PDA: Lloyds pharmacists offered bonuses to oversee branch closures
Some Lloyds pharmacists are being offered "retention" bonuses to stay and oversee a branch's closure, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has claimed.
The PDA has apparently received 33 reports of bonuses from its Lloydspharmacy members, following the announcement last month that 190 of the multiple's branches will be closed or sold.
The “lowest amount” of bonus it has seen offered is £1,000, PDA Union assistant general secretary Mark Pitt told C+D on Wednesday (November 15).
The PDA stressed that “any such scheme should be clear on the terms”, as well as “applied fairly and equally across the branch network”.
A “challenging period”
Responding to the PDA's claims, Chris Allen, head of HR at Lloydspharmacy's parent company Celesio UK, told C+D that "for specialist roles across the organisation, Celesio adopts different pay and reward structures".
However, the company "will not share details about individual arrangements", he said.
"Closing a pharmacy can be complex, but we are committed to supporting any colleagues going through this process," Mr Allen said.
He stressed that Celesio UK’s priority is to ensure that all its "impacted teams and their patients" feel "suitably informed and cared for throughout this challenging period".
"Acting with fairness and integrity is extremely important to us as we continue with our consultation and redeployment programme," Mr Allen added.
Where are the branches located?
C+D has confirmed the location of 13 of the 190 Lloydspharmacies where the multiple will cease trading. Branches confirmed for closure are marked in purple on the map below, while those that Lloydspharmacy is still hoping to sell are marked in blue.
This map is live, and will be updated as C+D confirms the locations of further affected Lloydspharmacy branches.
Do you work in one of the affected Lloydspharmacies?