The major optical providers have officially agreed to honor our requested minimum daily rates. This outcome confirms that collective professional standards are achievable when we choose to act with common purpose. Please remain diligent in ensuring these new agreements are upheld across all future placements.
July 21, 2016
Final supporters
It is disappointing to see companies offering lower daily rates and introducing caps at a time where living costs are increasing and when there is increased pressure on sales, increased responsibilities and risk of litigation.
As locums are self employed it is down to individual locums to set own daily rates. To ensure longevity and prosperity of this chosen career path. We should aim for a minimum of £300 on weekdays (inc Sunday) and £350 for Saturday.
This is not unreasonable as charging people a fee for eye examinations or even a single dispense of spectacles would easily cover this. It is unfair to subsidise free sight tests and spectacle offers by lowering locum rates.
There is no lobby or union that will do this it is incumbent on every locum to do there bit. The attitude that someone else will sort it out needs to end. A boycott maybe needed for companies that don't respond to our reasonable and fair request (goto www.thelocumunion.com for further details)
Our future is in our own hands, we only have to look at our pharmacy peers to see what will happen if we don't act NOW!
Please sign petition today to make a difference
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
July 7, 2016
Reached 100 supporters
June 15, 2016
June 13, 2016
We are approaching one hundred signatures and need to maintain this momentum to ensure our objectives are noticed. Please forward this link to your professional colleagues today to help us reach this initial goal.
113 Comments
Being a locum since 1995 I think it is completely unforgiving the fact that I get paid either the same or less for work now even though the responsibilities and the volume of work has risen. Inflation and increased costs or every basic need over the last 21 years has risen as well.
Multiples are abusing the flexibility of the locum relationship and scrapping clinics that are not full at short notice, often lying to patients about the real reason for the cancellation: 'The Optician can't make it in' or '..has cancelled'. Never: 'We don't think we can make our daily target' or 'We overspent our locum budget'
I struggle to understand how the Locum fees have decreased since I qualified, whilst the standard of living has not. How is a newly qualified optometrist worth the same as some with not only experience but an array of additional qualifications.
Locum fees for Optometrist have been static for about 15 years. Ie around £250 weekdays, £300 weekends. In past 3 years I only worked In practices that paid me at end of each day. I had waited over 6 months for a multiple to pay and made the decision then. I have now retired but fully supportive of raising the lot of the locum optometrist.
Cannot believe the daily rate has remained static for so long and now they're trying to lower it. Agree with what many have said already, upto us as a professional collective not to accept reduced rates. However that includes newly qualified that seem to insist on undercutting their colleagues just to get the work. Good luck with this petition.
Know your value
I agree with the petition whole heartily.
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The major optical providers have officially agreed to honor our requested minimum daily rates. This outcome confirms that collective professional standards are achievable when we choose to act with common purpose. Please remain diligent in ensuring these new agreements are upheld across all future placements.
July 21, 2016
Final supporters
It is disappointing to see companies offering lower daily rates and introducing caps at a time where living costs are increasing and when there is increased pressure on sales, increased responsibilities and risk of litigation.
As locums are self employed it is down to individual locums to set own daily rates. To ensure longevity and prosperity of this chosen career path. We should aim for a minimum of £300 on weekdays (inc Sunday) and £350 for Saturday.
This is not unreasonable as charging people a fee for eye examinations or even a single dispense of spectacles would easily cover this. It is unfair to subsidise free sight tests and spectacle offers by lowering locum rates.
There is no lobby or union that will do this it is incumbent on every locum to do there bit. The attitude that someone else will sort it out needs to end. A boycott maybe needed for companies that don't respond to our reasonable and fair request (goto www.thelocumunion.com for further details)
Our future is in our own hands, we only have to look at our pharmacy peers to see what will happen if we don't act NOW!
Please sign petition today to make a difference
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
July 7, 2016
Reached 100 supporters
June 15, 2016
June 13, 2016
We are approaching one hundred signatures and need to maintain this momentum to ensure our objectives are noticed. Please forward this link to your professional colleagues today to help us reach this initial goal.
113 Comments
I have stayed in bed many times rather than work for a lower rate. Minimum £300 weekday, £350+ Saturday should be standard. Last minute booking should be extra £50-£100. If i dont get this, i dont work. Everyone needs to stick to this
Being a locum since 1995 I think it is completely unforgiving the fact that I get paid either the same or less for work now even though the responsibilities and the volume of work has risen. Inflation and increased costs or every basic need over the last 21 years has risen as well.
Multiples are abusing the flexibility of the locum relationship and scrapping clinics that are not full at short notice, often lying to patients about the real reason for the cancellation: 'The Optician can't make it in' or '..has cancelled'. Never: 'We don't think we can make our daily target' or 'We overspent our locum budget'
I struggle to understand how the Locum fees have decreased since I qualified, whilst the standard of living has not. How is a newly qualified optometrist worth the same as some with not only experience but an array of additional qualifications.
Locum fees for Optometrist have been static for about 15 years. Ie around £250 weekdays, £300 weekends. In past 3 years I only worked In practices that paid me at end of each day. I had waited over 6 months for a multiple to pay and made the decision then. I have now retired but fully supportive of raising the lot of the locum optometrist.
Cannot believe the daily rate has remained static for so long and now they're trying to lower it. Agree with what many have said already, upto us as a professional collective not to accept reduced rates. However that includes newly qualified that seem to insist on undercutting their colleagues just to get the work. Good luck with this petition.
Know your value
I agree with the petition whole heartily.
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I have stayed in bed many times rather than work for a lower rate. Minimum £300 weekday, £350+ Saturday should be standard. Last minute booking should be extra £50-£100. If i dont get this, i dont work. Everyone needs to stick to this