Re: Locum advice

Simo — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 18:02:51 GMT

I'm doing it for about the same reason, young family and don't want the commitment of a long term job. After a few months of locuming around it will give you a good idea of the whole private veterinary sector, there are a lot more choices then I first realized, from traditional independent SA practice, corporate, sole charge, night shifts, charities, vac/neuter clinic, shelter... I feel it's equipping me for a more aware choice for when I'll feel ready to go back full time. At the moment I'm still under an umbrella because I'm really working only a few days a month and earned under the tax treshold last year, but I worked as self employed for a few clients and anyway considering to switch to the Ltd as soon as the income goes up. The Umbrella company usually charges you up to the 10% of your gross and charge the VAT to the client, be aware that if you go through an agency they will charge the practice as well, so I had some clients a bit p*** by the fact that we agreed for an amount and they actually had to pay over 30% more then that. If you go Ltd. it will all go in your pocket, especially after a while when you'll start to have recurring clients and stop relying on agencies.

Re: Locum advice

Will McMullan — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 12:08:25 GMT

I did it for 18 months and loved it. If you're going to do anything more than a couple of months then it's definitely worth setting up a Ltd company. Speak to a friendly local accountant and they can help you sort all the financial side of things. It's quite straightforward really. I think my accounting fees were 250-300 for the year? I would advise against using an umbrella company as you lose a lot more of your income that way. Locuming is great because you can be flexible with where and when you work, and it's very well paid. I took 6 months holiday out of 12 and earned just less than I will this year in full time employment with 25 days holiday! I guess it helps if you're confident and happy to just turn up somewhere you don't know the system or staff and crack on with things. If you need support you might not always get it as a locum. It's maybe not the best plan if you're intending on applying for a mortgage soon but apart from that it's great if you don't have a definite full-time position in mind or just want to explore the veterinary world. I learnt a lot about how different practices run.