locum optometrist
Contents
Introduction 5
What is a locum?
locum optician
locum optometrist meaning
locum optician salary uk
locum optometrist agency
optometry locums
locum dispensing optician agency
locum optometrist hourly rate
locum dispensing optician rate uk
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locum optometrist invoice template
locum optometrist invoice template
locum pharmacist invoice template word
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gp locum invoice template
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boots locum invoice
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locate a locum boots invoice
pharmacy invoice template word
Who can become a locum? 5
Do I have to quit my job to locum? 5
Why do people choose to locum? 5
What are the pros and cons of working as a locum? 6
Working as a locum 7
What do I need before I start? 7
How do I become a locum? 9
How do I book work? 10
How much should I charge and how do I get paid? 10
What records do I need to keep? 11
Do I need an accountant? 11
Registering as self employed 11
Tax matters 12
How do I file a tax return? 12
Filing online 12
Filing a paper return 13
How do I pay my tax bill? 13
Paying by direct debit 13
Paying by Internet or telephone banking 13
Paying using BillPay 14
Paying by Giro 14
Paying at the post office 14
Paying by post 14
Receipts 14
Payment deadlines and penalties 15
What about National Insurance? 15
Class 1 NICs 15
Class 2 NICs 15
Class 3 NICs 15
Class 4 NICs 15
Tax allowable expenses 16
Overnight expenses 16
Travelling expenses 16
What is the IR35 ruling? 17
Advice for locums 17
What to expect from practices 17
What practices can expect from you 18
Top tips for successful locuming 19
Problems you may encounter | FAQs 20
What do I do if I am not paid? Can I claim interest? 20
Help! I can’t pay my taxes! 20
I want to pay my tax, but have lost my payslip! 21
I have been cancelled! Can I charge a cancellation fee? 21
Should I be expected to supervise OAs dispensing children? 21
Should I sign blank GOS forms? 21
Useful contacts 21
Introduction
What is a locum?
The term “locum” is an abbreviation of the Medieval Latin phrase “locum tenens,” which loosely translates to mean “one holding a place (of another).” Strictly speaking, a locum is someone who substitutes temporarily for another member of the same profession in their absence, but the term is also often used to mean someone working temporarily for other reasons, such as to fill unfilled posts or working due to seasonal coverage needs.
Locums can either work as temporary employees whereby they are employed on either a part-time or full-time basis and expected to leave after a certain period of time, or as self-employed workers. The vast majority of locums in the optical sector are self-employed owing to having greater freedom and flexibility, and for the benefits in relation to paying tax.
Who can become a locum?
Anyone can work as a locum – Optometrists, Dispensing Opticians, Lab Technicians, and even Optical Assistants. All kinds of people choose to become locums for a variety of reasons and all with varying levels of experience.
In order to practice as a self-employed Optometrist or Dispensing Optician, you will be required to hold your own Professional Indemnity insurance. This can usually be arranged through your representative body, such as the Association of Optometrists (AOP) or the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO), or through an insurance broker or insurance company. Search4 Ltd can also arrange Professional Indemnity insurance at very competitive prices.
Do I have to quit my job to locum?
No, some fulltime employees choose to locum on weekends or on their days off. You should check your conditions of employment, however, to ensure you are able to start working as a locum, particularly for other practices.
It is also common for students to do locum work during holidays. Naturally, to locum as an Optometrist or Dispensing Optician, you must be suitably qualified and registered with the General Optical Council (GOC) .
Why do people choose to locum?
Locums have the freedom and flexibility of choosing where and when they want to work and for how long. They are therefore able to plan their work around raising a family, holidays, or pursuing other interests. Locums also do not have to get involved with any “office politics” and, if they do not like a practice, they can simply choose not to work there again. Sometimes people like to locum just before they retire, as they can choose to work fewer hours and slow down. Other people choose to locum after retirement, as they do not feel ready to stop working.
Locums are able to work for a variety of practices, both independent practices and multiples, and so are able to experience a range of different environments, situations, and people. This can be very rewarding and often helps develop a locum’s skill set. Sometimes, a person will locum for different practices before choosing the type of practice they wish to work for as a fulltime employee.
Remuneration is often considerably higher for locums than that of permanent staff, as locums are compensated for not having job security or certain company benefits, such as a pension.
What are the pros and cons of working as a locum?
Being a locum has a number of benefits, but also some drawbacks that need to be considered before making the decision whether or not to work as a locum, either on a permanent basis or in addition to fulltime employment.
Locums enjoy freedom and flexibility – choosing to work when and where they want to. They do not have to get bogged down with office life and do not have to worry about marketing or any other ancillary functions separate from their professional services. If they do not like a practice, they can choose not to work for that practice again.
A locum often works for many different practices with their own equipment, systems, and ways of doing things. This is good for experience, but it is sometimes hard to learn and remember new systems and to get to grips with a different way of working. Locums are, however, expected to “hit the ground running” and this can be quite challenging and requires an aptitude for learning new things quickly and, as many modern practices have computerised systems, good IT skills.
Locums are not always guaranteed work and are routinely required to travel much further to work than they would in a permanent position. It is good to see different parts of the country, but also means early mornings, especially if you are unable to find work close to home. It may also mean staying in hotels and the practices do not always pay for accommodation or travel expenses. Inevitably, locums have quiet periods, particularly over the Christmas period, and some locums find they are working seven days a week to pay for the days they can’t find work.
