Locum Engagement Terms

When a Practice and a Nurse confirm a Booking through the Platform, the specific details of that Booking - the parties, the session date(s) and times, the location, the duties or specialities required, the agreed hourly rate, and whether it is a Standard or SOS Booking - are recorded on the Platform and, together, form the "Booking Schedule" to which these Standard Terms apply.

1. Status of Engagement

1.1 The Locum is engaged as an independent, self-employed contractor providing dental nursing services to the Practice for the session(s) described in the Booking Schedule. This is a contract for services, not a contract of service. Nothing in this document creates a contract of employment, a "worker" relationship under section 230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, a partnership, or an agency relationship between the Parties.

1.2 No substitution right. This document does not include a right of substitution. Self-employed status here rests instead on clauses 2 to 4 below - the same bundle that supports self-employed status for locum GPs and dentists.

2. No Mutuality of Obligation

2.1 The Practice is under no obligation to offer the Locum any Booking beyond the one described in the Schedule. The Locum is under no obligation to accept any Booking offered, and may decline any Booking without penalty or restriction.

2.2 Whether the Practice offers the Locum a future Booking is the Practice's own commercial decision. It is never mediated, tracked, scored, or enforced by KodedNest - see the Nurse Platform Agreement, clause 2.3, and the Practice Platform Agreement, clause 2.3.

2.3 Each Booking is a standalone, discrete engagement. This document does not create any ongoing or umbrella contract between Bookings.

3. Control & Performance

3.1 The Locum exercises their own professional clinical judgement, in accordance with GDC standards, in performing the session. The Practice may specify premises-specific protocols, equipment, and clinical safety requirements necessary for patient safety and its own CQC compliance; this reflects the regulated nature of dental care, not a degree of control indicative of employment.

3.2 The Locum is not subject to appraisal, disciplinary process, or performance management by the Practice. If the Practice is dissatisfied with a session, its only recourse under this document is not to offer a further Booking - it may not deduct from, withhold, or dispute an approved Hours Adjustment Request on performance grounds (see clause 5.4).

4. Financial Risk & Independence

• The Locum provides their own transport and professional indemnity insurance, and bears their own risk of unavailability - there is no sick pay, holiday pay, or other employment benefit under this document.
• Where infection-control PPE or clinical scrubs are provided by the Practice, this is a standard patient-safety requirement common to all self-employed locum clinicians and does not affect the Locum's status under clause 1.
• The Locum is free to provide services to any other practice, including a competitor of the Practice, without restriction. This document is not exclusive.

5. Fees, Hours Adjustment Requests & Payment

5.1 The Practice pays the Locum the agreed hourly rate stated in the Booking Schedule for hours actually worked, as confirmed by an approved Hours Adjustment Request.

5.2 Following the session, the Locum submits an Hours Adjustment Request via the Platform. The Practice must review it and either confirm or reject it, stating reasons for any rejection.

5.3 Confirmation is the only route to payment. There is no deemed, automatic, or timed approval. If the Practice does not respond, the Hours Adjustment Request remains outstanding and no payment is triggered in respect of it. Consistent with clause 12, KodedNest does not adjudicate an outstanding Hours Adjustment Request or resolve it on either Party's behalf - a Locum whose Hours Adjustment Request remains unconfirmed should raise the matter directly with the Practice. Once given, a Practice's confirmation is final and binding as to hours and amount payable, save where the Practice can show fraud or manifest error on the face of the Hours Adjustment Request.

5.4 Once approved, KodedNest (under the Platform Agreements, to which the Locum and the Practice are each separately party) instructs Stripe to pay the Locum, less any platform fee disclosed to the Locum at the time of Booking. The Practice's payment obligation under this clause is to the Locum; KodedNest's role is limited to operating that payment instruction as agreed in the Platform Agreements.

6. Tax Status

Each Party is responsible for its own tax position. The Locum confirms they are responsible for their own self-assessment, VAT registration where applicable, and National Insurance. The Practice is not required to operate PAYE in respect of the Locum's fees on the basis that this is a genuine contract for services. If the Locum is engaged through a personal service company or umbrella company, the Practice should take its own advice on the off-payroll working rules, which may impose separate status-determination or joint-liability duties on the Practice as end client.

7. Cancellation

7.1 Either Party may cancel a confirmed Standard Booking by giving at least 24 hours notice to the other, without further liability. For an SOS Booking, given its urgent nature, no minimum notice period applies, but a cancelling Party should notify the other as soon as reasonably possible.

7.2 A cancellation under this clause is a private matter between the Parties. It is not recorded, scored, or used by KodedNest to restrict either Party's future access to the Platform.

8. Health, Safety & Data

The Practice remains responsible for health and safety on its premises and for its own CQC and clinical governance obligations. The Locum must comply with the Practice's reasonable on-site safety protocols. The Practice is the data controller of patient records; the Locum must handle patient data in accordance with the Practice's data protection policies while on-site and remains independently responsible for their own compliance with UK GDPR and professional confidentiality duties as a healthcare professional.

9. Insurance

• The Locum must hold professional indemnity insurance of at least £1,000,000 per claim, appropriate to locum dental nursing.
• The Practice must hold public liability insurance of at least £5,000,000, covering its premises and any locum working there. This document deliberately does not ask the Practice to hold "employer's liability" insurance for the Locum, since the Locum is not the Practice's employee and describing them as one in an insurance policy would sit awkwardly against clause 1.

10. Liability

Each Party is responsible for its own negligence and breach of this document. Clinical negligence claims should be directed to the Locum's or the Practice's own indemnity insurer as appropriate. Neither Party's liability to the other for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud, is excluded or limited by this document.

11. KodedNest's Role

12. Dispute Resolution

Any dispute between the Practice and the Locum arising from this document is a matter between them, governed by the law of England and Wales and subject to the jurisdiction of its courts. KodedNest may, on request, provide records held on the Platform (Hours Adjustment Requests, Booking history, messages) as evidence, but has no role in investigating, adjudicating, or enforcing the outcome of any such dispute.

13. General

This document, together with the Booking Schedule for a given Booking, is the entire agreement between the Practice and the Locum for that Booking. If any provision is unenforceable, the rest continues in force. Neither Party may assign its rights under this document without the other's consent.

See also the Nurse Platform Agreement, the Practice Platform Agreement, our Cookie Policy, and our Privacy Policy.