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Help centre

Booking requests

How organisations send you work and how you manage requests.

How organisations find you

Organisations can discover you and send booking requests through the locum directory or by opening your public profile link directly. They do not need a Sessional account.

The request form asks for the organisation details, booking information, and contact details, then lands in your dashboard once confirmed.

What organisations see on your profile

When an organisation views your profile, they see your name, photo, biography, primary specialty, availability calendar if published, and any optional fields you have chosen to display.

You control exactly what is visible from your profile Visibility tab.

What a booking request contains

Each booking request includes the organisation name, contact details, booking type, date and time, offered rate, and notes such as parking or system access.

Email verification

To prevent spam, all booking requests require email confirmation to confirm the request came from an approved NHS email domain before it reaches your dashboard.

Note
You will never receive unverified requests. Every booking request in your dashboard has been confirmed by a verified NHS email address.

Request lifecycle

Booking requests move through submitted, under review, invited, accepted, declined, and withdrawn. Accepting a request automatically creates a confirmed booking and updates your availability.

Declining a request

If a request does not suit you, click Decline. You can optionally include a brief message to the organisation. Declining has no negative effect on your profile or directory ranking.

No marketplace fees

Sessional is not an agency or marketplace. There are no commission fees, placement charges, or per-booking costs. Organisations book you directly and you keep 100% of your agreed rate.

Related help

BookingsAvailability calendarLocum directoryYour profileAgency and PAYE tracking

Frequently asked questions

Can I negotiate the rate on a locum booking request before accepting?
Yes. Use the Invited stage to send a structured brief back to the organisation. You can suggest a different rate, request more information, or confirm availability before formally accepting.
What if I need to cancel a locum booking after accepting it?
Once accepted, a booking is created. You can cancel the booking from your bookings list, which notifies the organisation. Cancellations are recorded in your audit trail.
Do organisations need a Sessional account to send booking requests?
No. Organisations submit booking requests through a simple public form on your profile.
Can I receive booking requests on the Basic plan?
Yes. Booking requests are available on all plans, including Basic. There is no per-month booking-request cap.