Research by locum employment platform Locate a Locum has found the average pay rate for locum pharmacists around the UK is £22.05 per hour.

The research took into account over 30,000 shifts across 69 cities and found that Canterbury in Kent had the highest pay rate for locums at £25.83 per hour.

The cathedral city was followed by Aberdeen and St Davids (£24.44 and £24.31 respectively).

The lowest averages came from Northern Ireland. Armagh had an average pay rate of £15.25 per hour, with the rate in Bangor £17.07.

London rates fell well below the average for the UK at £18.07 per hour, probably due to an oversupply of locums, keeping competition high and pay rates low.

Locate a Locum chief executive Jonathon Clarke commented: “Negotiating shifts and payments is part of everyday work life as a locum, so this sort of information is highly valuable [for locums]. It is important that we’re not selling ourselves short, whilst maintaining a sense of realism. We hope this information might help other locums make better decisions for themselves.”

Full list of cities and average pay rates (£) below:
1. Canterbury 25.83
2. Aberdeen 24.44
3. St Davids 24.31
4. Carlisle 24.06
5. Hereford 23.89
6. Truro 23.89
7. Salisbury 23.86
8. Inverness 23.68
9. Oxford 23.61
10. Ripon 23.58
11. Worcester 23.56
12. Wells 23.55
13. Bristol 23.36
14. Norwich 23.36
15. Plymouth 23.33
16. York 23.30
17. Coventry 23.25
18. Preston 23.25
19. Sunderland 23.17
20. Newcastle upon Tyne 23.08
21. Swansea 22.92
22. Newport 22.84
23. Chelmsford 22.73
24. Lancaster 22.72
25. Durham 22.67
26. Cardiff 22.62
27. Winchester 22.60
28. Southampton 22.48
29. Gloucester 22.46
30. Leeds 22.41
31. Portsmouth 22.38
32. Dundee 22.26
33. Stirling 22.23
34. Perth 22.19
35. Bradford 21.85
36. Leicester 21.76
37. Kingston upon Hull 21.73
38. Ely 21.69
39. Nottingham 21.61
40. Lincoln 21.46
41. Edinburgh 21.44
42. Glasgow 21.44
43. Stoke-on-Trent 21.44
44. Wakefield 21.42
45. Cambridge 21.37
46. Peterborough 21.36
47. Liverpool 21.32
48. Birmingham 21.27
49. Chichester 21.25
50. St Asaph 21.19
51. Chester 21.14
52. Sheffield 21.11
53. Exeter 20.90
54. Salford 20.68
55. Wolverhampton 20.57
56. Brighton & Hove 20.50
57. St Albans 19.94
58. Manchester 19.85
59. Bath 19.82
60. Derby 19.81
61. Lichfield 19.00
62. London 18.07
63. City of Westminster 18.04
64. Bangor 17.70
65. Newry 16.59
66. Lisburn 15.68
67. Derry/Londonderry 15.67
68. Belfast 15.57
69. Armagh 15.25