A locum, is a fully qualified general practitioner who does not have a standard employment contract with the primary care health centre where they work.
[1] Locum GPs are often self-employed professionals, therefore not entitled to sick leave, holiday pay or redundancy compensation.
A typical session in the United Kingdom is equivalent to 4 hours and 10 minutes of work, and frequently involves 3 hours of face to face contact with patients in 10 minutes appointments, followed by time for administration (reviewing correspondence from the hospital, reviewing blood test results, writing referral letters, triaging patients' calls…) and doing home visits.
Some GPs choose to practice as sessional doctors to allow them to meet other personal commitments, for example, mothers with small children, while for others it is a lifestyle choice.
Resources are all pooled, enabling the chambers to employ staff to support appraisal activities, educational events and organising work.
[4] - In UK, as a form to practice more hands on medicine and reduce the bureaucratic burden posed on permanent GPs.