Shutterstock.com
The Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) will recommend its members accept the three-year pay deal being offered to NHS staff.
Ewan Maule, professional secretary of the GHP, said: “Pharmacists earlier in their career will benefit most from this pay deal, and we hope this helps to address some of the workforce challenges facing the profession.”
But he said the deal had to be seen as a “starting point”.
“Pharmacists in the NHS have been subject to many years of pay stagnation or regression and we hope the government continue to engage with future pay negotiations,” added Maule.
The GHP is associated with Unite, which said in early May 2018 that it has recommended its 100,000 members accept the deal announced in March 2018. Voting on the deal started on 30 April 2018 and the ballot closes on 5 June 2018.
The pay deal proposal would give all NHS employees at least £8.93 an hour from 1 April 2018. Employees who are currently paid below the top of their existing pay band will be entitled to receive pay increases of between 9–29% over the three-year period. Staff who earn the maximum in their pay band will receive a pay rise of 6.5% between April 2018 and April 2020, consisting of 3% in April 2018, 1.7% and a 1.1% lump sum payment in April 2019, and a 1.67% pay increase from April 2020.
