Falling locum rates ‘tantamount to slave labour’, says PDA
Professional The increase in number of qualified pharmacists has forced rates down to just £10 an hour under "financial opportunism" by employers, says PDA director John Murphy
EXCLUSIVE
Employment experts have slammed the downward pressure on pharmacist locum rates that has resulted in some recent graduates working for as little as £10 an hour.
The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) branded the low rates "tantamount to slave labour", while locum agency Team Locum said the trend was devaluing the pharmacy profession.
Both organisations put the trend down to the increasing number of pharmacists coming onto the market from universities and other countries, which has led to tough competition for locum places.
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The reduction in rates by employers is "financial opportunism", says PDA director John Murphy |
 More on locum rates
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Team Locum managing director Linda Yearsley said newly qualified pharmacists were prepared to work for £10 an hour simply to gain experience. "The only way they can get their foot in the door is by [offering] lower rates," she told C+D. |
The problem of locum rates
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This had pushed down rates across the entire locum sector, Ms Yearsley argued, which had resulted in established locums feeling they were being "sold short". "It's unfortunate that pharmacists' services are being devalued," she said. "I don't think it's professional [for employers] to say, ‘We're going to reduce your pay by £5 an hour'. For many, it's causing financial hardship." PDA director John Murphy went one step further in his criticism of employers, branding the reduction in rates "sheer naked financial opportunism". He advised locums to refuse to work for low hourly rates. "The more people are prepared to stand up and do that, the more they [employers] are going to have to pay pharmacists a reasonable rate," he argued. |
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Falling rates of locum pay£25 Pharmacists who are healthy living pharmacy-accredited can command this rate in some cases, says Team Locum managing director Linda Yearsley. However, they will most commonly accept an hourly rate of £22 to £23, she reports. £21.70 This was the average hourly locum rate last year, according to the C+D Salary Survey 2013. This represented a 4.8 per cent drop on the previous year's rate of £22.80. £10 Newly qualified pharmacists are offering to work for this hourly rate due to fierce competition for experience, according to Team Locum. |
"We know that, quite frankly, organisations and employers are taking advantage of the situation," Mr Murphy added. "It's unethical, unreasonable and unfair."
Locum pharmacist Bentley Ezike also said rates as low as £10 an hour were unacceptable, given the "responsibility and potential ramifications" of working as a pharmacist. But, as an established locum, he accepted that he was better placed to turn down work.
"If I had just qualified, that argument might not hold up because I would need work and would have a loan to pay off," he told C+D.
Raj Jain, pharmacist at WR Evans (Chemist) Ltd t/a Manor Pharmacy in Burton-on-Trent, said he had witnessed the high demand for locum placements. Locums had driven from as far as Leicester and Birmingham simply to drop off their business cards at his pharmacy, he reported, and were "undercutting" each other on rates.
Mr Jain argued that there were other ways for locums to differentiate themselves. A colleague had managed to command higher rates by agreeing to do two clinically relevant MURs a day, he said.
"I feel that locums could stand out in a better light if they offered to run enhanced and advanced services, rather than dropping the rates, thus supporting the industry rather than grinding the whole system down," Mr Jain stressed.
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