Ten ways locums can boost your business
A locum’s daily rate is easy to see. The cost of leaving a gap in your rota is often much harder to measure.
It can appear in appointments you cannot offer, procedures you have to postpone, overtime for existing staff and hours that practice owners spend covering clinical work instead of running the business. Over time, it can also affect team morale and the service clients receive.
That is why judging locum cover purely on its headline rate can lead to an expensive decision.
The commercial question is straightforward: what will this cover cost, what will it enable, and what happens if we leave the shift unfilled?
Permanent employees provide continuity, relationships and long-term value. Locums add flexibility and capacity where your practice needs them. Used thoughtfully, the two can work together to support a healthier, more resilient business.
Start with the full cost of employment
Comparing a locum’s daily rate with a permanent employee’s salary divided by working days does not give you the full picture.
A practice’s employment budget may include:
- Gross salary and employer’s National Insurance.
- Employer pension contributions.
- Paid annual leave and contractual sick pay.
- Paid time for continuing professional development, alongside course fees.
- Professional subscriptions, registration fees and other agreed benefits.
- Recruitment, induction, payroll administration and management time.
- Additional cover needed while an employee is away.
These costs do not all arise in the same way. Some are payments on top of salary; others affect how much clinical time that salary provides.
Paid holiday should not simply be added to an annual salary that already includes it. Instead, allow for the fewer days available to work and any additional cover you purchase. The same principle applies to periods of sickness covered by full contractual pay.
What might that look like in practice?
Consider a hypothetical permanent veterinary surgeon earning £60,000 a year.
The following illustration uses standard UK employer National Insurance and a qualifying-earnings pension calculation for the 2026/27 tax year. It assumes no applicable National Insurance relief and is before any allocation of Employment Allowance.
| Annual cost | Illustrative amount |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | £60,000 |
| Employer National Insurance: 15% of earnings above £5,000 | £8,250 |
| Employer pension: 3% of qualifying earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 | £1,320.90 |
| Salary plus these employer contributions | £69,570.90 |
Now assume a simplified five-day working week across 52 weeks:
| Available working time | Days |
|---|---|
| Starting paid weekdays | 260 |
| Annual leave, including bank holidays | −28 |
| Paid CPD days | −5 |
| Sickness absence on full contractual pay | −5 |
| Days remaining available for work | 222 |
The leave, CPD and sickness figures are assumptions for this example, not veterinary-sector averages. Actual contracts and attendance will differ.
Dividing the £60,000 salary by 260 days gives roughly £231 a day. Dividing salary and the illustrated employer contributions by the 222 available days gives roughly £313 a day, before recruitment costs, course fees, professional fees and other benefits.
That does not prove a locum is cheaper. It shows why salary alone is an incomplete comparison.
Eligible employers may receive Employment Allowance of up to £10,500 in 2026/27, reducing their overall employer National Insurance bill. It is an employer-level allowance, not a separate deduction for every employee. Pension arrangements and other reliefs can also change the calculation.
Compare equivalent hours and responsibilities, too. A permanent employee’s value includes mentoring, leadership and continuity as well as appointments delivered.
Compare the complete locum cost as well
Ask for clarity on the total booking cost: the rate, agency fees, applicable payroll costs, travel or accommodation, any irrecoverable VAT, and overtime or cancellation terms.
The word “locum” does not automatically mean self-employed. Depending on the arrangement, employer National Insurance, pension contributions and paid holiday may still apply or be reflected in the charge. Agency workers also have employment rights.
Locums need appropriate induction and support. Their commercial value comes from the capacity and flexibility they provide, not from assuming that all employment-related responsibilities disappear.
1. Protect income that an unfilled rota could put at risk
When there is demand for care but insufficient clinical capacity, a staffing gap can become a revenue gap.
Suitable locum cover can allow your practice to keep appointments available, maintain operating lists and provide timely care that clients might otherwise seek elsewhere.
The important measure is the additional contribution the cover enables after the costs of delivering that care.
An example: when cover pays for itself
Suppose a locum booking enables £1,500 of revenue that the practice would otherwise lose. These figures are hypothetical planning assumptions, not market rates or promised results.
| Daily calculation | Amount |
|---|---|
| Additional revenue enabled, excluding VAT | £1,500 |
| Additional delivery costs, including drugs, laboratory work, consumables and any extra support | −£600 |
| Contribution before locum cost | £900 |
| Total locum booking cost | −£550 |
| Additional contribution before unchanged fixed overheads | £350 |
Here, avoiding a £550 booking would also mean losing the opportunity to generate £350 towards overheads and profit.
With a 60% contribution margin before locum cost, the booking breaks even at approximately £917 of additional revenue: £550 divided by 0.60.
Use your own figures. Revenue that would simply move to another day and still be retained is not all additional revenue. The diary must contain genuine demand for clinically appropriate care, and the team must have the support and facilities to deliver it.
2. Make annual leave workable without shrinking the service
Annual leave is a normal, necessary part of running a practice. Yet the appointments lost during leave periods can become an overlooked cost.
Planned locum cover can help your team take time away while maintaining the capacity your clients need. It can also reduce the backlog waiting for employees when they return.
Mapping leave against expected demand allows you to choose the days that genuinely need cover. You might need a full week, selected operating days or additional nursing support rather than a like-for-like replacement throughout.
