As this group of employees do not have a recognised trade union to act as their representatives in discussions that will now follow, the company say that a 45-day consultation will begin for Boots UK following the appointment of colleague representatives. Sadly, this means that redundancies are likely to follow and some colleagues could have their employment terminated.
Mark Pitt, Assistant General Secretary of the PDA Union said: “The management description of this action as a “$1bn cost transformation programme” focuses the impact on the company’s bottom line and it could even sound like a positive initiative, but we know that such “programmes” can have serious consequences for individuals and their families
I encourage any pharmacists who are PDAU members within this group to contact us for any guidance or support they need. I hope any non-pharmacist colleagues affected will have previously joined an appropriate trade union for their role and recommend they follow similar steps with their own union.
A generic PDAU briefing about redundancy is available below and pharmacists can understand the redundancy process; however the union recommend that members get specific advise based on their own circumstances
Redundancy briefing:
If you have already contacted the PDAU for advice, there is no need to contact us again unless there are developments with your situation. You can contact PDAU in confidence to talk about any workplace concern or query.
Usdaw, the leading retail trade union have also released a statement about this issue: Read Usdaw Statement
We are concerned for the general well-being of members affected by this announcement and in addition to the support and representation available from the PDAU, we would also like to remind pharmacists of the excellent personal support provided by Pharmacist Support.