The Bottom Line
- For locum GPs, pension admin is a workflow: Form A per practice + Form B monthly summary.
- Submit promptly: late submissions can be rejected (the ‘10-week rule’ context is real and enforceable).
- Use PCSE Online where possible to keep an audit trail and reduce missing paperwork.
- Make pension admin part of your invoicing routine: do not separate them.
- If you are unsure, use official PCSE/NHSBSA/BMA guidance as your source of truth.
The cleanest operational rule
Never send an invoice without the pension paperwork process attached.
If invoicing and pensioning are separate processes in your life, one of them will fail under pressure.
The A/B workflow in plain English
Think of Form A as the per-practice confirmation for pensionable work, and Form B as the monthly pack that summarises what you are pensioning.
Your goal is not mastery of bureaucracy — it is avoiding rejected forms and lost pensionable earnings.
A process that actually works (locum GP admin, simplified)
1
Step 1 — After each engagement: complete the relevant part of Form A
Do it immediately while details are fresh. Make it part of your ‘end-of-session’ admin.
2
Step 2 — Send Form A with your invoice
Treat them as a bundle: clinical work + invoice + pension paperwork.
3
Step 3 — Monthly: compile your Form B summary
Build a routine: one monthly ‘pension admin slot’ to compile the pack.
4
Step 4 — Submit via PCSE Online where available
PCSE Online submission helps maintain a clear record and reduces loss of documentation.
5
Step 5 — Protect yourself against the “late forms” scenario
If forms are delayed, escalate early. Do not assume it will ‘be fine later’ — late submissions can be rejected.
Late forms: the risk clinicians underestimate
If pension forms are submitted late, they may be rejected under the timing rules.
The solution is operational: pension weekly/monthly, not retrospectively.
SourcePCSE — Submit Locum A & B forms (official)
Open Link SourceNHSBSA — GP Locum 10-week rule (official)
Open Link SourceBMA — Locum pension contributions: guide for GP practices (official professional guidance)
Open Link