Why work as a locum?

Tuesday 9th July

The above is something we get asked a lot, why do people work as locums? Whether it is a candidate who is considering a move into locuming or a client who is interested in a locum solicitor’s CV people always want to know why candidates make the move to locuming.

There are many different reasons that candidates go down the locum route. Some decide to make a lifestyle choice as they enjoy the flexibility locuming offers whilst others see it as a means to an end following redundancy whilst they search for their next permanent role. Either way, there are a number of reasons why you should consider it as a career choice:

Flexibility This is something that appeals to a lot of candidates who choose to take the locum route. As a locum you choose when and where you work. If you want to only work six months of the year and spend the other six months in sunnier climes then you can! Likewise if you would like to work four days a week rather than five and enjoy a long weekend every week, you can! As a locum you get paid for the hours that you work and I find that this always provides you with a lot more flexibility. As long as you can do the job and work hard whilst at work then clients are very amenable for instance letting you work through your lunch hour and leave at 4:00pm rather than 5:00pm so that you beat the traffic. The flexibility that locuming offers appeals largely to those with young families or candidates returning to work after maternity leave. It is a great way to balance work and family as you get to enjoy both without feeling that you aren’t giving one or the other your full attention. It is a very good stop gap whilst you consider what you want to do long term.

Opportunity Locuming is an excellent opportunity to build your experience and develop your CV. If you have been out of work for a few months following redundancy you may be struggling to get back into permanent employment. Locuming is an excellent way of keeping your CV up to date and bringing in an income whilst you continue your search for your next permanent role. In fact some candidates enjoy locuming so much that they put the permanent search on hold and focus on locum roles! Locuming is also a good opportunity to grow your professional network as you meet so many fellow professionals. This gives you the opportunity to develop your name and profile professionally and you never know when that will prove useful.

Variety As a locum you will get to work at a variety of firms in different areas dealing with different clients, it is never boring! Once your assignment is completed you then move on to your next with a different firm and different people, there is no chance of you getting stuck in a rut. Depending on how far you are prepared to travel you can see different parts of the country, a professional locum could be in Newcastle one minute and Cornwall the next, and who wouldn’t want to be in Cornwall on a hot summer’s day like today?! This moving about also means that you avoid office politics. As a locum your job is to get in, get on and get the job done, then you move on. There is no chance of you getting dragged into the latest office drama!

Financial Reward As a locum you get paid by the hour giving you the opportunity to maximise your income. You get out of it what you put in and if you are giving it your all and putting the hours in then you get rewarded with your weekly pay. Locums are not entitled to holiday or sick pay – you only get paid for the hours that you do – but in order to compensate for this it means that your hourly rate is slightly higher than if you were being paid a salary. Also, depending on how you choose to be paid, you can offset your expenses against your tax, such as your petrol, train tickets or parking, giving you a cost saving that you wouldn’t get if you were a permanent employee.

There are many perks to working as a locum and those mentioned above are only a select few. Temporis Legal Recruitment are a specialist legal locum recruitment consultancy and we would be delighted to speak with you should you be considered a change to locuming or if you are a client considering taking a locum on board. Please do contact us on 01484 650233 or email rosie.tootell@temporisrecruitment.co.uk.