Key Summary
- The trade union advised the locums to follow the guidance provided by the PDA Support Centre.
- Outstanding locum fees will be due from the owners or administrators of businesses that contracted those pharmacists, not from the branches.
- Many of the information provided on the GPhC website regarding Jhoots Pharmacy and its ownership was not up to date.
The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has said that the Jhoots Pharmacy crisis should also act as a warning to locums to ensure they have a clear written contract confirming who is responsible for paying them.
They should not sign contracts that include measures that make it difficult to cancel further shifts if fees have not been paid on time for earlier work.
The trade union advised the locums to follow guidance provided by the PDA Support Centre, and added that it will be issuing more guidance for locum members on these aspects during 2026.
Outstanding locum fees will be due from the owners or administrators of businesses that contracted those pharmacists, not from the branches.
So if a branch enters new ownership, it does not mean the responsibility for paying the debt has transferred, it added.
TUPE regulations
For pharmacists employed at Jhoots, the PDA said if the branches have been acquired by new owners, complete with the employed team in place, then individuals may have their contracts protected by the TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment) regulations.
The PDA said that where TUPE protection is in place, an individual’s contracts should generally have remained the same and employees should maintain their length of service.
Those who have either been made redundant or transferred to a new employer can contact the PDA Support Centre, it added.
The PDA said it will continue to provide appropriate support to those affected by the Jhoots crisis, while calling on the regulator, NHS and government to also take appropriate actions.
Outdated data
The PDA claimed that much of the information provided on the GPhC website regarding Jhoots Pharmacy and its ownership was outdated.
This will affect pharmacists and others who are pursuing unpaid fees or wages, as well as the public, who may want to know who is legally responsible.
It acknowledged that there could be a short time lag between changes and the register being updated, but the information about some branch ownership has not been updated even months after apparent changes of pharmacy ownership took place and were reported in the media.
The trade union lamented that neither the regulator, the NHS, nor the Government has taken any proactive extra steps to keep former Jhoots branch information up to date and help pharmacists and the public better informed.
