Reliability rates explained
Every locum on Ronda carries a reliability rate. It tells you quickly and honestly how consistently they honour confirmed shifts. Your practice also carries one, visible to every locum who looks at your profile.
Here is how both scores are calculated, what they mean, and how to use them when making booking decisions.

How a locum’s reliability rate is calculated
Every time a locum cancels a confirmed shift, penalty points are added to their record. The closer to the shift the cancellation happens, the more points are added.

The weighting reflects the real impact each cancellation has. A cancellation with two weeks notice gives your practice time to find cover. A cancellation the night before, or a no show on the day, leaves you with no options at all. The closer to the shift, the greater the disruption to your practice and your patients, and the higher the penalty.
The more shifts a locum confirms and honours, the higher their score. Every shift they confirm and complete increases the total number of confirmed shifts, which naturally brings their score up even if they have had cancellations in the past.
The formula is:
Reliability rate = 1 – (total penalty points ÷ total confirmed shifts) × 100
Confirmed shifts means every shift a locum has ever confirmed, whether completed or cancelled.

A worked example
A locum has confirmed 12 shifts on Ronda. They completed 10 and cancelled 2, one with 9 days notice and one with 3 days notice.
That gives:
1 point for the 9 day cancellation, plus 2 points for the 3 day cancellation, for a total of 3 penalty points across 12 confirmed shifts.
Reliability rate = 1 – (3 ÷ 12) × 100 = 75%
A score that will keep improving as they confirm and honour more shifts.
Now take a locum just starting out who cancelled their very first confirmed shift with less than 24 hours to go. That adds 5 penalty points across just 1 confirmed shift with no completed shifts to balance them out. The score floors at 0% and will show as 0% until further confirmed shifts start to offset those penalty points.

How to read a locum’s score
A high score tells you this locum has a track record of showing up when they say they will. That is a meaningful signal, especially for critical shifts where cover is hard to find at short notice.
A score of 0% means their penalty points from cancellations have not yet been balanced out by their confirmed shifts. It does not automatically mean they are unreliable going forward, but it is a factor worth weighing alongside their reviews and confirmed shift count.
N/A means the locum has not yet confirmed any shifts on the platform. There is no cancellation history to report. You are working with an unknown quantity, which their profile, qualifications and reviews can help you assess.

Your practice reliability rate
Your practice carries a reliability rate too, visible to every locum who views your profile before deciding whether to apply. It is built from the same logic. Every time your practice cancels a confirmed shift, penalty points are added based on how much notice you gave the locum.

The weighting reflects what a late cancellation means to a locum. A cancellation with two weeks notice is manageable. They can fill the gap. A cancellation the night before means lost income, wasted travel plans, and a day with no work. The closer to the shift your practice cancels, the greater the impact on the locum, and the higher the penalty.
The more shifts your practice confirms and honours, the higher your score. Every confirmed and completed shift naturally offsets any penalty points accumulated over time.
A strong practice reliability rate signals to locums that you are a practice worth applying to. It directly affects the quality and volume of applications you receive. Locums, especially experienced ones with options, will factor your score into their decision.

What the scores on your practice profile mean
A high score means your practice has a consistent track record of honouring confirmed bookings. Locums will notice.
A score of 0% means your practice has penalty points from cancellations that your confirmed shifts have not yet balanced out. The score will recover as you confirm and honour more shifts.
N/A means your practice has not yet confirmed any shifts on the platform.

Still have questions?
If you think your reliability rate has been calculated incorrectly, or if there are exceptional circumstances behind a cancellation you would like us to know about, contact us at contact@ronda.vet and our team will look into it.