The unpaid fees owed to locum pharmacists by Jhoots pharmacies has surpassed £1 million, C+D can exclusively reveal.
Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) union director Paul Day last week (November 21) told C+D that 109 of the organisation’s locum members are owed a combined total of £1.1m after working at Jhoots pharmacy branches.
Read more: Exclusive: Unpaid locums take legal action against Jhoots pharmacies
Day said that the “situation with Jhoots is important” and that “the reputation of the sector, profession and those that regulate and govern existing arrangements will be impacted” by how it is resolved.
He added that this “is not some isolated case of a single maverick branch or an unexpected incident, but rather about the ongoing behaviours of a complex structure of companies” that own around 150 community pharmacies.
It comes amid the takeover of 60 Jhoots branches by Allied Pharmacies as well as reports of sales and the appointment of administrators.
Read more: Jhoots: Allied to settle unpaid staff wages ‘in full’ amid takeover
Day said that “given the scale of the issue”, there must be “resolution and clarity on who now owns the branches and other assets, and who is liable for the massive total debt owed to pharmacists”.
“Whoever now owes our members their money needs to find a way to pay them what they are entitled to as soon as possible,” he added.
“Independent businesses”
There are various businesses operating under the Jhoots Pharmacy brand name.
Manjit Jhooty owns and operates 21 of these through his companies Jhoots Healthcare Limited and Pasab Limited.
He told C+D that “there is no legal, financial or governance connection between [his] companies and those operated by Sarbjit Jhooty or Nilam Patel” and that they “are independent businesses” that “share only the Jhoots Pharmacy brand name”.
Read more: Revealed: Everything we know about action against Jhoots
He this week (November 24) said that “any claims of complex ownership structures do not relate to [his] operation” and that “all locum pharmacists that have been contracted by [his] businesses have been fully and properly paid”.
“The pharmacies that my businesses operate are all fully solvent, functional and continue to provide important services and professional support to their local communities and that is not going to change,” he added.
C+D approached all known owners and operators of Jhoots pharmacy businesses for comment.
How did we get here?
It comes after C+D last month revealed that locum pharmacists had launched legal action against businesses operated by Sarbjit Jhooty and Nilam Patel over “an eye-watering total exceeding £925,000” in unpaid fees.
The PDA said at the time that as of this year, it has helped its locum members recover “almost £1m” in unpaid fees from pharmacies since 2004 - which “shows how exceptional the current Jhoots debt is”.
Read more: DH working to ‘resolve’ Jhoots situation ‘as quickly as possible’
And it follows a letter from pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock revealing a plethora of actions taken against Jhoots businesses - including that integrated care boards (ICBs) across the country are working to strip “over 20” Jhoots pharmacies of their NHS contracts.
Kinnock also said that an administrator has been appointed for 22 of the companies covering 62 pharmacies - while the regulator is “taking enforcement action against six Jhoots premises” and “considering whether some Jhoots companies have reached the threshold for disqualification” from operating pharmacies.
Read more: Revealed: The 60 Jhoots locations taken over by Allied Pharmacies
Meanwhile, Allied Pharmacies announced earlier this month that it had “taken over the management of 60 Jhoots pharmacies” that were in administration.
The company last week told C+D that it will pay off former Jhoots staff’s unpaid wages “in full” following the takeover and that those affected who contact Allied Pharmacies will have their unpaid wages settled the “same day”.
But it added that locum staff owed fees by Jhoots branches will not be paid by Allied Pharmacies and “must contact [the] liquidators”.