Some practices see locums as temporary and therefore not worth investing time in. This can cause problems, especially for introvert individuals. In order to be successful as a locum, you have to be personally driven, self-confident, and be able to immediately fit in.
Due to the lack of job security and often inaccessible company benefits, locums often have a much higher rate of pay than that of fulltime employees. Companies usually pay by cheque or through BACS . For self-employed locums, there are also tax benefits. Deferred payment of tax is seen as a benefit, but requires a locum to be disciplined to save money to pay for these taxes and also to be able to survive during any periods they cannot find work.
Working as a locum
What do I need before I start?
If you are an Optometrist or Dispensing Optician you must hold your own Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance. You can take out a policy when you register at search4locums.co.uk and will be instantly covered. Alternatively, you can obtain insurance through a number of other companies. Insurance is also available through the AOP or, for Fellows of British Dispensing Opticians, through ABDO. Optical Assistants and Lab Technicians are not required to hold their own PI insurance although it is advisable.
You should not expect practices to have all the equipment you need to carry out your job and it could be that the equipment they do have is unfamiliar to you. In particular, Optometrists should ensure they have their own Retinoscope and Ophthalmoscope and Dispensing Opticians should carry their own frame ruler.
In addition to this equipment, you should also have a diary or calendar in order to keep track of when you are working and of your availability. Some locums also like to wear a name badge.
It is a legal requirement for you to keep a record of when you work and how much money you receive for each booking. It is a good idea, therefore, to buy a “double cash” accounting book from an office stationers. Suggested headings are Invoice Number, Date, Company, Location, Mileage, Parking, Tolls, Other Expenses, Income Outstanding, and Income Received. In a different book or perhaps in the back of this accounting book, you should record your stationary, stamps, and office supplies purchases. Suggested headings are Date, Description, Company, and Cost. Of course, any books you purchase for accounting purposes is an expense that should be recorded here, as it is an example of a “tax allowable expense.” When recording hotel costs, it is important to record whether or not you paid for the hotel yourself or whether the company you worked for paid for you, as this will need to be recorded separately in your tax return and will affect how much tax you pay.
It is helpful to also buy folders in which to keep receipts and invoices once they have been recorded in the book. You should also keep any documents sent to you from HMRC . The following folders are advised: Invoices Outstanding, Invoices Paid, Travel and Accommodation, Stationary, Equipment, and Office Supplies, Professional Fees, Other Expenses, Inland Revenue, and National Insurance.
Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians should ensure they are registered with the General Optical Council before they work as a locum. From 12 October 2009, individuals will also need to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) if they are to work with children and/or vulnerable adults. Optometrists must also ensure that they are included on the Supplementary List of the PCT (Primary Care Trust) in whose area they do most of their work. Optometrists can only be on one Supplementary List at a time, but this entry “passports” them to be able to work in other areas.
Please remember that “Optometrist,” “Dispensing Optician,” and, to some extent, “Optician” are legally protected titles. If you are not qualified and GOC registered as a Dispensing Optician or Optometrist, you cannot purport to be or work as one even if you are qualified in another country. You may, however, choose to do locum work as an Optical Assistant or Lab Technician. Locum Optical Assistants are usually expected to dispense, but statutory regulation does not permit the dispensing of spectacle prescriptions by unqualified persons to children under 16 or patients who are registered as severely visually impaired or visually impaired (blind or partially sighted). Sales of spectacles to persons in these classes can only be made by or under the supervision of a registered practitioner. Supervision means that the supervising practitioner is in a position to intervene if required to do so and able to exercise his or her professional skill and judgment as a clinician. Unregistered persons are also unable to dispense prescriptions that are more than 2 years old. Locum Optical Assistants should make sure they are familiar with all the statutory restrictions that may apply to their work in an optometric practice to avoid penalty. In particular, Optical Assistants are advised to read Part 4 of the Opticians Act 1989 and the Sale of Optical Appliances Order of Council 1984, which are available to download from the General Optical Council’s Web site at www.optical.org.
How do I become a locum?
Switching to being a locum is most simply done through registering with an agency. Registering with search4locums.co.uk is done through a simple online registration form. You should register with as many optical recruitment agencies as you can, such as Healthline, Flame Health, Eye4Staff, and Centre Locum Link. Details are provided at the back of this information booklet for your convenience. Registering with multiple agencies will give you the greatest chance of being offered locum work. You should also contact the head offices of any of the large multiples that you wish to work for. Specsavers and some others have their own recruitment service for locums. Specsavers Recruitment Services (SRS) allows anyone to register with them and many Specsavers practices use their services to procure locums.
You will need to complete the following steps to become a self-employed locum:
How do I book work?
In addition to registering with agencies, some practices, especially independent practices, prefer to book locums that have approached them directly. Sending an up-to-date CV with a covering letter to local practices is a good idea. You could also go into local practices with your CV and ask to speak to managers directly. Of course, if visiting practices, you should dress as you would for work in order to make a good first impression.
Both the Association of Optometrists and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians maintain a list of locums. You should speak to your professional body about this.
Once you have worked for a practice a few times, if you have made a good impression, you may find that the practice will pass your details on to other practices in the area and you may be booked through recommendation.
How much should I charge and how do I get paid?
