Tesco is cutting locums' hourly rates if they fail to perform an MUR during their shift, C+D has learned.

Speaking exclusively to C+D, Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) director John Murphy said the supermarket was "imposing penalties" on locums who did not perform MURs, with pharmacists claiming this could represent a £1.50 drop in their hourly rates.

But while Tesco argued that it offered "one of the most competitive pay packages" in the sector, others slammed the strategy for devaluing the role of pharmacists and MURs.

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	Mr Murphy branded the payment structure "an opportunistic way of reducing costs" that conflicted with the "high standards of professionalism" set by the pharmacy regulator. The PDA stressed that there was a clear difference between offering a bonus for performing MURs, as some companies are doing, and cutting standard rates for failure to conduct the service.

Locum pharmacist Raza Ali, who has created a petition defending the right of pharmacists to perform MURs only when they feel it is appropriate for the patient, said the threat of reduced rates at Tesco and other large employers had made some pharmacists "aggressively" pursue patients to provide the service.

"I think what will happen is that patient care will go out of the window," he told C+D. "At some point, what will happen is… that the patient will lose trust in the pharmacist and think ‘why are they pressuring me to do this?'" Mr Ali's petition had almost 180 signatures at the time of publication.

Shaun Hockey, managing director of locum recruitment agency PL-UK, said he had not heard of Tesco's policy on locum wages but was "not surprised" by the news.

"In some cases, companies will stipulate that [the locum] has to do so many MURs, which sort of contradicts [the point of] doing MURs, as far as I'm concerned," he reported. "The concern is, what happens if no-one comes in who is actually suitable for an MUR?"

"[Pharmacists] have got to deliver value," Mr Hockey added. "If we're just delivering MURs for the sake of income, then we're not delivering value."

Tesco did not confirm or deny the reports, but claimed that locums working for the company received "one of the most competitive pay packages in the sector".

"We work hard to ensure Tesco customers have access to a full range of services from our pharmacies," a spokesperson said.  

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