Locum Salary

[firestar]

I know someone who earns 50K a year, how long would this person be expected to week during a day and how many days a week? If you are a locum, how much do you earn. I am from Derbyshire, is locum work good there?

Thanks

[admin]

Pharmacist Locum 50k Salary

I know someone who earns 50K a year, how long would this person be expected to week during a day and how many days a week? If you are a locum, how much do you earn. I am from Derbyshire, is locum work good there?

Thanks

The average hourly rate around here (East Yorkshire) is around £23 to £25. If you could get an average of £24/hour you would have to work 2083 hours per year to earn 50k. If you work a 9 hour day, five days a week, you'd have to work 46 weeks of the year.

You could always work more hours a week, and do late night stores, Saturday mornings etc.

Remember that the difference on your earnings from 40k to 50k are only £6000 as you pay 40% tax on earnings over 40k.

The extra difference in pay of 6k (£115/week) is not worth it (in my opinion) for the extra hours, disruption to your life etc. Having said that, if you are young and fit, and need to pay off student debts, then it would be ok for a while I suppose.

PS I hope my calculations are correct - you may want to check them!

[firestar]

The average hourly rate around here (East Yorkshire) is around £23 to £25. If you could get an average of £24/hour you would have to work 2083 hours per year to earn 50k. If you work a 9 hour day, five days a week, you'd have to work 46 weeks of the year.

You could always work more hours a week, and do late night stores, Saturday mornings etc.

Remember that the difference on your earnings from 40k to 50k are only £6000 as you pay 40% tax on earnings over 40k.

The extra difference in pay of 6k (£115/week) is not worth it (in my opinion) for the extra hours, disruption to your life etc. Having said that, if you are young and fit, and need to pay off student debts, then it would be ok for a while I suppose.

PS I hope my calculations are correct - you may want to check them!

Thank you, if I were to become a locum I'd expect to work on a Saturday also, and possible a Sunday afternoon. I wouldnt be interested on working after 5PM on weekdays.

[ferretmanabu]

If you are yet to even register on a pharmacy course, I wouldn't calculate anything right now. In five years, I suspect the demand for locums will have gone down significantly.

[confused.com]

why would the demand go down?

[N.T]

why would the demand go down?

Remote supervision. Nuff said.

Nurse prescribing. Nuff said.

?? Nurse supervision.

[ferretmanabu]

Why would the demand go down? I suppose if we're being technical, the demand is not going to go down, but rather the supply is going to increase dramatically.
When I started my degree in 2001, I had to choose one university out of a total of 16 UK pharmacy schools. Today, that number is nearer 25 as every old polytechnic starts churning out approved pharmacy courses. So in a few years there will be several hundred more pharmacists graduating every year.
Then there is the new tactic the multiples are using by bringing over EU pharmacists. Boots and Lloyds are keen on Polish pharmacists and I've worked in several stores where this has already happened.
On top of this, there is the possibility as mentioned above, that remote supervision could become reality. In this case, the multiples will be rubbing their hands with glee.
I have also heard of the "central dispensing hub" prescription factories, where only one pharmacist is present to do clinical checks on repeat prescriptions and the dispensing is then carried out and checked by several ACTs.
Make your own mind up. The multiples have far too much power and are increasing in strength. Our society is impotent and does nothing for us.

[Pharmanaut]

Locum Work

Interesting times ahead indeed.
Long hours for big money are great if you are young and have a student debt.
I echo the post about the difference in net salary between 40 - 50K.
From my perspective its not worth the hassle? Why - consider that you will be working from 0900 to around 1230 everyday just to pay tax. Work less and keep more of your money. It also means that you help to keep up the demand for pharmacists!
Plus the fact that you are only human and need some time off from being a pharmacist - otherwise you will end up as a patient yourself.

The working week seems to be getting shorter for everyone except pharmacists!

[johnep]

I'm afraid that the 'golden' days for locums are coming to an end.
When I had to go back to community work in the eighties, I could only really get work for complete weeks to cover holidays or illness. With the rapid growth of multiples and decline of independents pharmacy changed from proprietor to employee profession. Whereas a proprietor was prepared to work 5-6 days a week, employees demanded 5 day weeks/holidays and thus demand grew for locums to cover these days. Also, as prices for pharmacies soared due to property values and multiple expansion, the opportunities for self ownership declined. If you wanted to be self employed, then locums provided that option with the bonus for the feminised workforce to have school holidays off from work.

Unfortunately, govnmt and RPSGB are still stuck in the idea that each pharmacy is self owned and locums are barely acknowledged.

This is why the PDA fulfills a pent up demand.

However, with the NPA in the pocket of the CCA and talking with govnmt, pressure is growing to withdraw the legal protection for a pharmacist to be present in every pharmacy. If that requirement goes then pharmacy as we know it will die and the gvnmt and multiples will rejoice at being able to employ cheap labour.

johnep

[confused.com]

sounds like everyone from goverment to multples are against pharmacists? why am i doing this course

[Jeff]

sounds like everyone from goverment to multples are against pharmacists? why am i doing this course

So that you can do a prescribing course at the end and undercut the GP's who are in a similar position.

Jeff

[johnep]

I think we are in the position of horse shoe nail manufacturers 100 years ago.

Or black lead manufacturers etc etc I could provide a long list of what were essential items now long vanished.

It is said we could adopt new roles. However, the Nurses are already sitting in Drs surgeries so much easier for them to take on prescribing etc.

johnep

[ferretmanabu]

If someone were to ask what the single worst thing that can happen to pharmacists is, then the answer would have to be remote supervision. The reason we get our current rates of pay is purely because the law requires us to be present when a pharmacy is open. Once that goes, the profession is effectively in terminal decline.

[johnep]

Absolutely agree, I have long advised youngsters to go into a profession where law says you have to be there, meds, dents, law. accts, pharm etc.
The old rule of who you know still applies. when I was at school we were told we we to enter the professions where entrance was by exam. Stock broking, merchant banking etc required one's father to have the right connections.
johnep

[confused.com]

You know when i talk to pharmacists they sound downbeat about the profession but at uni the teacher practioners they always seem optimistic about the future of pharmacy that its changing and modernising and removal of remote supervising is the way to go forward that we'll get more fulfilling roles by doing more consultations in our own nice little consultation rooms in the pharmacy. That we'll have more time doing medicine management and that is where the profession should be heading. I mean is that just looking at the way the profsn is going, through rose tinted glasses, or would it really be like that?