It has been announced that Boots staff currently employed at the hospital outpatient pharmacy in Derby are transferring to a new organisation called “Pride Pharmacy” which is a wholly-owned subsidiary company of University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust.
Boots currently has a number of hospital outpatient pharmacy contracts and this transfer is occurring because one of those contracts is going to expire. Whenever Boots decide not to bid to renew such a contract or where they try but are unsuccessful, similar situations would likely occur. A new contractor will take up the contract and the work of pharmacists and the rest of the pharmacy team in that location will be undertaken by that new employer.
In circumstances like this, the employees’ contract of employment can also be transferred to the new employer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, also known as “TUPE”. This means that the contract of employment of the individuals transfer to the new employer and effectively the individual should not see any major changes to their working arrangements.
The good news for pharmacists affected is that pharmacists’ representation rights under the recognition agreement we have with Boots also transfer with them to the new employer. Due to that recognition agreement, both Boots and Pride Pharmacy are required to consult with PDA about their plans.
As the PDA is the union for all pharmacists across the UK, and not just for those at Boots, affected members also have the reassurance of knowing that they can continue to be full PDA Union members and can call on us for support before, during and/or after the transfer if needed
In such situations, we would encourage any pharmacists that are not yet PDA members to join us
You can read more about TUPE here.