Staffing is one of the most persistent challenges facing veterinary practice managers in the UK. Whether you are covering annual leave, managing long-term absences, or scaling up to meet growing demand, locum cover is an essential part of keeping your practice running smoothly and your clients' animals cared for.
This guide walks through everything practice managers need to know about sourcing, planning, and managing veterinary locum cover effectively.
Why Practices Need Locum Cover
Every veterinary practice, from single-site independents to large corporate groups, will need locum cover at some point. The reasons are varied, but they all share one thing in common: your patients still need care when your permanent team is unavailable.
Holiday and Annual Leave
The most predictable reason for needing locum cover is staff holidays. With veterinary professionals entitled to a minimum of 28 days' annual leave (including bank holidays), planning cover across the year is a constant juggling act. This is especially true during peak periods like school holidays and Christmas, when multiple team members may want time off simultaneously.
Sickness and Unexpected Absences
Illness, family emergencies, and other unplanned absences can leave you short-staffed with little warning. Having a strategy for sourcing locum cover at short notice is essential to avoid cancelling appointments, turning away emergencies, or burning out the rest of your team.
Maternity, Paternity, and Long-Term Leave
Parental leave typically means covering a role for several months. This is where building relationships with reliable locums becomes particularly valuable. A locum who knows your practice, your systems, and your clients can provide continuity of care during an extended absence.
Practice Growth and Recruitment Gaps
If you are expanding your services, opening a new branch, or simply struggling to recruit permanent staff in a competitive market, locums can bridge the gap. The ongoing veterinary recruitment shortage means many practices rely on locum cover while searching for the right permanent hire.
Planning Ahead vs Last-Minute Cover
The difference between a smooth locum booking and a stressful scramble often comes down to planning.
Advance Planning
For predictable absences like holidays, aim to book locum cover as far in advance as possible. Popular periods fill up quickly, and experienced locums often have their calendars booked weeks or months ahead.
Tips for advance planning:
- Build a holiday rota at the start of each quarter so you know when cover is needed
- Post shifts as soon as dates are confirmed rather than waiting until the last minute
- Consider block bookings for maternity or long-term cover to secure a single locum for the full period
- Keep a list of locums who have worked well at your practice before
Urgent and Last-Minute Cover
Sometimes you have no choice but to find cover at short notice. A vet calls in sick on Monday morning, or a nurse has a family emergency. In these situations, speed matters.
Platforms like Fetch are designed to help with exactly this scenario. Urgent shifts (those starting within 48 hours) can be flagged to reach locums in your area quickly, with expanding notification radius to maximise your chances of finding cover. Having your practice profile and shift templates ready in advance means you can post an urgent shift in minutes rather than spending the morning on the phone.
Cost Considerations
Understanding the true cost of locum cover helps you budget effectively and make informed decisions about when to use locums versus other staffing strategies.
Locum Rates vs Permanent Salary
Locum day rates are typically higher than the equivalent daily cost of a salaried employee. This reflects the locum's self-employed status, the lack of benefits (pension, sick pay, holiday pay), and the flexibility they offer. For vets, day rates in the UK generally range from around 350 to over 700 pounds depending on experience, location, and urgency.
While the headline rate is higher, it is worth remembering that you are not paying employer's National Insurance contributions, pension contributions, or other employment costs. For short-term cover, the total cost difference may be smaller than it first appears.
Agency Fees vs Direct Booking
Traditional locum agencies charge a commission on top of the locum's rate, typically adding 15-25% to your overall cost. This can add up significantly, particularly for extended bookings.
Direct booking platforms offer a more cost-effective alternative. With Fetch, practices pay a straightforward subscription rather than per-booking commissions, and you pay the locum directly. This transparency means you know exactly what the locum is earning and what you are spending.
Budgeting for Locum Cover
Consider building a locum cover budget into your annual financial planning. Look at the previous year's locum usage to forecast likely needs. Common approaches include:
- Fixed monthly allocation — set aside a consistent amount each month to smooth out seasonal peaks
- Per-FTE contingency — budget a percentage of each full-time employee's salary equivalent for their potential absence cover
- Separate urgent vs planned budgets — urgent cover typically costs more, so ring-fencing a portion for emergencies helps avoid overspending on planned cover
What to Look for in a Locum
Not all locums are equal, and finding the right fit for your practice involves more than just checking availability.
RCVS Registration and Verification
This is non-negotiable. Every vet and veterinary nurse working in the UK must be registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and hold a valid practising certificate. Always verify a locum's RCVS registration number before confirming a booking.
Fetch verifies every locum's RCVS registration as part of the onboarding process, so you can be confident that anyone you book through the platform is registered and in good standing.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Professional indemnity (PI) insurance is a mandatory requirement for veterinary surgeons. It protects both the locum and your practice in the event of a clinical negligence claim. For veterinary nurses, PI insurance is recommended but not mandatory.
