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Cancellation protection

Protect your income with cancellation terms and notice periods.

What cancellation terms are

Cancellation terms define the notice period an organisation must give before cancelling a confirmed booking. If the organisation cancels inside that period, you may be entitled to charge a cancellation fee, usually the full session rate or a percentage of it.

Clear terms protect your income when short-notice cancellations leave you unable to fill the slot. Sessional records the agreed terms and helps you raise the fee invoice when the notice is breached.

How cancellation terms work

Notice period

The minimum number of days' notice required before the booking date. If the organisation gives fewer days than this, the cancellation falls inside the protected period.

Fee percentage

The proportion of the session value that can be charged as a cancellation fee. This is often 100%, but can be set to a lower percentage.

For example, if a booking on 20 May has a 14-day notice period, the organisation must cancel by 6 May to avoid a cancellation fee. If it cancels on 10 May, the cancellation is inside the notice period and you can raise a fee.

Setting default terms

Sessional provides preset cancellation templates so you do not have to configure terms manually for every booking. Your default terms apply automatically when you confirm a new booking, and you can override them on any individual booking.

Standard

Recommended

Uses the default notice period for your registered profession.

14-day notice

Preset

Common for longer or higher-value bookings where the slot is harder to replace.

48-hour notice

Preset

Suitable for short-notice or ad hoc shift work.

Custom

Flexible

Write your own terms in your own words. Sessional cannot read a fee percentage out of free text, so a cancellation fee invoice under custom terms starts at 100% of the agreed rate: check the amount before you send it.

Tip

Communicate your cancellation terms before confirming bookings. Adding them to your profile or mentioning them when accepting a request helps avoid disputes later.

Profession-specific default terms

28-day sliding scale: 28 or more days no fee, 7 to 28 days 50%, under 7 days 100%.

Pharmacist and optometrist

3 working days, reflecting common community pharmacy and optometry patterns.

Nurse, paramedic, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, psychologist, speech and language therapist, radiographer, dietitian, hospital doctor, physician associate, and midwife

24 hours for shift-based work that often runs through agencies and trusts.

Dentist, dental hygienist, and psychiatrist

7 days where sessions often need advance planning for lists, chair time, or MHA work.

When you select Standard, Sessional uses the default for your registered profession. You can always change it per booking or set a custom default. Cancellation terms are on every plan, including free Basic; see Sessional plans and pricing.

What happens when a booking is cancelled

Sessional checks the notice period

When you cancel a booking, the panel first asks who cancelled: the organisation or you. If the organisation cancelled, Sessional compares the cancellation date with the booking date and the agreed notice period and shows you the fee your terms allow before you confirm. The panel also says whether the organisation will be emailed.

Outside the notice period

The booking is cancelled with no fee.

Inside the notice period

Sessional flags the cancellation and lets you generate a cancellation fee invoice.

You are not obliged to charge the fee. It is your decision. A booking you record as cancelled by you raises no fee at all, and that choice cannot be changed afterwards. Agency-managed and PAYE bookings have no invoice, so no fee is raised for them either. Where a booking's terms are free text that does not match one of the standard fee scales, for example terms an organisation typed on a booking request, the full agreed amount is offered and the panel says so: check it against what you agreed before invoicing.

Generating a cancellation fee invoice

When a booking is cancelled inside the notice period, an Invoice cancellation fee option appears in the cancellation-fee list on the Invoices page. It creates an invoice with the organisation as the recipient, a line item for the fee, the original booking date, the notice period, your payment terms, and your bank details.

The cancellation invoice follows the same format as a regular invoice and can be sent by email, downloaded as a PDF, or synced to Xero if connected.

Important

Cancellation fees are only enforceable if the terms were agreed in advance. Sessional provides the tools to generate and send invoices, but it is your responsibility to make sure the terms were contractually agreed.

Waiving or overriding a fee

Waive the fee

Click Waive fee next to the cancellation on the Invoices page. If you already generated the invoice, void it from the Invoices page instead.

Different terms for one booking

Choose the terms for a booking when you create it: the booking form opens on your default and lets you pick another option or write custom terms. There is no control to change the terms on a booking after it has been created, so if they are wrong, delete the booking and add it again before sending any confirmation.

Terms chosen for one booking do not affect your default terms or other bookings.

Frequently asked questions

Are cancellation terms legally binding?

Cancellation terms form part of the agreement between you and the organisation. For them to be enforceable, the organisation should have agreed to the terms before the booking was confirmed. Sessional helps you record and communicate these terms, but we cannot provide legal advice.

Can I set different default terms for different organisations?

Default terms are set at account level and apply to all new bookings. You can still override the terms on any individual booking.

What if the organisation disputes the cancellation fee?

Disputes are between you and the organisation. Sessional provides the invoice and a record of the cancellation date relative to the notice period, which can serve as evidence.

Do cancellation terms apply to bookings I cancel?

No. Cancellation terms in Sessional are designed to protect locums when organisations cancel. When you cancel a booking and choose I am cancelling, no cancellation fee is raised. The organisation may have its own terms.

Can I apply cancellation terms to existing bookings?

Not directly. Terms are set when a booking is created and there is no control to change them afterwards. Changing your default in your profile applies to new bookings only. For an existing booking, agree the terms with the organisation in writing, or delete the booking and add it again with the right terms.