The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has said that it “will support members who may be affected” by Morrisons’ review of its pharmacy estate.
The statement comes after C+D exclusively revealed last week that the supermarket giant is considering selling some of its pharmacies as part of a review to make the healthcare side of its business more financially sustainable.
“If this review results in decisions to close any pharmacies, the PDA will be doing all it can for those members impacted,” the trade union last week (October 16) said.
Read more: Exclusive: Morrisons considering selling pharmacies amid review
It explained that if any Morrisons pharmacies close, employers “might try and look at other options” for employees “before deciding on redundancies”.
These could include “changing working hours, offering voluntary redundancy or moving employees into suitable alternative vacancies”, the PDA said.
And it added that if a branch is sold to another organisation, the staff may be “transferred to the new employer”.
“Fair treatment” expected
The PDA stressed that if Morrisons staff are made redundant, it “will be expecting pharmacists to receive adequate redundancy compensation and fair treatment as they try and seek alternative employment during any notice period”.
It noted that while the review is still ongoing, employed pharmacists “may want to ensure that they have an up-to-date copy of their employment contract at home”.
And the trade union added that pharmacists at Morrisons “who are not yet” PDA members “should consider joining as soon as possible”.
Read more: BREAKING: Morrisons to close four pharmacies
The PDA also encouraged members to contact the body “once any proposals for changes to specific branches or individual roles are known” to discuss “any concerns”.
C+D’s report last week revealed that as the review process is still ongoing, the number of pharmacies being considered for sale – if any - as well as the timeline is unclear.
But a Morrisons representative told C+D that it is more likely that any selected pharmacies will be sold rather than closed.
Read more: Revealed: Which Morrisons pharmacy locations are closing?
Meanwhile, Morrisons revealed plans in March to close four of its pharmacies following a “wide-ranging review”.
And Tesco confirmed to C+D in February that it was closing 10 of its in-store pharmacies this year.
