Stagnating rates of pay for locums has led some pharmacists to question “whether continuing in the profession is sustainable”, new data has revealed this week (May 12). 

One locum said they were paid £23 per hour in 2008 but “today the same company is paying £21 per hour”. 

Read more: ‘I won’t work for Boots again’: Chain cancels locum two hours before shift

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA), who released the new data, said in real terms it represents a “reduction in rates of more than 40%”. 

The Bank of England’s inflation calculator shows that £23 in 2008 is worth £36.94 as of March 2025. 

Another pharmacist said it was a “professional scandal” they were paid between £25 and £26 per hour today compared to 20 years ago, when they received “£25-£30 per hour plus full travel and paid accommodation”. 

Read more: ‘Almost impossible to earn a living’: Locums take second jobs

“I am unaware of any other profession where such rate stagnation has occurred,” they added. 

One locum responding to the PDA said his typical rate had marginally improved as “on average, I get paid £1 per hour more than I did 32 years ago”. 

New negotiating structure 

Another said locum rates are “extremely low”, and some are “less than a technician’s wage”. 

One added they wouldn’t have trained to be a pharmacist if they had known the pay would be “this bad”. 

The PDA said it would welcome a sectoral negotiating structure for locums to reverse the stagnating rates. 

Read more: ‘Less than minimum wage’: Boots offers locum pharmacists £11 an hour ‘in error’

It told C+D it had seen in recent general elections several political party manifestos proposing sectoral bargaining in many industries and it would support that for pharmacy. 

“The PDA is positioned and prepared to be able to represent the collective interests of locums,” it said. 

It added that employers would need to agree to negotiate collectively for the good of the sector. 

Action underway 

The data highlighted the impact of newly qualified locums and those moving from employed roles to locum ones. 

One locum said this has led to many “scared of walking away from low paying shifts” and they are booking “via terrible platforms … at ridiculous rates”. 

Other respondents said contractors had cancelled bookings “without fair notice” to try and secure a pharmacist on a lower rate. 

Read more: ‘Respite to employment challenges’: Average UK locum rate nosedives 10% in a year

The PDA said since the pandemic some pharmacy contractors were choosing to close pharmacies for half-days or on Saturdays rather than pay locum rates. 

In response to this, the PDA said action is “already underway” highlighting these issues to the regulator and the devolved governments. 

The PDA’s data is from the first in a series of locum surveys that has collated the experiences of over 1,300 locums across the UK. 

Read more: ‘Peasant wages’ for 'muppets': Christmas locum rates set to plummet

It comes as the PDA warned in February that it is becoming “impossible” for Scottish locum pharmacists to make ends meet by locuming alone. 

And in January, C+D reported a locum was left “disgusted that a huge pharmacy such as Boots” cancelled his locum shift at short notice.