Check that your locum's PI insurance is current and provides adequate cover. On Fetch, PI insurance documentation is verified during the locum's registration process.
Experience and Species Competence
A locum who is excellent with small animals may not be the right choice for a mixed practice with a significant equine or farm animal caseload. When posting shifts, be clear about the species you see and the level of experience required.
Look for locums with:
- Relevant species experience — small animal, equine, farm, exotic, or mixed
- Appropriate seniority — new graduates may need more support than an experienced locum
- Specific skills — if you need someone comfortable with orthopaedic surgery or advanced imaging, state this upfront
References and Track Record
A locum's reputation matters. On Fetch, practices can leave reviews after completed bookings, helping build a picture of each locum's reliability, clinical skills, and how well they fit into different practice environments. This peer feedback is invaluable when choosing between candidates.
Onboarding Locums Effectively
A good onboarding experience benefits everyone: the locum, your permanent team, and your patients. Even experienced locums need orientation to work safely and efficiently in an unfamiliar practice.
Before Their First Shift
Prepare an information pack or onboarding checklist that covers:
- Practice management system — which PMS you use and any key workflows
- Drug protocols — your standard protocols for common presentations
- Emergency procedures — out-of-hours arrangements, emergency drug locations, referral contacts
- Health and safety — fire exits, radiation safety, controlled drug procedures
- Team contacts — who to ask for help, head nurse contact, practice manager availability
On the Day
Allow time at the start of the shift for a walkthrough. Show the locum where everything is: consulting rooms, pharmacy, operating theatre, X-ray, lab. Introduce them to the team. A locum who feels welcomed and oriented will perform better and be more likely to return.
Building Consistency
If you use the same locum regularly, keep notes on what went well and any feedback. This helps build a working relationship that benefits both parties. Many practices find that having a small pool of two or three regular locums who know the practice well is far more effective than booking a different person each time.
Managing Multiple Locations
For practices with more than one site, locum management becomes more complex. Each location may have different staffing needs, species focus, and operational requirements.
Per-Location Planning
Treat each location as a separate staffing unit. What works for your main branch may not apply to a satellite site with different opening hours or a different caseload mix. Map out the staffing needs for each location independently.
Centralised Booking
While planning should be location-specific, managing bookings through a single platform simplifies administration. With Fetch, multi-location practices can manage shifts and bookings across all their sites from one account, with per-location filtering to keep things organised.
Location-Specific Onboarding
Each site needs its own onboarding process. A locum who has worked at your main branch still needs orientation if they are covering at a different location for the first time.
Using Fetch to Streamline the Process
Managing locum cover does not have to be a time-consuming process of phone calls, emails, and spreadsheets.
Post Shifts Quickly
Create and publish shifts in minutes with all the details a locum needs: date, time, rate, species, and any specific requirements. Shift templates make it even faster for recurring needs.
Find Verified Locums
Every locum on Fetch has been through a verification process covering RCVS registration, professional indemnity insurance, right to work documentation, and identity checks. This removes the burden of manual verification from your team.
Manage Applications
When locums apply for your shifts, you can review their profiles, experience, reviews from other practices, and verification status before accepting. This puts you in control of who works at your practice.
Handle Urgent Cover
For last-minute staffing needs, flag shifts as urgent to reach nearby locums quickly. The platform's expanding notification radius means your shift gets seen by more locums when time is short.
Track Everything
Keep a record of all your locum bookings, confirmed hours, and reviews in one place. This makes reporting, budgeting, and planning for future cover much simpler.
Building a Reliable Pool of Locums
The most resilient staffing strategy is one that combines good planning with strong relationships.
Invest in Relationships
When you find a locum who works well with your team, make an effort to keep them coming back. Prompt payment, fair rates, a welcoming environment, and constructive feedback all contribute to building loyalty.
Diversify Your Pool
Do not rely on a single locum for all your cover needs. Aim to build relationships with several locums who know your practice. This gives you options when your preferred locum is unavailable and reduces the risk of being left without cover.
Communicate Clearly
Good communication is the foundation of a good locum experience. Be upfront about expectations, provide clear shift details, and give honest feedback. Locums who feel respected and well-informed are more likely to provide excellent care and return in the future.
Plan for the Long Term
Think of locum management as an ongoing part of your practice operations, not a reactive measure for when things go wrong. Regular review of your staffing needs, locum usage, and feedback will help you continuously improve your approach.
Getting Started
If you are a practice manager looking to simplify how you source and manage locum cover, Fetch is built specifically for UK veterinary practices. Create your practice profile, post your first shift, and start connecting with verified locum vets and nurses in your area.
For more on how locum work fits into the veterinary landscape, see our guides on what a locum vet is and how locum pay rates work in the UK.
Create your free practice account on Fetch and take the stress out of staffing.