The benefit is a more deliberate staffing plan, with time off built into the business.
3. Keep the whole practice working effectively
Your premises, equipment and much of your staffing expenditure continue whether the diary is full or restricted.
If one missing team member prevents the rest of the practice from working effectively, the impact can extend well beyond that person’s usual workload.
An additional veterinary surgeon may help keep a theatre list running. An experienced locum RVN may provide the nursing capacity needed to support procedures, inpatient care or appropriate nurse consultations.
Identify the actual constraint before booking. Another vet will add limited value if the practice lacks the nursing support, consulting space or equipment needed for their work.
The right cover helps you make better use of resources you already pay for.
4. Reduce the pressure that can drive further staffing problems
A short staffing gap can sometimes be absorbed. Repeatedly absorbing gaps can come at a growing cost.
Longer days, missed breaks, overtime and constant rota changes can leave permanent employees carrying more than the practice originally planned.
Targeted locum support can create breathing space and make the workload more manageable. It may also help reduce the risk of dissatisfaction developing into another resignation.
Avoid putting an invented financial value on retention. Instead, consider the costs your practice has actually experienced when someone leaves: recruitment, management time, temporary cover, induction and the period before a new colleague settles into the role.
Supporting your existing team is part of protecting the business you have already built.
5. Give you time to make the right permanent appointment
A vacancy creates pressure to recruit quickly. That pressure can lead to compromises on experience, availability or suitability for the role.
Locum cover can keep the practice functioning while you assess candidates properly and wait for a preferred applicant to complete their notice period.
It gives you room to make a considered decision about your long-term team.
Compare the cost of that bridge with the realistic alternatives: reduced opening capacity, sustained overtime or a rushed appointment that does not work out. An immediately available permanent employee is not always an option.
Agree review points for longer bookings so temporary cover remains connected to a clear recruitment plan.
6. Match staffing expenditure to periods of genuine demand
Not every increase in workload justifies an additional permanent position.
Your practice may need extra help on certain weekdays, during overlapping leave, while clearing a backlog or for a temporary increase in demand.
Locums allow you to purchase defined periods of support without assuming that the same requirement will continue throughout the year.
That can be commercially useful when the alternative is either turning work away or committing to capacity that will be underused during quieter periods.
Plan bookings around evidence from your diary, appointment availability and procedure lists. Agree the scope and booking terms clearly; flexibility still involves contractual commitments.
7. Bring in skills that address a specific need
A well-matched locum can contribute experience that complements your existing team.
That could include confidence with a particular caseload, experience of a similar practice environment or the ability to support a clinical session that would otherwise be difficult to staff.
Be specific about what you need. “An extra pair of hands” is a much weaker brief than a clear description of the duties, caseload, support and expected level of independence.
Where additional skills enable appropriate work to remain within the practice, there may be a commercial benefit alongside improved access for clients. Confirm competence, facilities and governance arrangements before planning services around those skills.
8. Help maintain client confidence and continuity
Repeated cancellations or difficulty obtaining appointments can affect how clients experience your practice.
Reliable cover can help you maintain access and deliver the service clients expect, particularly during extended absences or recruitment gaps.
Continuity requires planning. Where possible, building relationships with a small group of trusted locums helps them become familiar with your systems, team and ways of working.
Clear clinical records, thorough handovers and agreed responsibility for follow-up are essential. A successful booking should support the ongoing care delivered by the permanent team.
The commercial value includes maintaining the relationships that bring clients back.
9. Release owners and managers to work on the business
When a practice owner routinely covers every gap, the cost may never appear as a separate invoice.
It can show up as delayed recruitment, unfinished financial reviews, missed team development or postponed work on processes and service improvement.
Locum support can release time for those responsibilities. That time has value when it is used deliberately.
Decide in advance what the cover will enable you to do: interview candidates, support a new clinical lead, review profitability or improve a recurring operational problem.
Including management time in the decision makes the true cost of “we will cover it ourselves” more visible.
10. Test additional capacity before making a longer commitment
Locum support can help you assess whether demand justifies a longer-term expansion.
You might trial an additional consulting session, increase operating capacity on selected days or explore the viability of a revised rota.
Set a defined review period and measure the results: appointment uptake, additional contribution, team workload, client feedback and the practical demands on the rest of the practice.
A successful trial can provide evidence for permanent recruitment. A weaker result can help you adjust the plan before taking on a continuing staffing commitment.
The value lies in making the next decision with better information.
Make locum decisions using the whole business picture
Before approving or rejecting a booking, ask:
- What capacity or service will this cover protect?
- What is the complete booking cost?
- How much genuinely additional revenue or avoided expenditure could it enable?
- Does the practice have the demand, facilities and supporting team to use the cover well?
- What pressure will remain on existing employees if the shift stays empty?
- Is this a temporary requirement or evidence that we need a permanent appointment?
For a stable, fully utilised year-round role, permanent recruitment may offer better long-term value. For a temporary gap, peak period or vacancy, well-planned locum support can be a sound investment even when its daily rate is higher.
A locum invoice is visible. Lost capacity, exhausted teams and missed opportunities are less visible, but they still belong in the decision.
Recruit4vets can help you explore locum support alongside your permanent recruitment needs. Speak to our team about the cover your practice needs.