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Judge denies PDAU Claimants the right to pursue Boots for Indirect discrimination over premium pay cuts.
[03-MAY-13]
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The PDAU has been contacted by a number of Boots employed members concerning information they are being given about our pharmacy strategy and application for recognition with Boots. PDAU clarifies its position.
[04-APR-13]
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Some pharmacies are securing the services of Locums even in the knowledge that they are unlikely to be able to pay them because of their cash flow difficulties.
[28-MAR-13]
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In the past the PDA has been able to secure debts owed to its Locum members with great success. There is a trend emerging in some pharmacies to offer work in the knowledge that there is the unlikely prospect of paying their fees. the PDA gives some advice below
[28-MAR-13]
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We have received enquires from members who provide Locum Pharmacist services with regard to the new Lloyds agreement for the provision of Locum Services.
[31-JAN-13]
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The PDA Union Executive has authorised elections for executive members and Membership Group representatives.
[29-JAN-13]
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This issue was the focus of several PDA member conferences in 2012 and led to the development of a seven point plan.
[10-JAN-13]
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We have received enquires from members who are self-employed locum pharmacists regarding the new contract Boots are requiring them to agree to. The PDA Union has critiqued the contract and provides advice.
[14-DEC-12]
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This is an update regarding the progress of claims made in the Nottingham Employment Tribunal against Boots Management Services Limited.
[26-OCT-12]
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Following on from the recent features in the PDA's Insight magazine about the recognition of the PDA Union by Boots we invite you to register your interest in the proposal going forward on a confidential basis.
[01-OCT-12]
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The NHS as an employer has a collective agreement with the major NHS Unions and although local consultation arrangements with the PDA Union exist with some trusts, we do not have a negotiating/collective bargaining agreement.
[18-SEP-12]
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The PDA Union and the union representing shop staff in Ireland have agreed to work together on matters of common concern.
A PDA Union Press Release
[03-JUL-12]
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A recent Employment Tribunal decision found that Boots Management Services Ltd had acted unlawfully when it cut premium pay by 25% for long serving pharmacists.
[08-JUN-12]
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The PDA has been contacted by a number of members concerning a "Rest Break Policy" which has been recently issued by Boots in conjunction with the Boots Pharmacists Association (BPA). A senior executive of Boots has agreed to share a copy of the policy with the PDA.
[11-MAY-12]
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Zoe Phillips, the executive officer for the Student and Pre registration membership group attended the PDA Union Executive meeting on the 29th March 2012. Here is her feedback from the meeting about what you need to know as a student!
[16-APR-12]
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We are recruiting PDA student representatives nationwide with interviews being held during June 2012.
[16-APR-12]
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We have been contacted by a growing number of members recently who are seeking advice about a major restructuring exercise that has recently been announced at Alliance Boots. Details are sketchy at present but it appears that a significant number of jobs are at risk throughout the company.
[23-MAR-12]
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The PDA is acting behalf of a number of its members in respect of the claim being brought against Boots Management Services Limited.
[19-MAR-12]
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Over the last 4 months the bodies in pharmacy have been working together in an unprecedented way to try and deliver a solution to the problem of the criminalisation of dispensing errors.
[14-MAR-12]
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The following is an extract from Hansard from the Lords' debate on the decriminalisation of dispensing errors.
[14-MAR-12]
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The Pharmacists' Defence Association warmly welcomes the announcement that the role of community pharmacists in Scotland is to be reviewed. The review will consider how to make better use of pharmacists' expertise and enhance their involvement in primary healthcare.
[25-OCT-11]
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From member feedback, we know that the very mention of the RP regulations and the way in which they were introduced, still causes many pharmacists to suffer an increase in blood pressure.
Insight Summer 2011 - Community Edition
[01-AUG-11]
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Alliance Boots has rejected a group grievance submitted by the PDA Union and is insisting that pharmacists attend individual grievance meetings.
