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During a debate on Thursday (5) members of the House of Lords voiced unanimous concern over the alarming rise in retail crime and its impact on businesses, workers, and communities. Lord Hannett of Everton (Labour), former General Secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), initiated the debate, citing alarming statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS figures showed that nearly 470,000 shoplifting offences were recorded across England and Wales in the year leading up to October 2024- a 29 per cent increase and the highest figure since records started in March 2003. Lord Hannett highlighted widespread underreporting of retail crime, noting "many retail workers do not report incidents because they simply do not believe that anything will happen when they do." He pointed to a British Retail Consortium survey revealing over 1,300 incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers daily in 2022-2023, with only a third reported to the police and fewer than 8 per cent leading to prosecutions.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called on the UK government to launch an urgent investigation into the exploitation of migrant care workers, following a sharp rise in reported cases. According to new RCN data, there has been a six-fold increase in the number of overseas care workers being exploited by rogue employers over the past three years. In 2020/21, the RCN's advice team handled 22 calls from members regarding repayment clauses in their contracts. This figure shot up to 134 in 2023/24, with May 2024 alone seeing 17 calls - the highest in a single month. The RCN highlighted that repayment clauses are being misused by employers to demand thousands of pounds from migrant care workers, leaving staff unable to leave their jobs and trapped in "appalling conditions" years after they were first hired.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has expressed disappointment at the omission, once again, of the promised Employment Rights Bill omitted from the Queen's Speech earlier this week. The Bill is pledged to strengthen day one employment rights and increase the productivity of businesses. It set out plans which would protect and enhance workers' rights and aim to make the UK the best place in the world to work at. This included plans to introduce the right to request flexible working for around 2.2 million people in Great Britain - regardless of time served in a bid to modernise the way employees work. The PDA said: "The Employment Rights Bill would have presented an opportunity to improve the ability for workers to obtain redress in the event of poor treatment or discrimination through the development of a single labour market enforcement body. "Poor employment practices, such as insecure work through long-term zero-hours contracts, unilaterally changing workers' terms and conditions by terminating their contracts and re-hiring them on new terms and conditions (also known as fire and rehire), and the sacking of workers without notice, as recently demonstrated by P & O Ferries, could have been outlawed under new legislation."

At the UK Covid-19 Inquiry's Module 3 hearings on 10 September, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) highlighted that community pharmacy was "often overlooked and under-recognised" during the pandemic. Lawyer Lee John-Charles, speaking on behalf of the NPA, told the Inquiry that despite the central role played by community pharmacy in the delivery of NHS care throughout the pandemic, community pharmacists and their teams were "not given comparable treatment to other frontline healthcare workers." The NPA criticised the initial exclusion of pharmacy workers from the Life Assurance Scheme for frontline workers in England, calling on the Inquiry to investigate this notable omission. The NPA also pointed out that community pharmacies were forced to source and fund their own personal protective equipment (PPE) as it was not initially available to them through the NHS.

As the deadline for the frontline healthcare workers to get fully vaccinated approaches, tens of thousands of NHS staff who have not yet taken the Covid-19 vaccine face termination in just a fortnight. Although it is estimated that the majority of NHS staff have been fully jabbed, health and social care providers in England will soon be needed to ensure that all those working in areas regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before the April 1, 2022. Those who are exempted from taking the vaccination do not fall under this purview. According to the NHS England guidance around Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment (VCOD) for healthcare workers, all frontline staff must have had both the doses by April 1, meaning that by February 3 the first must have been administered and the second by March 31. All unvaccinated frontline workers will be called into formal meetings from February 4 and given a warning of dismissal. Notices will then be issued from that day, with March 31 marking the end of the notice period

Healthcare workers, including community pharmacy staff, can book their Covid-19 booster vaccination through the National Booking Service from Wednesday (September 7) onwards. NHS England has announced that around seven million people, including those aged 75 and over, people who are immunosuppressed and health and care workers will be able to book an appointment for their Covid-19 booster vaccinations online or by calling 119. Eligible staff are encouraged to book an appointment for a booster dose as soon as possible, provided it has been at least three months since their last dose of the vaccine. "For other eligible patients (not health and care workers), invitations are being sent out and will be landing on their doormats from Wednesday 7th September inviting people to book their appointment for the following week without delay. The NHS will contact people when it is their turn to book in for the vaccine - there will be no need for patients to contact the NHS," said PSNC.

