Investigators have called for employers to pay out £4 million after fears of rate-setting in the media, the Government has reported.
Sports broadcast and production companies Sky, BT, IMG, ITV and BBC admitted to breaking the law after colluding on rates of pay for freelancers.
Commenting on the case, one sessional GP remarked: “That is the entire set up for Edinburgh, may even be Scotland-wide. There is literally no scope to negotiate especially with the current shortage of locum work.”
Another remarked that GP federations often appear to set rates for extended hours sessions.
The NASGP has long advocated for GPs to set their own rates that reflect their experience, workload and responsibilities during sessions, and the costs of locuming.
However, in the current market many GP locums have warned that rates and workload are often difficult to negotiate. Some practices continue to state that the employer’s contribution to the NHS Pension is included in the rate advertised – something the NASGP has warned against for some time.
Dr Richard Fieldhouse, NASGP chair, said: “We have repeatedly warned against facilitating any method by which a practice is enabled to specify the rate of pay for a freelance GP, in a manner that is then visible to another practice, who can then potentially set a rate informed by another practice.
“This behaviour is grossly unfair to the freelance workers affected, and its impact is reflected by the punitive fines that the Government is prepared to hand out to employers. Anyone operating a WhatsApp group where this happens, or even a bespoke locum platform where practices can see rates set by other practices, would do well to reflect on these findings.
“All GP locums effectively operate within a market as specialist service providers. There is no other such market in the world where a freelance service provider’s rates are set by their employer; to do so is a race to the bottom, and is economically unviable. That the only market where this behaviour exists, in the world, is the UK GP locum market, is a gross misjustice to those GP locums now struggling to work.”