Well to pay pharmacy staff more than the national living wage

John Nuttall, chief executive officer (CEO) of Well. Bestway, the new owners of the Co-operative Pharmacy, announce that these pharmacies will be rebranded as 'Well'

All pharmacy staff and drivers working at Well, the UK’s third largest pharmacy chain, will be paid at a rate above the national living wage (NLW), the company has announced.

Around 4,500 staff working across the company’s store and driver teams will see their pay increase, some by as much as 10%.

The starting rate for a trainee healthcare assistant will rise from £6.70 to £7.38 per hour – a 10% rise. Healthcare assistants and pharmacy assistant trainees will also get £7.38 per hour – an 8% rise from their present £6.83 per hour. The new hourly rate is 18p ahead of the NLW.

Pharmacy assistants will also get an 8% pay rise, which will see their hourly rate increase from £7.33 to £8.07. Pharmacy technicians will receive a smaller rise of 2%, with their hourly pay rising from £8.97 to £9.15 per hour.

Pay rates for delivery drivers will also rise to above the NLW, from £6.76 per hour to £7.33 — an 8% rise.

The new rates will apply to staff of all ages, not just those aged 25 years and over as is set out in the NLW requirements.

Tracy Barton, HR director at Well Pharmacy, says: “We’ve benchmarked ourselves against the pharmacy and retail markets and are investing in colleagues who are behind the national average.”

She adds: “For more than 2,000 colleagues, this pay rise represents a near 10% increase in their current salary.”

Last updated
Citation
The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ, April 2016, Vol 296, No 7888;296(7888):DOI:10.1211/PJ.2016.20200988

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