Bullying at work - MURs

[JustMe]

My friend who works as a pharmacist in one of the biggest pharmacy chain got a not very nice phone call from someone working directly for line manager. And was told that they reviewed the perscriptions and found out that she should be able to do at least certain number of MURs out of all those prescriptions (she didn't meet the MURs target for a week). She said "if you don't improve there are two pharmacist who could replace you. How does that sound to you?". My friend was left speachless, as you can imagine.

I wonder wheter what has been said over the phone can be called as threatening and bullying or is that a normal way to talk to the pharmacist who do not meet their MURs targets.

And is there anything she should/could do about it? Obviously going to a line manager is out of question as the whole company is very bullyish about doing MURs.

[Linnear]

PDA would probably be a good way to go.

There must have been dozens of rulings and guidelines broken during that one phone call.


God help us if the Responsible Pharmacist Consultation goes badly!

[Zoggite]

Contact the PDA (The PDA - The Pharmacists' Defence Association , or 01216947000) and let them know, they already have a large file on the subject as your friend is by no means the only pharmacist who has been submitted to this kind of bullying by this large multiple. I myself have handed in my notice from the pharmacy I had been working at for 7 years, over precisely this issue. There may well be two pharmacists who could replace your friend, but equally there are probably three other pharmacies who would happily offer her a position tomorrow, AND pay her more, too!
On the practical side: see if you can get the Area manager to confirm his/her "threats" in an email, make written records of what was said to you precisely, and by whom, on which date and at which time, as any written records may be useful to prove constructive dismissal, should it ever come to that...

[Pharmanaut]

Originally Posted by Zoggite

On the practical side: see if you can get the Area manager to confirm his/her "threats" in an email, make written records of what was said to you precisely, and by whom, on which date and at which time, as any written records may be useful to prove constructive dismissal, should it ever come to that...

Can I just emphasise the need to keep written records of dates and times of conversations and other communications, and responses to them. Even the phrase "two pharmacists willing to replace you" can be submitted. They are grist to the mill for tribunals. It costs the employer a lot more than it does the employee in time and effort, therefore most cases are settled "out of court".

[Zoggite]

I have just been back to the PDA website, and read this:
"In one of the leading cases a manager shouted to an employee 'You can't do your bloody job anyway', within earshot of other employees. This was held to have so seriously undermined the implied duty of mutual trust that the employee was entitled to claim constructive dismissal."
And a lot more interesting advice, too!
So if your friend hasn't joined yet, tell her to do so ASAP!

[JustMe]

Ok, thanks a lot. This should help.

btw, I do not stop to wonder who have thought of such a "good" idea to waste so much money. I am not surprised at all by the reaction of retailers who so MURs as one of the best opportunities to make money in years and, in the effect, push the way they behave towards pharmacist to the limits.

On the other hand, it's hard to believe that no one is able to see what's going on. I guess pharmacist in UK woke up too late realizing that there is no one to fight for their rights while corporations have been lobbying for a long time to increase their profits. Add to that Government who is trying to find any possible way to patch NHS and you can see how they came up with brilliant idea - lets use pharmacist to do some of the job.

Anyway, MURs are a real pain in the a** and emails send by my manager 2-3 times a week with reminder how good/bad pharmacies in his area are doing do not help. But even so I'm not in such a bad situation as my sister who works for different retailer (and in a different part of the country). They managed to developed a bullying into a way of dealing with pharmacits. Especially if said pharmacist is from Poland. They think that they can get away with it (and they actually do). But I guess pharmacist from other parts of EU are a topic of its own.

[the old merlin]

Properly conducted MUR's are frequently appreciated by the public. I've actually overheard appreciative conversations on the bus and in the pub.

That's not condoning bullying of course. And, would the multiple in question be the one I'm about to advise a group of Care Homes NOT to use because of crap service, since there's frequently no continuity of staff?

[JustMe]

Yes, the idea behind MUR is very good, I would say. It could probably be one of the piece in a jigsaw 'try to save NHS' but it is not. I can hardly remember a few of my MURs that were appreciated - hardly they can if in most cases I'm doing them because I have to reach my weekly target and to avoid phone calls and emails remainding me, as the week draws to the end, that I have not done any or not enough.