What is locum work, and how does it work in India?

A locum doctor covers a defined period of work at a hospital or clinic they are not permanently employed by: a night shift, a weekend, a fortnight while a consultant is on leave. The clinical work is the same work; what differs is that the arrangement has an end date agreed at the start.

The commonest reasons a hospital needs cover are planned leave, an unfilled post, and sudden absence. The first is predictable weeks ahead. The last is why cover is often arranged in hours.

Any doctor with a valid registration may work as a locum, subject to the rules of the State Medical Council they are registered with. Registration, not residence, is what decides where a doctor may practise. A doctor living in one state and registered in another should check their council's position before accepting work across a state line.

There is no separate locum licence or register. A locum doctor is simply a registered doctor working a short-term engagement.

Payment is between the doctor and the hospital, at a rate agreed before the work is accepted. There is no standard national rate: it varies by specialty, by city, by the hours involved and by how much notice the hospital had.

On Rounds the rate is stated on the shift before a doctor accepts it, and the hospital pays the doctor directly. Rounds takes no commission and never holds the money.

A locum engagement is not employment. The doctor is an independent professional taking a defined piece of work, which is why they keep clinical autonomy and are free to accept or decline anything offered.

That independence is also why a locum arrangement should be clear on its own terms, dates, hours, rate, and what happens if either side needs to cancel, before the shift starts rather than after.