Nobody should dictate to you how much you should charge. You should charge whatever you feel is reasonable for your professional services. Practices far from where you live may be willing to pay a higher rate to cover your petrol costs or may pay for you to stay in a hotel. If they pay for a hotel, however, it is seen as a benefit in kind and is taxable! As a guideline, here are the average daily rates for locums:
Average Daily Rate
Optometrist 250 (£350 weekends)
Dispensing Optician 120
Contact Lens Optician 150
Lab Technician 100
Optical Assistant £80
Source: Search4 Ltd | Feb 2009
Your daily rate should be agreed at the time of booking and once you have worked for the practice, you should give them an invoice. The invoice should detail your name, address, GOC number, the work carried out (e.g. dispensing services), the dates you worked, your daily rate, and invoice total. It should also detail the company name and address and be addressed to either the manager or the director. The invoice should be dated and it is usually a good idea to specify a timescale for payment, such as “Due for payment within 30 days from invoice date.” It is a good idea to get the invoice signed and to retain a copy for your own records.
Some multiples, such as Boots Opticians, have their own payment claim forms for locums to complete instead.
Specsavers practices tend to ask you to fill out their own SEO (Self-employed optician) invoices, which are faxed to Guernsey and paid every Friday by cheque or BACS, provided they have your bank details. Specsavers should provide you with a SEO invoice at the end of the day or week, but occasionally do not. One has been included with this booklet for you to print out if you are required to do so.
Tesco Opticians pay their locums without an invoice, but this requires that your details are correctly entered onto their computer system by the manager. Tesco Opticians payments come from Galaxy Optical and any payment queries should be emailed to locums@galaxyoptical.co.uk.
ASDA pay their locums in cash on the day, but this practice is very unusual.
What records do I need to keep?
You need to keep a record of everything you buy in connection with your work, including any professional membership or registration fees (ABDO, AOP, GOC, etc.), Professional Indemnity insurance premiums, equipment and stationary costs, and any professional journal subscriptions. You should also record any charitable donations, hotel bills and cost of meals and sundries on overnight stays, and the cost of work related phone calls. If travelling to practices by public transport, you should keep a record of the fares you pay and keep any tickets and receipts. If travelling to practices in your own car, you should record the mileage and keep petrol receipts and any parking tickets. You may be required to back up expense claims and you should keep receipts and things like credit card statements and cheque stubs of all your business expenditure.
You also need to keep a record of your income. This is a legal requirement and is important when it comes to calculating how much tax you need to pay. You should keep copies of invoices you give to practices, paying-in slips, bank statements, and anything else that will help you keep track of the money you are earning in connection to your work as a locum. It is a good idea to make sure a practice manager has signed your copy of the invoice in case there should be any problems with payment.
You must keep records of your income and expenses for at least five years and 10 months after the end of the tax year the records relate to in case of any queries and for keeping track of spending. Failure to do say can result in charges of up to £3,000.
Do I need an accountant?
It is not necessary to procure the services of an accountant, but if you are employed and already paying tax through the PAYE system in addition to working as a locum, it is a good idea to seek advice from an accountant. Otherwise, tax and self assessment is a relatively straight forward affair. If you do use an accountant, remember that it’s still your responsibility to make sure things are done accurately and on time.
If you set up an accounting book and keep it up-to-date and maintain folders of invoices and receipts, you should find the tax return to be very easy to complete.
You may chose to use a computer program to keep track of your income and business expenses, but you should backup regularly and print hardcopies.
Registering as self employed
From the date you first work in a practice as a locum, you have 3 months to register as self-employed with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) or you may have to pay a £100 penalty. It is not possible to register as self-employed before you start working for yourself. Registration requires you filling in a simple form. We have included the form with this booklet. You will need to fill in your name, address, National Insurance Number, date of birth, telephone number, the date you started working for yourself (your first day as a locum), the sort of work you do (locum optician/optical assistant/lab technician), the name of your business (your own name), your business address (your own address) and your position in the business (sole trader). You will find your National Insurance Number on your National Insurance card or on any of your payslips.
Registering as self-employed means you will have to pay Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) unless you are over State Retirement Pension age. Class 4 NICs are collected when you fill in your tax return at the end of the tax year, but Class 2 NICs must be paid frequently and affect state benefits. The easiest way to pay Class 2 NICs is by completing a Direct Debit mandate at the same time you register as being self-employed. You will find a Direct Debit mandate with this booklet. Paying by Direct Debit will give you peace of mind that you won’t miss payments and lose entitlement to benefits such as a basic state pension, maternity allowance, or incapacity or bereavement benefits. Otherwise, quarterly bills will be issued in January, April, July and October. Class 2 National Insurance rates for 2009-10 are £2.40 per week.
Locum opticians are exempt from paying VAT as healthcare professionals providing their services as locums is an example of “exempt supply.”
National Insurance Contributions are discussed in greater detail in the relevant section of this booklet.
Tax matters
How do I file a tax return?
As a locum, you will need to complete a tax return. Shortly after the tax year ends on 5 April, HM Revenue and Customs should automatically send you a Self Assessment tax return to complete. If you do not receive a tax return, you should contact your Tax Office. You can complete the tax return and post it back to HMRC by 31 October. Alternatively, you can complete your tax return online at https://online.hmrc.gov.uk by 31 January. If completing online, your tax calculation will be done automatically and you will immediately be able to see how much tax you owe. You can access the online service 24 hours a day.
Filing online
To file a tax return online you need a User ID and Activation PIN from the Government Gateway. The Government Gateway is a registration service for online government services and you can register online for a User ID and Activation PIN to be sent to your registered home address. If you are already registered for other online government services, such as Child Benefit, you may already have a User ID.
