How does locum tenens travel work?

1. Share your preferences

   Once you have accepted your first assignment, your assignment coordinator will contact you to learn your travel preferences. For example:

   • What are your airline reward numbers?

   • Do you want a window or aisle seat?

   • Do you prefer to fly at a certain time of day?

   • Do you have any other special requirements?

   Once we have your travel preferences, we’ll save them for future use. You only need to contact us if they change.

2. Choose your flight

   We do our best to provide you with easy, convenient schedules that match your preferences. We’ll provide you with as many choices as possible so that you can see your options and choose the flights that work best.

3. Receive confirmation

   Once we have booked your flight, you’ll receive a confirmation email with the details of your itinerary. Typically, your confirmation will come within two days of being contacted by your account coordinator.

   View Sample Travel Itinerary

4. Submit your expenses

   Be sure to save the receipts for all reimbursable expenses. A good practice is to scan your receipts or take photos with your phone so you can submit them electronically. All expenses should be submitted to your assignment coordinator within 14 days of completing your assignment.

Have more questions? Check out our FAQ below.

Airfare & baggage fees

We book your airfare so all you have to do is check in and get your boarding pass. Any of the following check-in methods will work:

• Go online with the confirmation number and print your boarding pass

• Use the airline app to get an electronic boarding pass

• Go to a kiosk and swipe your credit card for a printed pass

• Go to the ticket counter for a printed pass

Depending on how long your assignment is, you may also be reimbursed for checked baggage. The amount reimbursed varies by assignment, but generally, the longer the assignment, the more bags you can check and be reimbursed for.

What about upgrades?

Although your assignment includes standard airfare and rental car, you may want additional perks or upgrades. If you want to upgrade to a higher class using frequent flyer miles or a paid upgrade, our travel team is happy to help. If there’s a cost to upgrade, you will be responsible for covering the difference. In most cases, you will also be responsible for other add-ons, such as in-flight services, meals, and alcoholic beverages.

It’s important to remember that as an independent contractor, some travel-related expenses may be tax deductible. Save your receipts, and consult your tax advisor. Read more about locum tenens taxes.

Rental car

Rental cars provided by Weatherby are intended for use while on assignment and reasonable personal use when you are not at work. If you plan on arriving early for your assignment or staying longer for vacation or other personal activities, you should return the rental car and rent another on your own.

Car rentals are paid directly to the rental agency by Weatherby. To pick up your car:

• Report to the rental agency counter

• Provide your valid driver's license

• Get the keys and hit the road

In most cases, Weatherby pays for standard vehicle rental, but you can ask for an upgrade subject to availability. You just pay the difference in cost.

Rental car insurance

You’re insured by Weatherby when you have a car rental through us. We even have a secondary policy that covers the deductible in case you’re in an accident. Ask your consultant for full details, including coverage amounts and a document of frequently asked questions.

Warning: Certain activities can negate your insurance coverage. For example:

• Driving the car to another country such as Canada or Mexico

• Driving with an invalid driver's license

• Driving under the influence

• Using the vehicle for an unintended purpose, such as driving on an unpaved road

Gas & tolls

If you’re using a rental car, we will reimburse you for any gas used while on assignment. If you’re using your own car, we provide a mileage reimbursement at the IRS mileage reimbursement rate, which allows for cost of fuel and standard maintenance of the vehicle. You will not be reimbursed for gas purchases.

If you need to travel on a toll road while on assignment, keep the toll receipts, and Weatherby will reimburse you at the conclusion of your assignment.

Please note: Many toll roads now use electronic toll collection systems and may not have cash lanes. If you don’t have a transponder, you may be charged a photo-enforced toll. Weatherby reimburses for tolls, but not for the service fees associated with a photo-enforced toll. So make sure you use toll roads with cash lanes or your car has a transponder.

Absolutely. If you prefer to book your own travel, Weatherby will reimburse you for the cost of reasonable travel as defined by your contract agreement. In addition, if you prefer to drive your own car, we’ll reimburse you for mileage at the IRS mileage reimbursement rate. If you have other preferred modes of travel, just have a conversation about it with your consultant.

The downside of booking your own travel is that it limits our travel team’s ability to assist you if there is a problem. When Weatherby books your travel, we can track your progress and quickly help in case of a cancelled flight, weather-related delay, etc.

Weatherby is happy to help arrange travel for family members who will accompany you on assignment. If we book the flight(s), you just pay for the cost of the family members’ airfare. There is no additional cost for family to share your rental car, unless you upgrade to a nonstandard vehicle.

Unfortunately, if you want to use frequent flyer miles to book a family member’s airfare, you’ll need to book the flights yourself; Weatherby doesn’t have access to your rewards account.

Weatherby is available to help resolve any problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. You can always reach a real person, anytime an issue arises. If you need emergency help right now, call 888.312.7249.

Adverse events

As soon as we learn of a disaster or incident in your area, we immediately reach out through your consultant to make sure you’re safe and to see if you need assistance.

To stay ahead of these issues, the Weatherby travel team uses advanced travel systems that allow us to monitor air traffic and road conditions so we can keep track of the progress of our physicians. That way we’re always ready to help in time of need. We also monitor many different news sources, so we can be as prepared as possible for:

• Adverse weather conditions, such as snowstorms, blizzards, hurricanes, tornados, and floods

• Major events that can affect availability of flights, rental cars, and hotels

• Power outages and road closures

Change of plans

We’re happy to accommodate change requests, even last-minute changes. You’ll just need to contact your consultant. Our relationships with our vendors give us more flexibility and access to more resources than you may have on your own.

If the change of plans is required by the assignment, we’ll take care of the changes at no cost to you. If the change is your choice, you may be responsible for covering some or all of the costs of making the change.