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The Pharmacists’ Defence Association Union (PDAU) has asked Boots to set up working parties to “equality check” its pay system as part of the first set of terms and conditions negotiations between the union and Boots.
Paul Day, national officer at the PDAU, said: “We’re asking Boots to work with us to set up groups to ensure no part of the pay system leads to unequal outcomes for people, such as those based on gender, ethnicity, and nationality.”
The union has also submitted claims for salary increases of up to 3% for the staff it now represents, as well as a reduction in the contracted working hours for preregistration pharmacists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, from 40 hours to 37.5 hours, in line with those in Scotland.
The PDAU signed a voluntary recognition agreement with Boots in July 2019, which formally set out the PDAU’s right to negotiate pay and employment terms for store-based Boots pharmacists and preregistration pharmacists.
The PDAU won a vote for the right to represent Boots pharmacists in March 2019.
Boots said it was too early for them to provide a comment.
