Rate benchmark

Locum physician associate rates UK 2026

Indicative pay ranges for UK locum physician associates in the 2026/27 tax year. What’s typical, what drives variance, and how to benchmark your own rate against the market.

Indicative 2026 range (per hour)
Low
£22
Typical
£30
High
£45

PA locum rates sit £21 to £27/hr on NHS bank, £28 to £42/hr via agency, and £30 to £45/hr direct to PCNs for primary care work. Weekend and evening premium adds around 1.3 to 1.6x. The market is structurally constrained by scope of practice and the current prescribing limit. Following PA statutory regulation transferring to GMC in December 2024 and the Leng Review, trusts enforce scope documents more strictly, which has dampened rate growth.

What drives the variance

  • Geography: London + South East run 10–20% above the national average. Scotland and Wales typically mirror the national mean; Northern Ireland is often lower.
  • Urgency: last-minute cover pays more. Organisations covering a sudden gap often pay 20–30% above their standard rate.
  • Specialty: out-of-hours, unplanned care, specialist wards, and complex caseload all uplift the base rate.
  • Volume: regular weekly bookings are usually offered at a lower rate than ad-hoc shifts in exchange for certainty.
  • Route to market: direct bookings pay more than agency routes because no one takes a cut.

How to benchmark your own rate

  1. Write down the last ten bookings you accepted and the rate you charged or received.
  2. Break them down by region, urgency, and duration.
  3. Compare each against the typical range above. If you are consistently at or below the low end on standard bookings, you are probably underpriced.
  4. Next time you are asked for your rate on a standard booking in a London or South East organisation, quote the typical figure from the headline above and see what happens. A refusal tells you about the booking, not your rate.

Figures are educated estimates. Sources include: FPA (legacy) and GMC-published PA guidance; NHS England agency rate caps; Published PA rate cards from medical locum agencies. Real rates vary by individual contract and market conditions. Sessional doesn't guarantee any specific rate and your individual outcome depends on your negotiation and the organisations you work with.

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