Booking requests

Organisations can discover you and send booking requests in two ways:

• Locum directory: organisations search the Sessional directory by postcode, specialty, and availability. They find your profile, review your details, and submit a request directly.
• Direct link: you share your personal profile URL (e.g. sessional.co.uk/locums/your-slug) with an organisation by email, in person, or on your CV. The organisation visits your profile and submits a request from there.

Organisations do not need a Sessional account. They fill in a simple form with their details and the booking information, no sign-up required.

When an organisation views your profile, they see:

• Your name (prefixed with Dr), photo, and biography
• Primary specialty and any additional specialties
• General location area
• Your availability calendar (if published)
• Any optional fields you have chosen to display (registration number, employment type, phone number, etc.)

You control exactly what is visible from your profile's Visibility tab. See Your profile→ for details.

Each booking request from an organisation includes:

• Organisation name: the surgery or clinic requesting you
• Contact details: name, email, and phone number of the person booking
• Booking type: e.g. standard surgery, home visits, telephone triage, extended hours
• Date and time: when the booking is needed, including start and end times
• Offered rate: the hourly rate the organisation is proposing
• Notes: any additional information such as parking arrangements, clinical system, or specific requirements

To prevent spam and verify that requests come from genuine NHS organisations, all booking requests require email confirmation:

1. The organisation fills in the booking form using an NHS email address (nhs.uk, nhs.net, nhs.scot, or hscni.net)
2. Sessional sends a confirmation email to that address with a secure link
3. The organisation clicks the link to confirm the request
4. Only then does the request appear in your dashboard and trigger a notification

When an organisation confirms their booking request, you receive an email notification. The email includes the organisation name, booking type, date, rate, and a direct link to review the request in your dashboard.

You do not need to check your dashboard manually. The email gives you everything you need to decide whether to accept or decline.

Booking requests move through these stages:

1. Submitted: the organisation has confirmed their request via email and it is waiting for your attention
2. Under review: you have opened the request and are considering it
3. Invited: you have sent a structured brief back to the organisation (e.g. confirming availability, suggesting a different rate)
4. Accepted: you have confirmed the booking and it is created automatically
5. Declined: you have turned down the request
6. Withdrawn: either party has withdrawn the request before it was accepted

When you accept a booking request, Sessional automatically:

• Creates a confirmed booking with all the details from the request (organisation, date, time, rate)
• Marks the time slot as booked on your availability calendar
• Sends a confirmation email to you with the full booking details
• Sends a confirmation email to the organisation contact
• Records the event in your audit trail

The booking appears in your bookings list immediately and is ready to be completed and invoiced after the date passes.

If a request does not suit you, click Decline. You can optionally include a brief message to the organisation (e.g. "I'm unavailable on that date" or "The rate is below my minimum"). The organisation is notified and the request is closed.

Declining has no negative effect on your profile or directory ranking.

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.