Am I entitled to holiday pay or sick pay?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

The most likely answer, though, is no. As a Freelance GP, you are self-employed and therefore are responsible for covering your own holiday and sickness pay. And maternity/paternity pay, redundancy (there will be times when you're unemployed), tax, national insurance, travel - pretty much everything.

But that's the choice you make when you're Freelance. That's why you have to make sure that the rates you charge - and the insurance policies you purchase - cover these circumstances. There is a common misunderstanding that GP Principals get holiday pay - they don't. They instead pay a practice manager to spread their 'drawings' over the year.

Of course, as a Freelance GP, you could get holiday/sickness pay if you negotiated it into your terms and conditions. For that matter, you could even demand a case of wine for every week you work, but no practice in their right mind would want to take you on!

But if you're doing a long-term locum e.g. for maternity leave, then it would be entirely reasonable for you to try and negotiate paid leave into your Terms and Conditions (though beware that the 'counter-bid' from the practice would probably be a reduced daily/weekly rate - as the other party, it's entirely up to you what you agree to).

It's all down to what you can negotiate. No harm in trying!

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