How much does a physiotherapist earn UK

After years of rigorous training and intense studying to become a physiotherapist, you're looking forward to joining the workforce. However, not everyone lands their dream position on the first try. As you keep advancing in your career and wait for better opportunities, you need to keep honing your skills and making some money. What do you do then? Locum jobs offer you a chance to experience different work environments, make some extra money and advance your skills. You also get to make the most of your free time. As a physiotherapist, it is important to find out how much a physiotherapist earns in the UK in both permanent and locum roles before committing. This article will help you understand the pros, cons and earnings of becoming a locum physio a little better.

What are locum jobs?

Locum jobs are temporary appointments for medical professionals, also known in other industries as part-time work. Locum work has varying appointment lengths, from an hourly to a week or even a few months. The temporary nature of locum work allows you to hold several positions. This option is unlike permanent employment, where you only do extra work when you have some free and usually rare time.

What are the benefits of locum work?

Flexibility

Locums present a level of flexibility that is lacking in permanent employment. You can take up locum work to fill the free time available after your day job. Alternatively, you can create a timetable that focuses more hours on locum work. And some people go full-time into locum work, opting for longer-term contracts, or various short-term roles. Locum work allows you to work days, nights, weekdays, weekends, and holidays, fitting work into how best suits your schedule.

Extra money

If you are not making as much as you need from your day job, locum work can supplement your salary. Locum physio jobs allow you to make better use of your free time, so you can earn on-top of your day job.

Travel opportunities

When searching for locum work, you don't have to limit yourself to your locality. If you wish to spend time in the UK, you can search for UK physiotherapy jobs here. There are plenty of locum jobs abroad that demand your skills and experience.

Improve your work-life balance

The routine of permanent employment can drain your soul. Working long and stressful shifts will take its toll on your personal life. Locums allow you to schedule your work around your life, not the other way round. Therefore, you'll have more time for your family, hobbies, and other pursuits, and you will treat work as just that; work. You may be highly skilled in physiotherapy, but there is always room for improvement. Locum work exposes you to diverse cases, work environments, people, and cultures. Therefore, you will learn so much more than you can at a regular permanent position.

Build an extensive network

Working a permanent job typically exposes you to the same team of medical professionals. Locum work is much more dynamic and diverse in nature, allowing you to form new relationships by meeting new medical professionals more often.

How much does a physiotherapist earn UK based?

Generally, locum physiotherapy jobs pay better than most permanent physiotherapy positions. A physiotherapist doing locum work can earn up to £35 per hour. The figure could even be higher, depending on the employer, the physiotherapist's level of training, experience, and the location of the role. In addition, working weekends, nights and holidays can further improve your earnings. In contrast, an employed and experienced physiotherapist earns about £46,000 a year working about 40 hours a week. That translates to about £22 an hour. Therefore, taking up locum work in your free time or switching to fully locum work significantly improves your earnings.

What does a locum physiotherapist do?

A locum physiotherapist does the same job as an employed physiotherapist, only under different terms. They will see the same patients and administer the same care in the same settings. However, these locum physiotherapists can dedicate their free (or full) time to different medical facilities, thus breaking the monotony of reporting to the same facility. Visiting different medical facilities in different locations allows a locum physiotherapist to build a professional network quickly and gain experience in a wider range of settings and scenarios. It would likely take an ‘employee’ a significantly longer time to create such a network and gain the same breadth of experience.

Are there downsides to working in the locum model?

Permanent employment affords a person a regular income and benefits, such as maternity and paternity leave. In addition, one gets sick pay and support from the medical organisation. You have to let go of these terms and benefits when you switch to permanently working locums. However, you can overcome such shortcomings since you earn more and can therefore save more to take care of the rainy days. Becoming a locum you can also have a potentially better work-life balance, and establish stronger industry connections. As you improve your skills, you will earn more and build a better reputation in the medical world.

Conclusion

Several factors determine the answer to, "How much does a physiotherapist earn UK based?" Generally, a locum physiotherapist earns almost twice what an employed physiotherapist does in the UK. In addition, your level of experience and area of specialisation determines how much more you can make. Let us help you navigate the complex locum world to land the best physiotherapy jobs in the UK.