You register for a User ID and Activation PIN by selecting ‘Register’ under the ‘New user’ section. You should select that you are an individual wanting to use the Self Assessment (SA) service. You will then enter some personal details and create a password. Once you register, your User ID and Activation PIN will be sent to you in two separate letters and you should receive them both within seven working days. Once you receive your 12 digit User ID and Activation PIN, you should return to the Web site to login with your User ID and chosen password. You will need to do this within 28 days from the date of the Government Gateway letter or your Activation PIN will expire (for security reasons). You will need to click on “Access Service” to take you to the “Service activation” page where you can enter your Activation PIN and click “Activate.” If you successfully activate the service, you can discard your Activation PIN and file your tax return online. This is done by clicking “File a return” on the “At a glance” page after you login and following the onscreen instructions, clicking “Next” in the bottom right-hand corner after you complete each page. If you need help understanding a question, you simply click on the green “?” for information.
There are five stages to completing your tax return online:
Telling us about you – to check all your personal details
Tailoring your return – tailoring the tax return to fit your individual circumstances
Completing your return – to enter all the figures
Checking your return – to check you have entered everything correctly
Submitting your return – you will get an immediate online acknowledgement and can store your completed tax return online or print it for your records. This is strongly recommended.
You do not need to complete all the stages in one go – you can save any data you enter and return to it later.
Filing a paper return
Paper tax returns come in several sections and there will be sections that you do not need to complete. There may also be sections missing, as you will only be sent the “core pages,” (Forms SA100 and SA101), which everyone completes, and the self-employment supplementary pages (Form SA103). There are two versions of form SA103 – one is a “short” version and the other a “full” version. You will only need to complete SA103F (the “full” version) if you earnt more than £64,000 in the tax year. Depending on your circumstances, you may need to complete additional supplementary pages, which you can order from the Self Assessment Orderline on 0845 900 0404. It's open from 8.00 am to 10.00 pm seven days a week, including bank holidays. You can find out what additional pages you'll need by checking the list on page two of the core pages of your tax return. Once you complete your tax return, you may wish to calculate how much tax you owe yourself, but you do not have to. If you decide to do your own tax calculation, you will need to know the current Income Tax rates and allowances, which can be looked up online by going to http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/it.htm. You only start paying tax on the income you received minus your tax-free and tax-deductable allowances, which include expenses incurred “wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of one's duties.” You even get some private benefit from the expenditure and get tax relief for the business amount, as long as the private benefit was incidental and not the reason for the expenditure and you can clearly identify and separate the expenditure between business and private purposes. See the “Tax allowable expenses” section.
When you send your tax return to HM Revenue & Customs, you'll get a Self Assessment Statement showing what tax you owe and how to pay, unless you filed online, as the figures would have already been calculated for you.
How do I pay my tax bill?
You will receive your Self Assessment Statement 45days before payment is due. Your tax bill won’t always match the amount you calculated on your tax return, as you may owe balancing payments from the previous tax year and will probably owe “payments on account,” in which case you’ll have to make two payments, one by 31 January in the current tax year and the other by the following 31 July. Each payment is half of the tax due for the previous year. At the bottom of the statement, there will be a pay slip.
Paying by direct debit
If you registered for Self Assessment Online, you can pay your Self Assessment tax by Direct Debit by logging in and selecting “Direct Debit payment” from the main menu and by following the on-screen instructions to initially complete a Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) and then to make a payment. You should allow five working days from completing the DDI before the date you wish to make your payment.
Paying by Internet or telephone banking
You can use your bank’s telephone banking or online banking facility to make payment. You will need the HMRC bank account details and your Self Assessment reference number/Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). This number is on the back of the payslip that HMRC sends you and is made up of ten digits followed by the letter ‘K.’ It normally takes three working days for payments to reach HMRC, but you should check with your bank, as some take longer. On the back of the payslip, you will also find which of the Accounts Offices you need to send payment to. It will either be Cumbernauld or Shipley and the details you need to provide your bank with are as follows:
Accounts Office Sort code Account Number Account name
Cumbernauld 10-51-67 23444401 AO Cumbernauld
Shipley 10-50-41 23456000 AO Shipley
Paying using BillPay
If you have a UK credit or debit card you can pay over the Internet using Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank’s BillPay service. Visit https://www.billpayment.co.uk/hmrc/scripts/index.asp for further information and to make a payment.
Paying by Giro
Most banks and building societies offer the Giro service. You are usually able to go into your own bank branch and pay HMRC by cash or cheque. You will need to take your payslip. If paying by cheque, cheques will need to be made out to “HM Revenue & Customs Only” and you will also need to write your payslip reference on the cheque. You should allow at least three working days for payment to reach HMRC.
Paying at the post office
In a similar way to the Giro service, you are able to make a Self Assessment payment at a Post Office by cheque, cash, or debit card. You will need to take your payslip with you and cheques should be made payable to “Post Office Ltd.” You should allow at least three working days for payment to reach HMRC.