[24-MAY-11]
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After 4 weeks of silence, Alliance Boots has confirmed in a letter received on 23rd May 2011, that it has rejected the wishes of many of its pharmacist employees who requested a group grievance to be conducted by their Union, on their behalf.
[24-MAY-11]
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The PDA has been contacted by a number of members regarding a leaflet entitled "Simplifying our Pay and Benefits at Boots" which they have recently received.
[01-APR-11]
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The PDA has always encouraged pharmacists to protect their income in the event of unforeseen circumstances, and promotes the Pharmaceutical & General Provident Society income protection plan.
[11-MAR-11]
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Pharmacy undergraduates are now coming under scrutiny from the pharmacy regulator, through Schools of Pharmacy 'fitness to practice' procedures. Students' behaviour, conduct and integrity are being monitored to judge their suitability to become future members of the profession.
[29-SEP-10]
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Boots refusal to allow members to 'reserve their rights' as part of the application process into the new pension scheme gives rise to new advice from the PDA which may require members to take urgent action.
PDA Union
[22-JUN-10]
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If you are an Alliance Boots Pharmacist Employee, please read the important information below.
The PDA Union
[04-FEB-10]
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Protecting the employment rights of pharmacists will be pivotal to the work of the PDA Union.
[30-SEP-09]
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During a series of meetings last autumn and spring, the concerns of the PDA about the unworkable proposals contained in the RP regulations were consistently raised with the RPSGB. We expected that these would be dealt with in the Society's RP toolkit when this became available.
Mark Koziol - PDA Chairman
[29-SEP-09]
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The PDA has launched a fighting fund to help secure these objectives and we appeal to all pharmacists to contribute to this campaign.
[08-MAY-09]
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The PDA and its legal representatives have spent the last 18 months dealing with an aggressive police investigation into a dispensing error and defending a pharmacist initially arrested and investigated on suspicion of manslaughter.
[24-APR-09]
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We have been informed by some of our members that Tesco Stores Limited is introducing a uniform for all Pharmacist employees.
PDA Union
[13-FEB-09]
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We have evidence that Lloyds have assumed that full time working is now 45 hours per week. As a consequence they have recalculated employees bank holiday entitlement pro-rata.
PDA Union
[13-FEB-09]
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The PDA has been contacted by angry members who have received notification from locum agencies that Lloyds have imposed certain conditions on their hourly rates and travel expenses. This article gives PDA members relevant advice.
[17-OCT-08]
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The PDA is aware of increasing pressures being placed upon its members to undertake a certain numbers of MURs
[16-MAY-08]
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The PDA has recently become aware that some employers are no longer ensuring that it is company policy to have security guards working until midnight in those branches that have late opening.
[16-MAY-08]
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In the wake of large pharmacy organisations putting forward their candidates for Council election, Mark Koziol urges pharmacists to vote for pharmacists who have a perspective from the individual as opposed to the organisations perspective.
[17-APR-08]
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Read the PDA's response to the Clarke Inquiry on the future of the RPSGB
[31-JAN-08]
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The PDA's response to a consultation on proposals for the content of the Responsible Pharmacist Regulations.
[22-JAN-08]
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PDA urges its Members not to miss the opportunity to contribute to the RPSGB's survey on 'Remote Supervision'.
[19-JUN-07]
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Concerns about Health Act proposal to allow a pharmacy to routinely operate in the absence of a pharmacist
[12-JAN-06]
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The PDA has gone from strength to strength since it was founded in 2003. However, until now, membership of the PDA was available predominantly to pharmacists in the community and primary care sectors. The PDA announced today that it was now opening up membership to all hospital pharmacists
[23-SEP-05]
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The PDA are constantly reviewing the service they provide and have made some important additions, in particular changes to your insurance.
[26-JUL-05]
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A locum pharmacist who worked at the same pharmacy for six years had his services ended suddenly.
