C+D’s 2022 Salary Survey – which polled 146 second or non-manager community pharmacists – found that the average salary for this group was £38,886.49 in 2022.

This represents an increase of £719.18 from 2021 when the average salary was £38,167.31.

Read more: Revealed: The average UK pharmacist branch manager salary in 2022

It comes after last year’s annual Salary Survey saw an almost £700 decrease in average pay for the group, compared with an average salary of £38,846 in 2020.

It was the first time the average salary had decreased for this group since the C+D Salary Survey began reporting it in 2014.

In 2020, salaries for non-manager pharmacists saw a bumper increase of £2,078, while 2019 saw a £773 rise. Between 2017 and 2018, salaries for non-manager pharmacists rose by £374.

 

 

Almost three-quarters see pay rise

 

The annual survey found that 74% of 141 respondents had experienced a salary increase in the past year, with only 5% experiencing a decrease.

Just over a fifth (21%) said their pay had stayed the same.

Of those who had seen a pay rise, more than a third (67%) said their pay had gone up by between 1% and 4%, while 21% said it had risen by 5-10%.

Read more: Eight in 10 employee pharmacists considered quitting in 2022

And out of 136 second or non-manager community pharmacists who answered the question, just over half (51%) had received a bonus in 2022.

Respondents received varying amounts, with some reporting these bonuses were company-wide.

But others said that bonus targets “are not always clear and achievable”.

 

“My hourly rate increased just 23p a year over 15 years”

 

Salary satisfaction levels remained low among the group, with average pay increasing just £40 in two years that saw rapidly rising inflation.

Pharmacists told C+D that any pay “increases over the years are always below inflation” and that they had seen an “8% pay cut in reality”.

The survey found that more than half (51%) of 143 respondents were dissatisfied with their salaries, with just 8% saying they were ‘very satisfied’.

Read more: Revealed: The average locum pharmacist pay rate in 2022

Of those not satisfied with their salary, most blamed their employers (60%), while almost a fifth (19%) blamed the government and its lack of funding for the sector.

One relief pharmacist told C+D that they have been employed since 2007, but their “hourly rate has increased by just 23p per year over 15 years”.

“My salary has been £18.82 per hour for the past seven years…after much complaining it has been increased to £21.65 even though I have 30 years’ experience,” another respondent said.

Read more: Quarter of pharmacy workers suffered depression due to work over past year

Meanwhile, a pharmacist said their pharmacy was “awful to work for” and that an “increase in pay does not make up for the staffing cuts within dispensaries”.

It comes amid C+D findings that a fifth of employee pharmacists report ‘dangerous’ levels of understaffing at their pharmacy.

And this week, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) revealed that almost six in 10 independent pharmacies were forced to cut their staffing to manage financial pressures last year.

The C+D Salary Survey 2022 ran between October 25 2022 and January 20 2023 and was completed by a total of 1,480 pharmacists and pharmacy staff.

 

See all the coverage so far on the C+D Salary Survey hub