Paying by post
We would encourage you to use an electronic payment to HMRC, but you are able to pay by post. You should write a cheque made payable to “HM Revenue & Customs only” and write your payslip reference number on the cheque. You should then send your payslip and cheque in the pre-addressed envelope or to one of the following addresses depending on the Accounts Office relevant to you:
Accounts Office
Cumbernauld Accounts Office
Shipley
HM Revenue & Customs
Accounts Office
Bradford
BD98 1GG HM Revenue & Customs
Accounts Office
Bradford
BD98 1YY
Please note that HMRC will not accept post-dated cheques unless your tax is not yet due and the cheque is dated on or before the due date. If sending a post-dated cheque, you must enclose a letter stating that the cheque is post-dated. Cheques and payslips should not be folded and should not be fastened with paperclips or staples.
Receipts
Receipts are not automatically issued, but you can confirm payment using the online Self Assessment service. If you paid by post and want a receipt, you should include a letter with your cheque and payslip requesting one.
Payment deadlines and penalties
On 31 January, you will have to pay the balance of tax owing for the previous tax year and the first “payment on account.” If by 28 February you still haven’t paid the balancing payment, you will be charged a 5 per cent surcharge in addition to any interest owed. On 31 July, you will need to make your second “payment on account.” If you still owe tax that you were due to pay by 31 January, you will be charged an additional 5 per cent surcharge on top of the amount you owe.
What about National Insurance?
Nearly everyone who works must pay National Insurance. It goes towards pensions, benefits, and healthcare. There are four types or “classes” of National Insurance Contributions (NICs):
Class 1 NICs
These are paid by people that are employed. It is a percentage of their income above a certain amount. Employers deduct Class 1 NICs automatically along with PAYE income tax.
Class 2 NICs
These are paid by self-employed people. It is a fixed weekly amount irrespective of how often you work and is paid by monthly direct debit or quarterly bill. If your profits are, or you expect them to be, less than the current Small Earnings Exception (SEE) limit, you may not have to pay Class 2 NICs. The current SEE limit is £5,075 per year and you can apply for a SEE certificate using leaflet CA02 available from your tax office. Careful consideration should be given to applying for a SEE certificate, as by not paying Class 2 NICs, your entitlement to certain benefits may be affected. You do not have to pay Class 2 NICs for any complete week you are receiving Incapacity Benefit or Maternity Allowance and your benefits for the future will be safeguarded in these circumstances, as HMRC will make up the shortfall in contributions using National Insurance credits.
Class 3 NICs
These are voluntary and cover shortfalls in your contributions record and help protect your entitlement to State Pension and certain benefits.
Class 4 NICs
These are payable by most self-employed people and is a percentage of your taxable profits above a certain threshold. Visit http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/nic.htm for details of the current rates and thresholds. There is an upper threshold in addition to a lower threshold – if your profits go above a certain amount, Class 4 NICs are greatly reduced. Class 4 NICs are paid along with your income tax when you do Self Assessment.
As a self-employed locum, you will probably pay Class 2 and Class 4 NICs. If you are employed in addition to doing locum work, you will pay Class 1, 2, and 4 NICs. In this case, you may wish to postpone your Class 2 and Class 4 NICs until the end of the tax year in case you pay too much. This can be done using leaflet CA72 available from your tax office. If you do pay too much, however, it will be refunded to you.
Tax allowable expenses
When you calculate your taxable profit, you need to deduct any tax allowable expenses, which are any expenses incurred “wholly, exclusively and necessarily” in the performance of your work as a locum. If you pay for something that is for both private and business use, such as a mobile phone bill, you can deduct the amount paid in relation to your business. To do this, you will need to have an itemised bill to clearly identify and separate the expenditure between business and private purposes.
Other tax allowable expenses may include:
Any locum equipment costs, such as a new PD ruler or trial frame.
Office equipment and consumables, such as a stapler, staples, or ink cartridges.
Stationery, stamps, and advertising costs.
Professional membership or registration fees (ABDO, AOP, GOC, etc.)
Subscriptions to professional journals, such as Optician.
Travelling expenses.
Overnight expenses
If you have to stay overnight in a hotel, perhaps on a block booking, you can claim tax relief on any accommodation costs you paid, your meals, and refreshments. You can also claim up to £5 for incidental expenses incurred during overnight stays, such as the cost of a newspaper or for laundry. If over £5 is spent, however, the whole amount becomes taxable. In addition to tax relief, you do not have to pay NI contributions on overnight expenses.
If a practice pays for your accommodation, you will be required to pay tax on the amount the practice paid for the accommodation, as it is a “benefit in kind”.
Travelling expenses
You can deduct the cost of using your car for business purposes. There are two ways of working out how much you can deduct:
a fixed rate for each mile travelled on business, using fixed mileage rates
the actual expenses, worked out using detailed records of business and private mileage to apportion your recorded expenditure
Of course, you can also claim for any tolls and parking fees, and public transport fares. You should keep all your tickets where possible, including parking tickets and train tickets.
It is usually better and a lot easier to claim using the fixed mileage rate, which is currently 40p per mile for a car for the first 10,000 miles and 25p a mile thereafter. For motorcycles, the rate is 24p irrespective of number of miles travelled and for bicycles the rate is 20p a mile. At the end of the tax year, you must multiply the number of business miles you travelled by the approved mileage rate and deduct this amount from your taxable profits.
You can only claim for travel doing your job, such as travelling to and from multiple practices. You are unable to claim mileage for normal travel between home and a permanent work address or for any private travel.
What is the IR35 ruling?
