BRITAIN'S major pharmacy chains are questioning the results of a survey that found a 15% gap in pay between caucasian community pharmacists and those from different ethnic backgrounds.
The Pharmaceutical Journal's annual salary and satisfaction survey, published in Sep, revealed the disparity in pharmacists' earnings based on racial lines, across the pharmacy sector.
When contacted by the publication, four of the largest groups - Boots, Rowlands, LloydsPharmacy and Well Pharmacy - said they were not aware of an ethnic pay gap, however, they noted they did not publish any data on the issue.
A spokesperson for LloydsPharmacy told the Journal that it did not hold complete "ethnicity data" on its employees "so we are not able to perform analysis of any statistical significance".
"We do not believe that an ethnicity pay disparity is an issue among our pharmacist population," the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Phoenix Group, the owner of the Rowlands group, said the Journal's findings showed that "community pharmacy as a whole appears to have a notable ethnicity pay gap".
"We are continuing to review and further enhance our colleague demographic data and regularly discuss workforce metrics internally to identify potential areas of focus for action," the spokesperson said.
The Journal noted that all four groups said they were committed to ensuring their employees were paid fairly in accordance with their role, skill-set, experience and location.
Under British law there is no requirement for businesses to report on ethnicity and pay, however, a Government consultation is reviewing the matter.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 15 Nov 19
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