Boots UK will offer a starting salary of £42k to all newly qualified pharmacists joining the multiple on a full-time basis from August, following pay negotiations with the pharmacy union.

Current employees who are part of the bargaining unit and who receive less than £43k base salary will see an increase to £43k,  the Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA) said in a statement with Boots today (June 22).

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Commenting on the pay increases, Boots said that it was ‘committed to providing long-term fulfilling and enriching careers for pharmacists, with the opportunity to develop and progress over time’.

‘This enhanced offer for newly qualified pharmacists and further investment in those in the early stages of their careers at Boots is a key part of our commitments to pharmacists,’ the multiple added.

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Boots and PDA said they would conduct a further formal review of all Pharmacists’ pay in accordance with the collective agreement which begins on 1 November.

In June, Boots’ chief pharmacist Marc Donovan was one of three pharmacists honoured with an OBE as part of the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours list.

Meanwhile, last year, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) completed the sale of its wholesaler's arm, Alliance Healthcare, to US wholesale company AmerisourceBergen Corporation for $6.5bn.

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The sale, first announced in January, was finalised for $6.275bn cash and two million shares of AmerisourceBergen common stock, WBA announced yesterday (2 June).