Are employed wages and locum work set to decrease in the coming years?

[peace800]

Hi

Hopefully I will qualify in the next few years. I am just a little concerned about wages by then amd want this demanding tough degree to be worth it in the end. Do you see wages and availability of work both locum and employed to be reasonable in the next 3 or so years? Will jobs be readily available? Thanks.

[johnep]

Regret That No could be the answer to both questions.
johnep

[Tony Schofield]

As so many pharmacists have an attitude that the world owes them a living, there will always be jobs for pharmacists who are prepared to do their best for patients and employers. I am being pestered by recruitment companies, who have cut their fees, and have been so for at least a year, which indicates that there are many unsettled or unemployed pharmacists at the moment. However employable pharmacists, ie those who want to develop the business and their professional standing are much thinner on the ground than you would imagine. Good pharmacists will always, ultimately find good jobs.

Now the type of job that you may describe as "good" may well differ from the type of job I would describe as "good". I am currently recruiting but if anyone phones up and the first question they ask is "how much do you pay" I shall hang up the phone! Quality of support staff, infrastructure, opportunities for professional autonomy/development, premises and facilities are what you will spend your working time with and are of at least equal importance to cash money. Questions from applicants say an awful lot about their priorities. If cash is the only apparent motivator then an employer can expect to lose an employee every time a job offering a couple of quid more is advertised.

As for remuneration. I understand that after spending time and considerable sums of money studying pharmacy you want to know that it will have been worth it. However so do lawyers (most of whom start on less than £25k), doctors, accountants engineers etc. The fact is that the economy is not growing at the rate hoped for and also the NHS needs to find £20bn in "efficiencies". That means cuts. Those cuts have not materialised yet and the Cat M cuts that are part of our current contract could be dwarfed when pharmacy is compelled to shoulder it's share of the burden.

So no promises on remuneration I'm afraid. However, businesses are always having to compete and if things do become tight, many businesses will willingly pay more to secure good staff and enable them to have a competitive edge over other businesses. Good pharmacists will do better than poor pharmacists which hasn't always been the case.

Locum work? If big multiples and supermarkets continue to treat their staff as they have been doing for so long now there will always be demand for locums as permanent staff will move on. Remote supervision, if it becomes a reality, could have a huge impact on requirements for locums! If business is suffering and owner managers can't afford to take holidays (very possible if they are in debt when interest rates start rising, which most will be) then demand for locums will fall. Locum work has always been risky and will continue to be. But if you want to prosper then re-booking will occur if you do your best for the business you contract with. There are myriad stories of poor locums we have been forced to employ when faced with no other choice. However, I and many other companies employ a different kind of locum regularly ie those that do their best for our patients, are accredited to carry out enhanced services and are an asset to our businesses. This kind of locum is more commonly found than you would think when reading forums such as this but they do exist, are doing well and will always be in demand.

Looking at the current climate I know how easy it is to become despondent however every decade has had it's challenges. In the 1970's it was rampant inflation of over 20% (currently around 4%) which very quickly eroded the spending power of salaries. 1980's it was interest rates of 15%(currently 0.5%) with the attendant huge cost of mortgages, early 1990's it was the end of the "cost plus" contract which manifested itself in negligible growth in pharmacy remuneration coupled with a severe recession which took about 12 years to finally rid ourselves of.

Yes it is tough but we will overcome all of this. The new legislation being planned to enable small providers to provide public services will open up new opportunities outside of working for the multiples and encourage entrepreneurial activity (stifled by multiples for about 10 years now). Pharmacists will be able to take advantage of this so judging the future based on the past will not be easy. My own view is that it will be very good for those that can be bothered to take advantage and less good for those that can't be bothered.

Does that answer your question?

[peace800]

Thankyou Johnep and Tony for your replies.

Yes Tony it does, I really appreciate you taking time out to write such a thorough response. I cannot dispute anything that you have said. I will keep a positive outlook on things and I take on board what you have said about the importance of being (or at least aiming to be) a quality professional...no doubt this will bode well, as you have said, in terms of being sought after in terms of employment.

I guess as im a mature student I worry abit too much as aspects such as remuneration after the degree concern me and my family. It is a tough degree and you are right, nobody owes anyone a living but naturally one worries about one's financial future.

[mrmeds]

nhs renumeration is being squeezed, so as an employer i'd have to be very nice/daft to give locums/staff nice pay rises

[Tony Schofield]

Income is being squeezed. And I do believe the worst is to come over the next two years. However, salaries are not only governed by business income. Business needs to invest and one of the best investments it can make is in good quality staff. Staff who bring patients in, retain them, do a good job of meeting requirements, who order stock responsibly and manage efficiently are valuable to a business and sensible employers will do waht they can to retain such staff and that will include improving their terms and conditions.

On another forum Asda's superintendent agreed that their locum rates vary from region to region depending on supply and demand. Some areas they are paying under £20 an hour and it others nearly £30.

A pharmacist who understands how the new developments are working and grasps the new medicines service, who targets MURs as is intended will be a bit more valuable than one who waits to be told what to do or, even worse, refuses to do enhanced/advanced services. I am sure you can agree that?

The big problem is that many of the large employers, due to their size, don't have mechanisms to recognise individual initiative and use carrot and stick methods to manage their staff. However, even in a carrot and stick environmment, productive pharmacists will earn more than non-productive pharmacists.