Trainees working for pharmacy multiple Boots in England and Northern Ireland are set to get a pay increase from April 1, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) and Boots announced in a joint statement this week (February 14).
Pay increases will be according to the “zones” of the UK that pharmacy trainees work in, which are linked to the cost of living in the area.
Read more: UPDATED: Boots trainee pharmacist pay tops out at £25k following uplift
This April’s increase will see trainee pharmacists paid:
- £12.69 for trainees in Zone A in England/Northern Ireland
- £13.79 for trainees in Zone B in England
- £14.05 for trainees in Zone C in England
The joint statement said that the “increase will be applied centrally in the April pay run”.
The new rate will “show in the benefits box during the annual enrolment window from February 20 2024” to allow trainees “to select benefits on their new hourly rate for April 1”, it added.
Pay to top out at £14.05 an hour
The new rates mean that the best-paid Boots trainees – those in Zone C - will get a 29% pay increase since last April, when all trainees were paid £10.90 an hour.
Trainees in Zone B will snag a 26.5% year-on-year pay increase, while Zone A trainees will get a 16% increase.
Read more: Boots trainee pharmacist pay rising to £10.90 from April, PDA confirms
In November, NHS England (NHSE) announced that the grant given to sites that employ a trainee pharmacist will increase from the current £18,440 to £26,500 a year per trainee from July 2025.
The funding, which has increased 44%, will be paid to community pharmacies and all other training sites that take on trainee pharmacists during their foundation year, it said.
