The number of pharmacy jobs with joining bonuses worth thousands of pounds have surged during summer 2021

Since being added to the Home Office’s shortage occupation list, the number of pharmacy jobs with joining bonuses worth thousands of pounds have surged during summer 2021.

The figures were published by Indeed Hiring Lab on 21 September 2021, which show that the percentage of advertisements for pharmacy roles that mentioned a signing bonus increased to 1.9% from 0.1% between May 2021 and August 2021 – making the pharmacy sector the second-largest rise across all industries.

Director of the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) and the PDA Union, Paul Day, stated: “[The] purchasing power of pharmacist pay rates has reduced in recent years due to sub-inflation increases, and this is a contributing factor to some pharmacists no longer choosing to work full time, if at all, in community pharmacy in particular.”