Freelance GP locums who also work as GP appraisers, and their pension status
4 August 2005 (updated January 2006)
In order for your GP appraiser work to be pensionable, you will need to be employed formally (ie with an employment contract) by the Primary Care Organisation (PCO) for the GP appraiser part of your work. You can still remain as a freelance locum for your other work. If your PCO will not provide you with a contract of employment for your appraiser work, then your appraiser earnings will not be pensionable and you should therefore consider whether or not you are willing to undertake this work on this basis and/or whether a higher appraiser fee could compensate for this.
You can stil remain as a freelance locum for your other work.
The following is an extract from a letter from the Pensions Agency on this issue. The penultimate paragraph is particularly relevant:
"Prior to the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract GP locums could only 'pension' practice based GMS or Personal Medical Services (PMS) work where they were deputising for an absent GP or temporarily assisting in the provision of GMS or PMS.
Following agreements reached under the new GMS contract between the BMA and the NHS Confederation the NHS Pension Scheme Regulations were amended on the 5 April 2005 to allow for GP locums to 'pension' any out of hours earnings (net of expenses) providing that the out of hours provider was a Scheme Employing Authority.
However there are no provisions under the 2005 Amendment Regulations for a GP who is solely a freelance GP locum to 'pension' any fee based income derived from writing appraisals. This is because whilst Principal, Assistant and Locum Practitioners can 'pension' essential services, additional services, enhanced services, dispensing services, out of hours services, commissioned services and collaborative services only Principals and Assistants can 'pension' NHS board and advisory work.
Whilst a freelance GP locum cannot 'pension' fee based appraisal work it may be pensionable if the GP is formally employed by a Scheme Employing Authority to write appraisals. In this case the GP would have two concurrent pensionable posts; one as a Locum Practitioner and one as a part time (salaried) Officer.
To allow a freelance GP locum to 'pension' fee based appraisal work would require a change to the Regulations which is not in the gift of the NHS Pension Agency. The responsibility for the writing of any NHS Pension Scheme legislation rests with the Department of Health."