Locum reimbursement for parental leave (maternity, paternity & adoption) and Sickness
Locum reimbursement for parental leave (maternity, paternity & adoption)
Eligibility
When a salaried GP or GP partner is absent from the practice due to a period of parental leave (maternity/paternity/adoption) the practice is eligible to receive funding towards the cost of cover for that GP.
For the purposes of this the GP must be on leave for longer than one week and must be entitled to that leave either under statue, their contract of employment (in the case of salaried GPs), or the partnership agreement or other agreement between the partnership (for GP partners).
Cover for the absent GP can be provided by either an external locum or another GP already employed within the practice.
Payments
Under the SFE practices are eligible to receive up to a maximum of £1,143.06 per week for the first two weeks and £1,751.52 per week thereafter. If the full cost of the locum is lower than these maximums then the practice will receive the invoiced amount.
Practices should submit costs incurred to their commissioning body at a frequency agreed with the commissioner or within 14 days of the end of the month for which they are claiming reimbursement.
These payments will not be pro-rated in line with the working pattern of the absence GP.
A SA1 claim form will need to be completed before a claim is made. The completed form will need to be sent to somccg.generalpractice@nhs.net . When this application is acknowledged the CCG will send through a CF1 claim form.
The CF1 form should be used to submit your reimbursement claims, ensuring that they are submitted regularly during the period of absence, They request that this is monthly. Please ensure that you notify them when the GP returns from leave so that they can ensure the claim is closed as appropriate.
Please also note the following when making a claim, to prevent delays in processing and payment:
- Claims should be submitted with the appropriate supporting information, this should be either the relevant locum invoices or, if employed GP Performers/GP Partners are being used to provide cover, please provide payslips/invoices and confirm for each GP the date of the session(s) provided to cover the leave, their pay for the session(s), and the NI and pension contributions paid by the Practice. If employed performers/GP Partners are used please confirm the number of sessions the GP normally works - claims can only be made up to full time (9 sessions).
- MED3 form(s) covering the period of the claim submitted must be included with the claim
- The amount being claimed should be the total cost incurred by the Practice during the claim period for covering the absent GP, and this must correspond to the amounts on the supporting information. Somerset CCG will then review and calculate the appropriate reimbursement in line with the Statement of Financial Entitlements Reimbursement is only made for GP performers providing cover for absences, reimbursement is not made for cover provided by other healthcare professionals
- If the GP returns to work following a period of sickness absence and then has a further period of sickness absence, this second absence will require a new application, regardless of the length of time between absences and even if the absence is for the same reason
As a gentle reminder If the GP off sick is the registered manager with CQC, the practice will have to notify CQC.
Time scales
There are no timescales set out in the SFE for locum reimbursements for parental leave. We would expect such payments to be in line with the length of maternity leave.
Locum reimbursement for sickness leave
Eligibility
When a salaried GP or GP partner is absent from the practice due to a period of sickness leave the practice is eligible to receive funding towards the cost of cover for that GP.
For the purposes of this the GP must be absent for longer than two weeks before reimbursement of costs will be paid. There are no stipulations regarding the type of illness/injury and there are no medical exclusion criteria. The only requirement is that the GP who is absent because of sickness would be expected to provide a fit note.
Cover for the absent GP can be provided by either an external locum or another GP already employed within the practice, provided that individual is not already working full time.
Payments
After the first two weeks of absence practices are eligible to receive up to a maximum of £1,734.18 per week. If the full cost of the locum is lower than this maximum then the practice will receive the invoiced amount.
Practices should submit costs incurred to their commissioning body at the end of month in which they were incurred. Payment should then be made to the practice at the end of the same day that the practice receives its next Global Sum monthly payment.
These payments will not be pro-rated in line with the working pattern of the absence GP.
Time Scales
Practices will be eligible to receive the full agreed amount for the first 26 weeks (6 months) of leave, followed by 26 weeks (6 months) at half that rate. The 52 weeks begin after the initial 2 week qualifying period.
Commissioners will take into account any previous costs claimed for the absent GP within the same time financial year when calculating the number of weeks for which further payment scan be claimed.
For example, if a GP was on sick leave for 6 weeks during May/June and then had a further sickness rated absence in December, the 4 weeks of reimbursements claimed earlier in the year would be deducted from the 52 week annual total.
