Changes to employment laws may prevent pharmacists from discussing work problems with their employers for fear of dismissal, charity Pharmacist Support has warned.

Pharmacist Support told C+D that changes to unfair dismissal laws, introduced by the government in April, could make employees "even more cautious about raising issues with their employer". The changes mean employees can now claim for unfair dismissal only once they have been employed for a minimum of two years, rather than one year.

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	And the charity argued that the new laws could make employees afraid to speak out about problems at work. "We [already] frequently receive enquiries on employment issues and these changes to the unfair dismissal laws will certainly impact our service users, who tend to be employees," said a Pharmacist Support spokesperson.

"With the qualifying period for unfair-dismissal claims being increased from one to two years, employees may be even more cautious about raising issues with their employer before the end of the two-year period."

The comments came after the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) told C+D that the government was "riding roughshod" over employee rights with its changes to legislation – citing unfair dismissal as one example. "When there is a right-wing administration in office, it moves towards trying to erode the rights of employees and makes it easier for businesses to get rid of people they don't want to employ," PDA director John Murphy argued.

But Thorrun Govind, a pharmacy student looking for work, said she was not worried about the changes. "I like it because I think it's good for businesses," she said. "I think it's been too easy for employees to do what they want at work and I also think this ensures loyalty to the company."

Pharmacy Voice did not comment on the changes to legislation, but said it was important for employment law to "properly balance rights and responsibilities, security and flexibility".