“IR 35” refers to the rules introduced in the Finance Act 2000, which were brought about to prevent self-employed persons using service companies to avoid paying tax. Self-employed locums would set up their own companies and have all their income from locum work paid to this company instead of directly to them. The main fiscal advantages of this were that the locum could chose when to draw a salary and so defer the tax payable or pay less tax by taking dividend payments from the company, and could claim more tax allowable expenses. These new rules mean that as a self-employed locum, you will be subject to income tax on all your earnings as a locum, regardless of whether you work through your own service company or not.
Advice for locums
What to expect from practices
Communication between practice and locum is very important, especially when a locum first starts at a new practice. Different practices will have different expectations from their locums and you should be made aware of each practice’s individual ways of working very early on. If a practice specialises in a certain area of optics, it is important that they make you aware of this before you agree to the booking. It could be that the practice will want you to do more contact lens or paediatric work than you are used to or expect you to work with low vision patients and prescribe low vision aids. It could be that the practice is heavily involved with colorimetry and will expect their Optometrists or Dispensing Opticians to prescribe therapeutic tints, for example. You should make sure you are happy, comfortable, and confident about any such work they may ask you to carry out and you should be very upfront with the practice if you have any reservations whatsoever. Make sure you tell the practice what you want and that you know what kind of practice you are going into and are aware of each other’s expectations. This will avoid any unnecessary awkwardness.
A locum may give a patient a very poor impression of their capabilities if they are becoming acquainted with procedures, systems, equipment, and record cards at the same time as seeing a patient. Locums should, therefore, familiarise themselves with these things before they see their first patient and practices should facilitate this, perhaps by allowing the locum to arrive early before the clinic begins. It is common for practices to ask a locum to visit them for an informal interview and discussion about procedures and systems before they start working, especially if it is prior to a regular booking or block booking arrangement. You may be asked for your CV and should expect to be questioned about your background and reasons for doing locum work. During any such interviews, it is a good idea to discuss referral procedures, appointment and test times, conversion rates, and lunchtimes to make sure you are happy with these things before you start work. The practice should discuss with you anything that is particularly important to them and what you will be expected to do. You may even be asked to do a trial day. If you do work for a morning or afternoon session on a trial basis, make sure you are happy with the environment you are working in, the equipment and the staff before committing to do a full day’s work.
If you are a Dispensing Optician, you should be made aware of what frames and lenses the practice have to offer and their prices and what lenses they would prefer you to use. Practices should, however, respect your professional judgement at all times. The GOC Code of Conduct for Business Registrants states that practices must ensure that individual registrants whether employed or self-employed are always able to freely exercise their professional judgement in the best interests of patients. Dispensing Opticians should therefore be able to choose what lenses they provide without being expected to “over sell” or opt for lenses that do not fully satisfy a patient’s individual requirements over another available product. Of course, some practices may not have accounts with certain suppliers or be Varilux® Specialist Opticians or Rodenstock Club members. This, of course, needs to be taken into consideration and practices should be able to expect locums to be familiar with the various lenses and coatings from all the major suppliers.
Optometrists should be able to expect a reasonable test time of at least twenty minutes and not to feel under too much pressure to rush tests or convert. Do not put yourself at risk of a Fitness to Practice hearing by missing something important through rushing an eye test.
Both Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians have a duty to refer any patient presenting to him or her with an apparent disease or injury of the eye. It is up to the individual optician what action, if any, they should take and the practice should not intervene in any referral decision and allow you the time to write referral letters.
Sometimes, a practice or recruitment agency will telephone the locum to confirm a booking. This provides an ideal opportunity to ensure you are aware of the location of the practice and to discuss transport arrangements, such as nearby parking facilities and parking costs, if you do not already know.
Locums have a right to work in a safe and clean environment and to have access to the necessary equipment to do their jobs. The practice should ensure it has a well kept consulting room and suitable equipment and record keeping facilities for the purposes of enabling the locum to provide ophthalmic or dispensing services to meet the requirements of the NHS GOS regulations. Equipment should be well maintained and, as a locum, you should not be expected to change bulbs or clean focimeters! At the very least, a practice employing a locum should have: a trial set and/or phoropter, slit lamp, keratometer, focimeter, frame rulers, a lens clock, screws and pads, screwdrivers, and a range of optical pliers irrespective of whether or not the practice has an optical lab.
As a locum, you should have access to all patients’ records at all times and these records should be well kept. You should have time to read records before seeing patients and staff should give you a prior warning of any patients that may cause you any difficulties. In addition to identifying any possible troublesome patients, staff members should be friendly and willing to assist you with all your queries, especially when you are new to the practice. They should be able to show you how things work and should also manage patients’ expectations and any possible concerns with seeing someone new and why things may be done slightly differently or take slightly longer than with their usual practitioner.
You should be made aware of the practice’s current offers and familiarise yourself with frames, and frame and lens prices, but opticians should not be expected to do any promotional work.
Sometimes, a practice will furnish you with an information pack with details about the practice, its location and local transport facilities, such as rail stations and parking, and equipment and procedures. A sample information pack can be provided for practices from the Search4Locums Web site.
Practices should pay fairly and pay promptly after they are invoiced.
What practices can expect from you
Practices can expect their locums to be professional at all times, well presented, punctual, reliable, honest, and diligent. Eye examinations and dispenses should be carried out properly and consistently with reasonable care, skill, and attention to detail. Examinations and dispenses should never be rushed and the patient should always be put before any other consideration. Locums should also be friendly and able to communicate effectively with everyone in the practice.
Practices can expect locums to arrive on time and to be willing to remain for the entire day, regardless of whether or not a patient has been booked to see them.
