Becoming a locum worker can be a scary thought. Essentially, it means that instead of being employed and consistently working in the same environment, you are instead used as a stand-in for other people when they are unable to work or when there are vacancies that have not yet been filled.

Plus, the term can also mean being self-employed, which can feel like a huge leap if you have never done it before, especially if you work as a pharmacist. Still, becoming a locum worker in the pharmacy dispensing sector can make work much more exciting, and there are a number of benefits to enjoy – some of which are outlined below.

 

Choose Your Hourly Rate

Hands down, one of the best reasons for the employed vs. self-employed battle is that when you work for yourself, you can choose your own rate of pay. In fact, your pay rate could even be much higher than the one you would receive as an employee. Because you are charging more for a service that is vital for your potential contractor to fulfil, they will therefore be more likely to pay more to secure the role.  And if you choose to work through an agency instead, rates in the Cardiff region are typically £40.00-45.00 per hour with literally thousands of shifts available within a short drive.

Sure, you might get bartered down slightly here and there, but the bottom line is that it is your choice to accept or decline – you are the boss in that regard. A healthier hourly rate also has the potential to decrease the number of hours you need per month, depending on personal circumstances and wishes. Locum workers in most sectors tend to get a better rate of pay than their employed counterparts because of this, making the idea very appealing to many!

 

Enjoy a Better Work-Life Balance

Another perk of self-employment – or locum work – is that you are essentially your own boss and can choose your work schedule. This freedom and control can be incredibly important for a variety of reasons, but among the major ones for heading down the locum path is being a parent or carer with so many other claims on one’s time and energy.

Ultimately, maintaining a better work-life balance by picking your working hours will only improve all aspects of your life, including that time and energy. You will be less stressed and more present in other areas of your life – and who doesn’t want that?

Thankfully, there’s ample opportunity for professionals to seek out the path of the self-employed in the pharmacy industry. Workflare offers a useful service for locum pharmacy dispensers, giving immediate access to and real-time information on available shifts in any given area from hundreds of organisations – thus proving there is a huge demand for locums in this domain.

 

Get Paid Quickly

It can be hard to make finances stretch these days, particularly as price hikes seem inevitable and society is heading ever closer to a recession. With so many increases in bills, cash flow can become an issue fairly quickly.

However, becoming a locum worker can be beneficial in this respect, as many businesses will pay locums more frequently than employed staff. Pay could be weekly or bi-weekly, which could mean that money pressures are not so daunting in the long run.

All in all, locum dispensing has a huge amount going for it. With huge decreases in stress, more accessibility to money, and a better work-life balance, it is easy to see why locum pharmacy dispensing may be the right decision for you.