Insight Online – September 2022

Bank Holiday for State Funeral of HM The Queen Elizabeth II on Monday 19 September

A Bank Holiday was declared across the UK in respect of the state funeral of HM The Queen. We have reminded members about our guidance on entitlement to bank holidays which was previously published in April 2022.The state funeral of HM the Queen on Monday 19 September has been marked with an additional bank holiday. In the circumstances of this bank holiday, we hope that regardless of any contractual position, all employers will have given all their employees an additional paid day off of work, either on the bank holiday itself or at a later date for those who are unable to take an extra day off from work on that particular day.

We send our sincere condolences to the Royal Family, for their personal loss.

The Pharmacy Show: 16 – 17 October 2022

We will be involved in delivering two sessions at the Pharmacy Show this year titled ‘LGBT+ inclusion in Pharmacy’ and ‘Medicines to Ukraine’. Speakers for these sessions have now been announced.

LGBT+ inclusion in Pharmacy

Taking place in the Business Theatre on Sunday 16 October 2022 from 4.25 pm to 4.55 pm

The PDA LGBT+ Network provides a structure through which members can work together to proactively address and campaign around sexual orientation and transgender discrimination. This session will review the network’s achievements since its launch in April 2020; in particular, the campaign around more inclusion of LGBT+ education in the MPharm programme.

Confirmed speakers for this session

• Scott Rutherford, President of the PDA LGBT+ Network and a trainee pharmacist
• Soh Xi Ken, Honorary Secretary of the PDA LGBT+ Network and a trainee pharmacist

Medicines to Ukraine

Taking place in the Business Theatre on Monday 17 October from 11.55 am to 12.25 pm 

EPhEU is the umbrella union for many pharmacist unions across the continent of Europe. We hold a senior position within that organisation, and Mark Koziol, PDA Chairman is currently the Secretary General of EPhEU. We have been working with various continental pharmacist union partners and are responding to the calls from Ukrainian hospitals for help and specialist medicines, by launching a Medicines to Ukraine campaign.

Confirmed speaker for this session

• Mark Koziol, PDA Chairman

Other PDA speakers will be participating on panels and in other sessions at the show.

Members where NHS pay increase results in reduced take-home pay

We are highlighting that some members employed by the NHS face a situation where the pay increase will result in them receiving less take-home pay each month, and due to the increase being backdated they now need to repay money to their employer.

We sought members views and submitted a consultation response regarding NHS pensions in October 2021. The government’s response to that consultation was published in February 2022 and we updated members again at that time. Members employed by the NHS are encouraged to re-read these articles and the link to the outcome of the government’s consultation.

One issue that the above links demonstrate the government has committed to resolving, can currently still occur, and some members have experienced this already, whereby the latest NHS pay increase can result in them receiving less take-home pay.