Locums should have good record keeping skills and records should be neat, legible, and complete. Ticks and the abbreviation “NAD” should be avoided. As a locum, this is of particular importance as the patient may return and see somebody else who may not know what advice or action you have taken.
Locums should never disclose confidential information from other practices they have worked for. It may be appropriate for locums to share with competitors how things are done well at another practice, but a locum should never speak negatively about their experiences in another practice. It is completely inappropriate for a locum to identify patients at other practices or to speak negatively about patients or colleagues with whom the locum has worked, including their personalities or professionalism.
Similarly, it is completely unprofessional for one optician to openly criticise the work of another optician or to make any public representations about the accuracy of their work. If doing a recheck, for example, you should be careful not to suggest that the first prescription was “wrong.” For Dispensing Opticians, if you find a different PD if a patient returns with visual problems and you decide to remake the spectacles, you can state to the patient that you are changing the measurements as you feel it will help them, but should never suggest the first Dispensing Optician has made any errors.
It is bad form for an Optometrist or Dispensing Optician to work for more than one practice in the same town. If you have finished working for one practice, you should allow at least one month before working for another practice in the same town.
If covering for a resident optician, locums should document any problems that occurred during their time in the practice to alert the returning optician to any troublesome interactions with patients or patients upset by other issues.
Top tips for successful locuming
Be prepared for the physical demands of travelling, as well as isolation from personal and professional supports
Make sure you know how to get to a practice and how long it is likely to take before you setoff and of local parking facilities and costs or the location of the train station
Make realistic commitments and never agree to work for a practice if you may have to make a last minute cancellation
Make sure you know what is expected of you for each practice you work for and that you are comfortable and happy to work at practices requiring specialist services or that expect you to do things you are not used to
Ensure you have adequate time to see patients and do not feel under pressure or rushed and be upfront about anything you are unhappy with, especially if it impairs your fitness to practice
Maintain good patient records that are neat, tidy, legible, and complete
Tie up any loose ends with practices. Follow up patients you have referred and make sure the practice know of any potential problems with patients you have seen before you leave
Do not take too long to invoice practices you have worked for and keep good accounts and records to help you file your tax return
Make sure you file your tax returns on time to avoid any penalties
Have fun working as a locum
Problems you may encounter | FAQs
What do I do if I am not paid? Can I claim interest?
You should be paid within a reasonable period of time from the day you invoiced the practice. You may have specified a timescale for payment on your invoice or agreed some other credit period with the practice. If you did not, the statutory default of 30 days applies. This is the default period stipulated by current late payment legislation – The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, as amended and supplemented by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002. The 30 days runs from the day you worked for the practice or the day you first invoiced them, whichever is later.
Originally, late payment legislation only applied to small businesses claiming for the late payment of commercial debt from large businesses (i.e. businesses with 50 or more employees), but since 7 August 2002, self-employed locums have been able to claim statutory interest and reasonable debt recovery costs for the late payment of invoices from any practice, irrespective of its size.
The interest rate is 8% above the “reference rate” for the six-month period when the debt became late. This reference rate is based on the Bank of England base rate (BOEBR) as follows:
The sixth month period
BOEBR on 31 December will be the reference rate for 1 January to 30 June
BOEBR on 30 June will be the reference rate for: 1 July to 31 December
The Bank of England base rates for 30 December or 30 June can be found in the national press on the appropriate date or by visiting www.bankofengland.co.uk.
The amount of interest you can claim is calculated like this:
debt x interest rate x (the number of days late)/365
For example, if you are owed £250 for an invoice that should have been paid 30 days ago, and the reference rate on the day the invoice became overdue was 2%, you can claim £2.05 interest:
£250 x 10% x 30/365=£2.05
The maximum amount you can claim for debt recovery costs depends on how much money you are owed:
Size of debt You can claim
Up to £999.99 £40
£1,000.00 to 9,999.99 £70
£10,000 or more £100
If your invoice has not been paid after 30 days, you should telephone the practice to politely query the outstanding payment. It is advisable to keep a record of any calls you make and of the outcome. Sometimes, it is worthwhile telephoning a practice before an invoice becomes overdue to remind them of the date the invoice is due for payment.
If your invoice remains unpaid after querying it with the practice, it is customary to send a statement showing the overdue amount. You may wish to inform the practice at this stage that you shall claim interest and debt recovery costs should the outstanding invoice remain unpaid, giving a further deadline.
The late payment legislation is designed to act as a deterrent against late payment and it is best practice to afford the debtor every opportunity to pay your invoice without charging interest or debt recovery costs. It is also advisable to include the following text on all invoices to deter practices from late payment of invoices:
I understand and will exercise my statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if I am not paid within 30 days from invoice date.
If your invoice still remains unpaid, however, even after the threat of seeking interest and debt recovery costs, you should write a letter informing the practice that you are charging interest and debt recovery costs. You should inform the practice of the overdue amount, the debt recovery costs you are levying, the rate and amount of interest you are charging, and how you wish the practice to settle the invoice. Here is a template you could use:
[Address 1]
[Address 2]
[Address 3]
[Address 4]
[Today’s date]
Dear [name],
Balance Due as at [Date]: £[Amount you are claiming] (Comprising capital sum of £[Outstanding invoice amount] plus interest of £[Interest] plus compensation for debt recovery costs of £[Debt recovery costs])
Your payment for invoice number [Invoice number] for ophthalmic services is now [number of days overdue] days overdue. No queries have been raised, so the balance remaining is undisputed.
In accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended and supplemented by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002, I charge debt recovery costs of £[debt recovery cost] and interest on late payments at a rate of [interest rate]%. This means that interest will continue to accrue on the above invoice at a rate of [amount] a day. As of today’s date, the outstanding interest stands at £[interest].
Please send payment immediately by cheque by return of post to the above address. If you have any queries, please contact me by telephone on [telephone number].
Yours sincerely,
A. N. Other
If the practice continues to ignore your instruction to pay, you should write a “letter before action.” This is a letter informing the practice that you will take legal action against them if you do not receive the money owing to you within a certain time period that must be specified in the letter. 14 days is a reasonable length of time to specify in the letter, which should be posted by RM Recorded Delivery or other recorded service whereby you can later prove delivery should you be required to do so. It is a legal requirement to write a letter before action (LBA) and to give the practice every opportunity to resolve the matter before the commencement of court action. The letter should be concise and as simple as possible. It should be made clear that court action will result if no response to the letter is received. You could mention in the letter that, should the matter go to court, the practice may be required to pay court costs and that the practice’s reputation may be damaged by such a public proceeding:
“If I do not receive full payment of £[amount] within 14 days from the date of this letter, I will issue a county court claim against you. If you allow this to happen, you will incur court costs and may forfeit your credit status. As previously advised, you are now being charged debt recovery costs of £[amount] and statutory interest of [reference rate]%. If, however, full payment is received by [deadline], I will waive debt recovery costs and interest as a sign of good faith and to resolve the matter amicably without the need for court intervention.”
If you do not receive a satisfactory reply from the company, you should issue a County Court Claim against them. This can be done online by going to www.moneyclaim.gov.uk or by filling in a claim form, which is provided free from any County Court. You can also download a claim form from www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk. The County Court will give you guidance notes on how to complete the form. If you are claiming interest, your Particulars of Claim should include the following:
“The claimant claims interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 at the rate of [the reference rate for the six month period in which your debt became late (the official dealing rate of the Bank of England on either 30th June or 31st December + 8%] from [the date when interest started to run] to [the date you are issuing the claim] in the sum of £[put in amount] and continuing at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at the daily rate of [enter the daily rate of interest].”
If you are claiming compensation for debt recovery costs, you should also include:
“The claimant claims compensation arising from late payment under section 5A of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Under the table of compensation set out in this provision, £[enter amount of compensation] is owed.”
Once you have filled in the form, you should photocopy it and send both copies to the court. You may also wish to make an additional copy to keep for yourself. A fee is payable and this will depend on how much money you are claiming, but the fee is relatively small.
Although you can start a claim in any County Court, it may be transferred to another court if it is disputed. It is very unusual for practices to dispute claims, preferring to settle out of court.
For free legal information, help, and advice, contact Community Legal Service Direct on 0845 345 4345 or www.clsdirect.org.uk.
Help! I can’t pay my taxes!
If you can’t pay your taxes, do not ignore the demands for payment. Instead, contact HMRC’s Payment Helpline on 0845 366 1204 and they will be able to give you advice on dealing with debt and may be able to come to an arrangement with you. Each case is looked at on an individual basis, but HMRC will usually allow you to pay in instalments or delay your payment for 28 days or longer. For longer payment proposals, you may have to provide the recovery office with details of your income, spending, savings and other assets. The Directgov Web site has advice on managing debt at www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/.
If you are worried you will not put enough money away to cover your taxes, you can set up a Budget Payment Plan (BPP). Paying by BPP is voluntary and you decide a regular weekly or monthly amount for HMRC to take from your bank by direct debit and this goes towards paying future tax liabilities. You can change your payment amount at any time and take payment breaks for periods up to six months.
I want to pay my tax, but have lost my payslip!
You do not need a payslip to pay tax by an electronic means. If paying by post, you will need to provide HMRC with your name, address, telephone number, your Self Assessment reference or name of your local HMRC office, and the amount of tax you are paying.
I have been cancelled! Can I charge a cancellation fee?
Not without prior agreement with the practice. Last minute cancellations are fortunately not very common, but are something that locums need to accept from time to time. Similarly, a practice cannot request any money from you should you cancel a booking with them at short notice.
Should I be expected to supervise OAs dispensing children?
No. Unfortunately, it is often the case for Optical Assistants or Trainee Opticians to be expected to dispense to children without adequate supervision arrangements in place. Whether or not you are a locum or employed, by being GOC registered and in the practice where unsupervised dispensing is taking place, you may be subject to Fitness To Practice proceedings. You should contact your professional body for advice in this situation, but the advice usually given is to cease working for the practice involved. You cannot supervise the actions of an unregistered person from a consulting room nor should you be expected to supervise as a self-employed locum.
Should I sign blank GOS forms?
Some practices ask their locums to sign blank GOS forms. You should not sign blank forms, as you will be held responsible and could be accused of fraud should the forms be subsequently submitted fraudulently. Locums should also be aware that some practices will submit GOS4 vouchers to provide spare pairs of spectacles for children. This is completely unacceptable and you should be careful not to sign GOS4 forms used for this purpose. In exceptional circumstances, a PCT may approve a second pair of spectacles for a child, but a GOS3 should be used in this instance. Only a registered Optometrist or Dispensing Optician may supply spectacles to children under 16 and sign the “supplier’s declaration.”
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