Pharmacists, along with workers from other public sector workplaces, marched on 8 September demanding that the Scottish government take all available action to mitigate the biggest reduction in living standards workers will have experienced for generations. Pharmacists Defence' Association (PDA) members participated in the Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC) march to let the government know that "Scotland demands better". Paul Flynn, PDA national officer, said: "Pharmacists will be unwelcomely familiar with diminished purchasing power and a squeeze on household budgets for patients, colleagues and pharmacists but what we will see this year and into 2023 will make previous experience pale by comparison." The march organised by STUC saw thousands of workers, activists and concerned individuals march through the centre of Edinburgh's Historic Old Town in good spirits while bearing flags and banners, chanting, singing, and calling for change in Scotland.

IAM Healthcare and pharmacy labour activists have initiated a new worker empowerment project to help pharmacies unionise over unsafe staffing levels and increasing workloads. The campaign is coined "The Pharmacy Guild" to establish higher standards of practice in pharmacies to protect patients. The union issued a mission statement on Wednesday (8 November) highlighting three major demands and goals. They demanded that "staffing and workload standards should be set up to ensure safe patient care." There should be "representation and collective bargaining for pharmacy professionals in workplaces across the country."

The results of a national NHS staff survey, published recently, revealed that frontline healthcare workers are facing record levels of discrimination at work, with 58,000 respondents reporting that they experienced "unacceptable" levels of unwanted sexual behaviour from the public last year. Concerningly, 8.67 per cent of 675,140 NHS workers who responded to the poll said they suffered sexual harassment from patients, patients' relatives, or other members of the public in 2023. Particularly, ambulance staff were affected, with nearly 25 per cent of staff reporting unwanted sexual behaviour from the public last year. According to the survey findings, 3.84 per cent of staff also encountered unwanted sexual behaviour from their colleagues. Dr Navina Evans, Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer, described the survey results as "very distressing" and said that "such conduct should not be tolerated in the NHS." On the positive side, more NHS workers reported being happier at work and experiencing less burnout than before. Over half of the participants stated they look forward to coming to work, the highest number since 2020, as per the NHS. Dr Evans attributed this improvement to initiatives such as flexible working hours, clinical support squads to help menopausal women at work, and human resources stay advocates.

At times, vaccines can become a controversial topic. People often have strong opinions about where protecting society as a whole stops and an individual's rights start. With COVID-19 in the news and the potential for a vaccine, the topic is not going away any time soon. If you're a healthcare worker, vaccine requirements are likely not new to you. But can employers mandate vaccines, and can you refuse? Keep reading to find out more.

Expressing its concerns over the Government's decision to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for health workers in England, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has said an "informed choice" is better than compulsory vaccination. Health secretary Sajid Javid said today (Nov 9) that health workers in England will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by April 1, 2021, making it a mandatory condition of employment for those on the frontline of the NHS. "All those working in the NHS and social care will have to be vaccinated. We must avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS and of course protect the NHS itself," Javid told parliament. The RPS said it "strongly encourages all pharmacists to take advantage of the Covid-19 vaccination programme and to get vaccinated unless there is a medical reason not to do so". It belies that "this is best practice" and part of the pharmacists' responsibility to act in the best interest of their patients.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has welcomed the Westminster government's move to backtracked from their plan to remove a large number of rights and standards and is having to overhaul the Retained EU Law Bill. This had included a number of employment rights, including TUPE transfers and the Working Time Directive, which had been established in the UK from EU law. The Bill's 'sunset clause' was originally going to automatically repeal any EU law not enshrined in UK law by the end of 2023. Critics of the Bill were concerned that this gave the government powers to reform or remove laws without normal Parliamentary scrutiny. "This would have abolished many improvements to workers' rights which were enacted through the EU legislature," said PDA.

Community pharmacists in England have slammed the government's latest decision to reduce the number of people who get a free winter flu jab in the 2022-23 flu season, as concerns related to Covid-19 still exist. This follows a letter from the NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) to clinicians, which stated that the flu vaccination service in 2022-23 will be offered to patient groups eligible in line with pre-pandemic recommendations. The eligibility was widened significantly after the pandemic struck in 2020 to help reduce the death toll from the Covid-19. With the change in place people aged 50-64 and schoolchildren aged 11-15 will not be eligible to receive the free jabs on the NHS next winter, pushing millions of people to pay for their jabs privately. It further recommended that vaccination for frontline healthcare workers and social care workers should be provided by employers as part of the organisation's policy to prevent the transmission of infection.

