Superdrug and the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) have agreed a 3% pay increase for all eligible pharmacists.
The increase will be for pharmacists in the “bargaining unit”, with all “pay bandings for those roles to be increased by the same percentage”, the joint agreement said.
Trainee pharmacists will receive a pay increase to £30,000 per annum.
Read more: PDA reveals 6% uplift to Boots trainee pharmacist pay
Pharmacy managers with “1+ years’ post-registration experience” will also have their wage be raised to a minimum of £55k.
Managers who reach the one year mark before the next pay negotiation will also receive £55k “in the month following that anniversary”.
The starting salary for newly qualified pharmacists will remain at £50k for a 45 hour working week.
Read more: BREAKING: PDA Union recognition secured at Superdrug with 94% voting in favour
Senior pharmacy managers’ annual supplement pay will be “increased from £1,500 to £1,750”.
The PDA and Superdrug also agreed that all “mandatory training & nationally commissioned services that require training” will be done on paid time.
The statement specified that managers should help facilitate this or pay “overtime” as time off in lieu for mandatory training “is not an option”.
“Positive process”
The agreement concluded by saying “each negotiating team thanked the other side for a positive process and a shared commitment to the success of Superdrug’s pharmacy business.
“Both negotiation teams also thank pharmacists for their continued professional commitment and hard work looking after patients,” it added.
The agreement was signed by Superdrug’s head of pharmacy operations Amit Vassa and PDA director Paul Day.
Securing union recognition
The pay rise comes after Superdrug and the PDA came to “a formal recognition agreement” after a “period of discussions” in December.
The agreement outlined “the framework for how the union will represent pharmacists and pre-registration pharmacists employed by Superdrug”.
This result came ten months after 94% of Superdrug staff voted in favour of receiving union recognition from the PDA.
Read more: PDA Union and Superdrug sign ‘formal recognition agreement’
Last month the PDA agreed their 2026 pay agreement with Boots, with trainee pharmacists receiving a 6% pay increase, which amounts to £30,000.
Boots and the PDA said: “We are committed to ensuring that our pay remains competitive and reflective of the valuable contribution that trainee pharmacists make across all locations.”
