Booking requests

Every Sessional locum has a public booking page at a link like sessional.com.au/request/your-slug. You can share that link in an email signature, on your CV, or in a message to a practice manager. A workplace opens it and fills in a short form: who they are, their work email, the shift type, the date and time, the rate they are offering, and any notes.

The workplace does not need a Sessional account. There is no sign-up, no app to download, and no agency sitting in the middle. They submit the form and you stay in control of what happens next.

Each booking request carries the details you need to make a decision quickly:

• Workplace name: the clinic, pharmacy, hospital, or aged-care provider asking for you
• Who is booking: contact name and work email of the person sending the request
• Shift type: described in your profession's own language, for example standard consults, theatre lists, dispensary cover, or ward shifts
• Date and time: a start and finish in Australian Eastern time
• Proposed rate: hourly, daily, or per session, matched to how your profession is usually paid
• Notes: parking, expected patient numbers, clinical software, or anything else the workplace wants you to know

A request does not land in your dashboard the moment it is submitted. Sessional first emails the work address on the form with a secure confirmation link. Only when the sender clicks that link does the request move to your dashboard and trigger your notification.

You can also switch on a health-sector email filter from your profile. With it on, the form only accepts recognised health-sector domains (such as a state health service or a hospital group) plus any workplace domains you add yourself. That stops a personal Gmail address from booking you under a clinic's name.

Sometimes you want to stop one specific workplace from reaching you, perhaps somewhere that didn't pay, or wasn't a good fit. From Profile → Visibility you can add up to 50 blocks, either a single email address or a whole domain (which also covers its subdomains). Blocked senders can never submit a booking request to you, and you can attach a short private note to each block to remember why.

A block always wins. It applies even when the health-sector filter is switched off, and it overrides your approved domains, so blocking takes precedence over anything that would otherwise let a request through.

A request moves through clear stages, visible in your requests list:

1. Submitted: the workplace has confirmed by email and the request is waiting on you
2. Under review: you have opened it and are deciding
3. Invited: you have replied to the workplace, for example to confirm availability or talk through the rate
4. Accepted: you have said yes and a confirmed shift is created automatically
5. Declined: you have turned it down
6. Withdrawn: the request was pulled before anyone accepted it

Stale requests that are never confirmed simply lapse. The confirmation link is single-use, so unconfirmed drafts never clutter your dashboard.

When you accept, Sessional does the admin for you in a single atomic step:

• Creates a confirmed shift with the workplace, date, time, and rate from the request
• Marks that slot as booked on your availability calendar
• Sets payment terms ready for invoicing once the shift is delivered
• Records the event in your audit trail

On the Plus and Pro plans, a booking confirmation email goes to both you and the workplace, so everyone has the details in writing. The shift then appears in your shifts list, ready to be marked delivered and invoiced.

If a request does not suit, decline it. You can add a short note, for example that you are away that week or the rate is below your minimum. The workplace is told and the request closes. Declining has no effect on your profile or where you appear in the locum directory.

Not ready to commit? Use the Invited stage to message the workplace from the booking thread: confirm a finish time, ask about the patient list, or propose a different rate before you formally accept.

Sessional is not an agency. There is no placement fee, no commission, and no per-booking charge. The workplace books you directly and you keep one hundred per cent of the rate you agree. Sessional is your admin layer across every source of work: direct bookings, agency shifts, and repeat clients alike.