28/04/2026
Locum Doctors: Know Your Worth!
It’s Time to Move Beyond RM40/hour
Two common ways clinic owners undermine locum doctors’ pay.
The first method is by introducing unpaid breaks. For example, a locum job advertised on Telegram may offer RM40/hour from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, but includes an unpaid break from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. For a 9-hour shift, the locum doctor should earn RM360. However, due to the unpaid hour, the actual payment is only RM320 effectively reducing the hourly rate to RM35.
The second method is by structuring payment based on the number of patients seen. For instance, an overnight locum shift from 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM may be paid as follows:
0–4 patients (RM200),
5–9 patients (RM250),
10–14 patients (RM300),
15 and above (RM350).
Are you aware that earning RM200 for a 9-hour overnight shift equates to only about RM22 per hour?
As a profession, we are striving to raise the minimum locum rate from RM40/hour to RM50/hour this year.
However, as long as there are locum doctors willing to accept rates below RM40/hour, it will be difficult to push for this increase.
www.locumguidelines.com