Highlighting the growing workforce challenges in the UK, a new report has indicated that nearly one in five (18 per cent) flexible health and care sector workers, engaged in agency work through private providers, might leave the sector in the next two years. With tens of thousands of flexible staff working within the sector every week, providing care for thousands of people, the report cautioned that failure to address their concerns could result in poor system performance and patient experience. The report is based on views drawn from over 10,000 flexible health and social care professionals, including a significant number of those working in pharmacy, gathered by strategic workforce partners Acacium Group. According to the report, 24 per cent of workers surveyed reported feeling overstretched by their workload, contributing to burnout and dissatisfaction. Concerns about working conditions and the level of support from management were cited as key reasons why some healthcare professionals are considering leaving the sector.

A Middlesbrough pharmacy worker has raised nearly £1,000 for cancer support by participating in 'Brave the Shave,' a charity fundraising campaign organised in memory of some of her colleagues who lost their battle with cancer. Sam Smith, a trainee pharmacy technician at the University Hospital of North Tees shaved off her blue hair to support two cancer services: the cancer information centre at her hospital and Macmillan Cancer Support. The 34-year-old's brave decision began this summer after she commented about shaving her head to cope with the heat. A colleague jokingly offered her £5 to follow through, which sparked the idea to turn the gesture into a charity fundraiser - Brave the Shave. In a video shared by the University, Sam is seen getting her head shaved at the hospital while her pharmacy colleagues cheer her on. Teesside pharmacy worker raises nearly £1,000 for cancer support by shaving off her blue locks Sporting a bald head, Sam said: "It doesn't feel like my head right now but it's very liberating. "I said I wouldn't do it for anything less than £300 so to raise just shy of £1,000 is amazing. Thank you to everybody who has donated - you've made it all worth it."

Community pharmacies played a crucial role in the Covid-19 vaccination programme, delivering over 42 million Covid-19 vaccinations. Nevertheless, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) believes that there are valuable lessons to be learned to improve the health service's response to future crises. The association highlighted key areas for improvement in its oral statement during the public hearings for Module 4 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry-focusing on Vaccines and Therapeutics-on 15 January. Representing the NPA, legal representative Deirdre Domingo urged the Inquiry to consider the following points to optimise the delivery of future vaccination programmes. Effective planning and the involvement of community pharmacy from the outset Improving operational delivery of the vaccination booking system Addressing vaccine hesitancy and equality issues Utilising existing resources and expertise Reducing the unrealistic expectations on healthcare workers and managing the impact on them

The 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics reported overall stats on hospital workers: with about 76% female representation, 74% were white, while African-Americans only comprised about 15% of the total. With Asians around 8% and Hispanic/Latino workers around 10%, the argument could be made that higher representation should be the goal for most institutions...

To all of our healthcare workers, thank you for all that you do and for the sacrifices you make for us each day. We want you to know that during these tumultuous times, your efforts make all the difference.

It's no secret that the world of work can be dangerous. Every day, workers are injured on the job, and in some cases, these injuries can be quite serious. If you're unfortunate enough to find yourself in this situation, it's important to know what steps to take to get the medical care you need. There are several ways to get proper medical aid if you're injured at work, and each option has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. HEALTH INSURANCE If your employer offers health insurance, this will likely be your first port of call when seeking medical care after a workplace injury. The main benefit of using your employer's insurance is that it will usually cover the majority of your medical expenses. However, there are some drawbacks to this option. First, your employer's insurance may only cover treatment from specific doctors or hospitals. This can make it difficult to get the care you need on time. Second, your employer's insurance may not cover all of the costs associated with your injury, leaving you with a hefty bill. Very often, workers consider obtaining private insurance, especially if they're working as ex-pats or freelancers. It is good to note that in these cases, private insurance would then be used in combination with their employer's insurance, giving them a greater degree of coverage. However, even if you're only insuring yourself, this insurance can be beneficial because you'll be able to choose your doctor, and you may have a greater range of coverage.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has welcomed the government's defeat in the House of Lords on the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill. It believes that the proposed Bill, if enacted, would allow the government to dictate minimum levels of service during times of industrial action, enabling employers to name specific employees that they require in work. Those employees could then face losing their jobs if they failed to turn up to work on that day. Trade unions could also be fined if they did not force those named individuals to go to work. PDA director, Paul Day said, "This Bill should be of real concern to pharmacists and other health professionals. The idea of their employer being able to effectively conscript them to work or face the sack does not feel like a positive employment relations environment." The House of Lords has voted for key amendments to the Bill to prevent unions from being required to force workers to comply. This also prevents workers from being forced to work or face the sack and allows for greater consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny on the proposals which the Westminster government is trying to implement. The House of Commons will now be required to vote on the amendments over the next few weeks. Whilst the House of Lords amendments are likely to be defeated, it shows the degree of opposition there is to this Bill.