Contractor agreement for a locum in a non-medical practice

A locum in a professional practice steps into a role for a period, under the practice's regulator, insurance and systems, and the agreement has to make that work: a defined assignment covering a named role or caseload, the professional obligations the locum brings and the practice's obligations as the regulated entity, conflicts and confidentiality across a locum's other practices, the agency that often sits in between, and a status that is assessed on how the assignment runs rather than on the word locum. I draft that agreement, for the practice or for the locum, for a fixed fee of £595, delivered in five working days. HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool is used to check status engagement by engagement; no document can guarantee the outcome.

Who this is for

Law firms, accountancy practices, surveyors, architects and other professional practices in England and Wales engaging locum solicitors, accountants, surveyors and specialists for leave cover, peaks and gaps, and locums who want their own agreement or a check on one they have been sent.

What matters in a locum agreement for a professional practice

The assignment, cover and the practice's clients

The agreement should define the assignment: the role or caseload covered, the period and extension, the days a week, the supervision and reporting line the regulator's rules require, the clients and matters the locum will handle and the practice's authority to reallocate them, and whether the locum is permitted to bring their own clients to the practice; a locum 'to assist the department' indefinitely is a job without a title, and the assignment should have an end.

Professional obligations, the regulator and the practice's insurance

The locum remains bound by their professional regulator's rules and must hold their own practising certificate or registration where the profession requires one, and the agreement should say so; the practice remains the regulated entity responsible for the work done in its name, and its professional indemnity insurance covers the locum's work for it as the policy provides, which the agreement should state with the locum's own cover, if any, for other work. The practice's compliance obligations (conflict checks, client money, anti-money laundering checks under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 where the practice is within them) apply to the locum's work and the agreement should require compliance with the practice's procedures.

Conflicts, confidentiality and client files

The locum will have worked for other practices and may again, and the agreement should require disclosure of conflicts before matters are allocated, confidentiality about the practice's clients that survives the assignment, no removal or copying of client files, documents or data, and compliance with the practice's data protection policies under the UK GDPR, with the practice as controller of client data and the locum processing it as the practice's agent; the regulator's rules on confidentiality and conflicts apply in any event, and the agreement should not purport to waive them.

Engagement direct or through an agency and the off-payroll rules

Where a locum agency supplies the locum, the agency is an employment business under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 unless the locum's company has opted out under regulation 32, the practice contracts with the agency and the agency with the locum, and the agreement should say which contracts exist and keep their terms consistent; where the locum works through a limited company and the practice is a medium or large client, the practice determines status under Chapter 10 of Part 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 and issues a determination statement, and many locum assignments, with their fixed days, supervision and integration, fall inside the rules, which the agreement should recognise rather than resist.

Fees, hours and the practice's systems

The agreement should state the day rate or hourly rate, the hours a day covers, overtime if any, expenses, invoicing in arrears with timesheets, payment terms with interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, the locum's use of the practice's systems, email and case management under its policies, and time recording and billing of the locum's work to clients as the practice's work; the practice's billing targets should not be imposed on a locum as if an employee, though recording time for the practice's billing is part of the assignment.

Status, substitution and the end of the assignment

A locum with their own practice, several assignments, the right to decline work and to send a suitably qualified substitute the practice may reject only on reasonable grounds, and no employee benefits has the features of self-employment; one working fixed days under the practice's supervision for a long period looks like an employee, and the status determination should be made on the facts with HMRC's tool, with the agreement reflecting whichever is true. The assignment should end on its date or on short notice by either side, with a handover of matters, the return of files and access, and no restriction on the locum working for other practices, which would be unenforceable and point to employment.

What it costs

Consultancy or contractor agreement, £595. Drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of an agreement sent to you, £495. You are the contractor and want to know what you are signing. Returned marked up with the changes to ask for and an explanation. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the consultancy and contractor agreements page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A clear, express assignment of intellectual property to your business
• Confidentiality provisions that protect your business information
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Clear treatment of status, so the arrangement is not accidentally something else
• Payment, deliverables and termination provisions that match how you work
• A reusable structure, so the next engagement costs you nothing

What is not included

• Employment status determinations and off-payroll working assessments, which need your accountant
• Tax advice
• Disputes with a contractor you have already engaged
• Immigration and right to work compliance

Questions I am often asked

Does our professional indemnity insurance cover a locum?

Usually, for work done in the practice's name, as the policy provides. The agreement states the position and requires the locum to work within the practice's procedures; check the policy wording before the locum starts.

A locum solicitor working four days a week for six months through a limited company. Inside or outside the off-payroll rules?

Probably inside, given the fixed days, supervision and integration, but the determination is made on the facts with HMRC's tool, and the agreement reflects whichever is true. A locum who is in fact inside should be paid through the fee-payer's deductions.

Can a locum bring their own clients to the practice?

Only if the agreement and the regulator's rules allow it, with conflict checks and client money handled by the practice. The agreement says whether it is permitted and on what terms.

Related guidance and services

• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Consultancy agreement for an interim manager
• Reviewing an umbrella company or agency contract as a contractor

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: October 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.