Boots has dismissed claims by the PDA Union that it is intimidating employees into accepting last year's premium rate cuts, which were ruled unlawful by an employment tribunal in May.

The health and beauty giant said the union had not been "accurate or fair" in its claims that employees had been called into meetings with senior company managers and threatened with dismissal if they did not agree to the lower rates within seven days.

The fresh dispute came after an employment tribunal ruled that Boots was obliged to pay the full premium rates agreed in some employees' contracts.

"Boots now appears to be engaging in intimidatory tactics to force through changes that have been judged to be unlawful by the court" John Murphy, PDA Union

100-plus pharmacists plan action over Boots' Sunday       pay cuts Boots employees win battle over Sunday rate cuts Boots stands by decision not to recognise PDA Union

The PDA Union argued that Boots was engaging in "intimidatory tactics" to ensure employees accepted its lower rates, stressing that this could leave the company open to claims of victimisation and bullying. Boots told C+D that the PDA Union had not given an "accurate or fair representation of the facts". "While dismissal with an offer of re-engagement is an appropriate and lawful option that is open to us, we really hope that this can be avoided by agreeing the changes with those individuals," a Boots spokesperson said. The multiple stressed that it was aiming to create a "consistent offer" for its pharmacists that would enable it to "reinvest in better pay, benefits and bonus potential for all".

"The vast majority of our colleagues have accepted the revised premium rates of pay that came into effect a year ago, understanding that our success as a business depends upon us investing in the right things to be able to deliver legendary customer care", Boots added.

But PDA Union general secretary John Murphy said he was "astonished" by the way Boots had handled the situation. "The company now appears to be engaging in intimidatory tactics to force through changes that have been judged to be unlawful by the court," he argued.

"Solicitors working for the PDA Union believe this strategy is not only fundamentally unfair, but also places pharmacists under duress and has been rushed through to take advantage of the Jubilee holiday period, when independent legal advice is more difficult to obtain," the union added.

Last month, the PDA Union reported that more than 100 of its members were considering legal action over the changes to premium rates.