LloydsPharmacy has said it is ‘really sorry’ that some of its employees were not paid correctly following the introduction of a new payroll system.

Lloyds has since issued an apology for the problems. In a statement, HR Director for parent company Celesio UK Hilary Stables, said: ‘I am really sorry that some of our colleagues did not receive the correct pay when we first introduced our payroll system. We have apologised to the people affected and reassured them that any errors will be put right.’

Lloyds said the issues relate to a new payroll system called Kronos, which is being rolled out across the whole of LloydsPharmacy. Implementation began in May and is currently live in two regions, covering approximately 4,000 employees.

PDA survey

A survey of 80 pharmacists by the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) identified major concerns over how Lloyds is paying its employees.

The results showed that over half (60%) of respondents were not being paid correctly.

The survey responses reveal a ‘very concerning situation’, said the PDA. It has formally raised the issue with Lloyds and requested ‘urgent action’ to resolve the issues, it said.

It said inaccurate pay could lead to bank charges or extra interest payments (if employees have insufficient funds in their bank account due to company errors), and have asked Lloyds to reimburse anyone affected.

Reimbursing those affected

In her statement of apology, Ms Stables pointed out that the survey was carried out nationally, although the new payroll system is actually only available in two regions, and that it surveyed locums, who are not paid through the new system.

Lloyds said it will reimburse employees who are not paid correctly as a matter of priority.

And in terms of recompensing employees for bank charges, it said: ‘LloydsPharmacy has always had a policy of reimbursing any colleague who has incurred bank charges as a result of a pay error, and will continue with that policy should it be required in future.’

It confirmed that the issue has now been resolved. ‘Although we had issues in June, we know that our payroll accuracy is back to normal levels for those stores on the new system.’

Working to resolve issues

It added: ‘A key reason for the phased roll out approach we have taken is to allow us to spot issues quickly and correct most errors on payday or very soon afterwards.

‘We are continuing to work closely with our chosen suppliers to ensure that we have all of the collective issues resolved before we continue with the rollout across the remaining stores.

‘We have enhanced our training and communication to help our colleagues fully with the new system. Our internal statistics show that our payroll accuracy is back to normal levels for those stores on the new payroll solution.’

The PDA said it will continue to monitor the situation and will take up any issues on behalf of their members if the problem does not get resolved quickly.

The PDA advised any members experiencing inaccurate pay to keep records of hours worked and payment due, raise concerns to the line manager (in writing) and to keep a record of all communication.