the lowest rates.

Get it in writing

Confirm the agreed rate, times, break, travel and cancellation terms by email or message before the shift. If a pharmacy cancels at short notice, a cancellation fee you agreed in advance is much easier to claim than one you raise afterwards.