Allied Pharmacies will pay off former Jhoots staff’s unpaid wages “in full” following its takeover of a number of the chain’s branches, it this week revealed.
The company’s group chief executive Suhaib Abdullah yesterday (November 20) told C+D that the company is “unaware of how many staff are affected” and is awaiting this information from the administrators of the branches that Allied Pharmacies has taken over.
Read more: BREAKING: Allied Pharmacies takes over 60 Jhoots branches
But he added that the outstanding wages of 35 staff have been paid so far and that those affected who contact Allied Pharmacies will have their unpaid wages settled the “same day”.
However, locum staff owed fees by Jhoots branches will not be paid by Allied Pharmacies and “must contact [the] liquidators”, the company said.
Takeover of Jhoots branches
Allied Pharmacies announced earlier this month that it had “taken over the management of 60 Jhoots pharmacies” across England - and that while the “majority” of these locations were temporarily closed, it is “fully committed to reinstating essential pharmacy services”.
It added at the time that it was “taking steps to address outstanding salary arrears of employed staff” as part of “efforts to support the workforce and rebuild trust”.
Read more: Revealed: The 60 Jhoots locations taken over by Allied Pharmacies
The company previously confirmed that the 60 branches it had purchased were part of 21 companies under the Jhoots Pharmacy brand, including SNJ Health Limited and 20 businesses with company names beginning LP SD.
It told C+D this week that all 21 companies were in administration when the pharmacies were bought - but it remains unclear who exactly owned them before administrators were appointed.
“Independent businesses”
There are various businesses operating under the Jhoots Pharmacy brand name.
A representative for two of these previously told C+D that the numerous allegations of financial mismanagement and the Allied Pharmacies takeover do not relate to Jhoots pharmacies under Manjit Jhooty’s ownership and operation.
Manjit Jhooty owns and operates 21 of the pharmacies trading under the Jhoots Pharmacy brand name through his companies Jhoots Healthcare Limited and Pasab Limited.
Read more: Revealed: Everything we know about action against Jhoots
“There is no legal, financial or governance connection between my companies and those operated by Sarbjit Jhooty - we are independent businesses and share only the Jhoots Pharmacy brand name,” he said at the time.
“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.
Read more: DH working to ‘resolve’ Jhoots situation ‘as quickly as possible’
It comes after a letter from pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock seen by C+D revealed a plethora of actions taken against Jhoots Pharmacy businesses - including that integrated care boards (ICBs) across the country are working to strip “over 20” Jhoots pharmacies of their NHS contracts.
Kinnock said that as of last month, ICBs have already issued “almost 1,300 remedial and breach notices to Jhoots stores” aiming to “stop repeat violations”, while the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is “taking enforcement action against six Jhoots premises”.
The regulator is also “considering whether some Jhoots companies have reached the threshold for disqualification” from operating pharmacies, he added.
