The standard fee
No published benchmark exists anywhere for chiropody locum pay in Canada — so TFHN publishes one. It is a flat day fee, the same number for every clinic and every locum. There is nothing to negotiate and nobody to negotiate with.
- Standard day
- $550
- Five-day week
- $2750
- Emergency (+25%)
- $688
Per full clinical day, paid by the host clinic to the locum. Locums may counter-offer on planned coverage; emergency placements are claimed at the posted fee.
Why a flat fee and not a percentage
- A percentage of billings ties the locum's pay to what they happen to sell. Covering an absence should mean caring for the existing patient list, not building one.
- A locum covering a short absence realistically does the routine footcare — new patient intakes and orthotic dispensing wait for the returning provider. A percentage would underpay the locum for exactly the work that matters here.
- A published number is the same for everyone: no haggling under time pressure, and no sales conversation with a clinic that is already in trouble.
- Ontario RHPA restricts fee-splitting between regulated professionals. A flat service fee is far simpler ground than a share of professional billings.
Where the number comes from
Salaried Ontario chiropodists earn roughly $50–55/hour. Locum work across professions pays a 20–40% premium over permanent rates for its unpredictability, putting a full clinical day in the $450–650 range — $550 sits mid-range. Urgent last-minute coverage commands a 10–40% premium industry-wide; TFHN sets it at 25%.
Who pays what
- The host clinic carries overhead, staff, supplies, and equipment.
- The locum carries their own professional liability insurance (min $2M, COCOO by-law) and professional dues.
- Billing flows through the clinic (direct-billing portals under the clinic's accounts); reconcile monthly, settle within 3 months of the placement ending.
- TFHN charges clinics one flat annual membership — never a percentage of your billings, and locums pay nothing.