Rate benchmark

Locum GP rates UK 2026

Indicative pay ranges for UK locum GPs in the 2026/27 tax year. What’s typical, what drives variance, and how to benchmark your own rate against the market.

Indicative 2026 range (per session)
Low
£350
Typical
£450
High
£700

A "session" in general practice is typically a four-hour clinical block. The BMA Sessional GP Pay Tracker 2026 recommends a floor of around £100 per hour, which equates to £400 per session before any uplifts. Typical real-world rates sit at £350 to £550 per session for ordinary daytime cover. Rates run higher in London, the South East and shortage areas. Out-of-hours, UCC and on-call work commonly pays £500 to £700+ per session, and short-notice cover or weekend / public-holiday work can clear £800. Visiting and home-visit rounds are usually priced separately. Most agency rates within NHS commissioning are inside IR35 since 2017, so the headline figure may be paid through umbrella or PAYE rather than as gross self-employed income.

What drives the variance

  • Geography: London + South East run 10–20% above the national average. Scotland and Wales typically mirror the national mean; Northern Ireland is often lower.
  • Urgency: last-minute cover pays more. Organisations covering a sudden gap often pay 20–30% above their standard rate.
  • Specialty: out-of-hours, unplanned care, specialist wards, and complex caseload all uplift the base rate.
  • Volume: regular weekly bookings are usually offered at a lower rate than ad-hoc shifts in exchange for certainty.
  • Route to market: direct bookings pay more than agency routes because no one takes a cut.

How to benchmark your own rate

  1. Write down the last ten bookings you accepted and the rate you charged or received.
  2. Break them down by region, urgency, and duration.
  3. Compare each against the typical range above. If you are consistently at or below the low end on standard bookings, you are probably underpriced.
  4. Next time you are asked for your rate on a standard booking in a London or South East organisation, quote the typical figure from the headline above and see what happens. A refusal tells you about the booking, not your rate.

Figures are educated estimates. Sources include: BMA Sessional GP Pay Tracker (2026 update); Pulse Today locum rate surveys 2024 to 2025; Locumate.com / Lantum rate-card aggregates; Published rate sheets from large GP federations and PCNs. Real rates vary by individual contract and market conditions. Sessional doesn't guarantee any specific rate and your individual outcome depends on your negotiation and the organisations you work with.

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Last revised 24 April 2026