[26-JUL-05]
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The PDA intends to set up a national bank of employee representatives to accompany 'work colleagues' to employment disciplinary meetings.
[15-JUL-04]
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Pharmacists have always been held responsible for the staff that they supervise, but how will this change once they are registered with the RPSGB?
[15-JUL-04]
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A lot has been written recently about violence in pharmacy, but, when pharmacists report violent situations, how many of these reports are acted upon?
[28-APR-04]
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Pharmacists need to understand the legal and ethical implications of reporting dispensing errors and how to risk manage these implications. The PDA is supporting a conference organised by the Pharmacy Law and Ethics Association on May 12th which will consider this important subject.
[31-MAR-04]
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Although most employers in pharmacy are decent, the PDA is called to intervene in cases where employees have been treated unfairly by employers.In just four months, PDA has secured more than £37,000 in compensation on behalf of employees from employers.
[25-MAR-04]
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Periodically, self-employed locum members contact PDA for advice in situations where they are having problems getting their fees or expenses paid after they have completed their locum duty. In response to this, the PDA has launched a dispute resolution service to support locums in this situation.
[17-MAR-04]
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Boots The Chemists announced that they would no longer cover any self employed Locum's liabilities whislt practicing in their pharmacies.
[10-MAR-04]
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The PDA is pleased to announce that it has made arrangements with underwriters to ensure that suitable cover exists for pharmacists during their training and early practice as a supplementary prescriber.
[26-JAN-04]
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To help reduce the risk of liability to individual pharmacists in relation to any diagnostic testing services, the PDA issues guidance.
[26-JAN-04]
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A senior NPA delegation including the Chief Executive, John D'Arcy and Finance Director Richard Maw, met the Executive of the PDA its offices in Birmingham in January. Issues such as 'the fall out for Pharmacy as a result of the Shipman Inquirey
[26-JAN-04]
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The National Patient Safety Agency is soon to launch an important new initiative to support pharmacists in helping to reduce the cases of deaths and serious harm that occur as a result of patients taking methotrexate in unintended doses. PDA has been consulted on the contents of the initiative.
[15-JAN-04]
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The PDA meet with officers of the Society to discuss thecontents of a recent Law and Ethics bulletin, which they thought prejudiced employee and locum pharmacists.
[05-DEC-03]
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The PDA has written to Lloydspharmacy for clarification regarding its Health Screening Programmes in relation to liability issues.
[05-DEC-03]
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A strategy document entitled " A vision for Pharmacy in the new NHS" was published by the Department of Health during the summer months. The document formed part of a wider consultation and invited interested parties to submit their views.
[26-NOV-03]
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A system designed to highlight dangerous side-effects of medicines is not working, claim researchers in a recent BBC report
[24-NOV-03]
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Taking too many painkillers can damage some people's kidneys permanently, scientists claim. In a recent BBc report
[24-NOV-03]
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The new RPSGB Charter draft has been released for consultation. The Save our Society campaign believe that it is unsupportable.
[29-OCT-03]
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The Professional Standards Directorate has made it clear that it believes that excessive use of mobile phones in the dispensary could prevent pharmacists from properly supervising the sale and supply of medicines.
[21-OCT-03]
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A part-time foundation degree in pharmacy course for technicians has been established. The course, is aimed at Technicians in Industry and Hospital.
[06-OCT-03]
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It was announced on 12 September that a new association has been launched. The purpose of the Pharmacists Defence Association, a not-for-profit organisation, is to 'defend the reputation of the individual pharmacist, throughout their professional life'.
[12-SEP-03]
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The PDA has commissioned a large-scale research programme designed to explore the thoughts of community employee and locum pharmacists with respect to a wide range of professional, environmental and practice issues
[12-SEP-03]
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The Department of Health has recently issued a new policy pack to help NHS trusts and organisations develop and review their whistleblowing policies and procedures.
[10-SEP-03]
