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The Pharmacists’ Defence Association has said that in 2024 it helped locum pharmacists recover a record £126,654 in unpaid ‘debts’ from “rogue” employers – and that it is working to secure over £200,000 in unpaid locum fees from a single business. 

The amount recovered last year – which equates to £2,435 per week on average – marks another successive year in which over £100,000 in unpaid locum fees has been recovered through legal channels from "rogue employers who have refused to honour the contracts they agreed," said the PDA.

It says these recovered sums have “increased dramatically over the last few years” and that £54,000 was recovered in the first four and a half months of 2025.

The PDA said it is currently helping “a small group of members” who are collectively owed over £200,000 from “just one pharmacy business”.  

PDA Union general secretary Mark Pitt commented: “Businesses must pay locums for the services they have provided in accordance with the contractual terms agreed. 

“It should not be necessary for the PDA to intervene to make it happen. Yet every year we are assisting members who cannot get paid by certain employers without our help. 

“Our simple message to these businesses is ‘pay your debts’.

“We believe this is a further example of how the treatment of businesses by the regulator contrasts to that of individual registrants. 

“Where businesses repeatedly refuse to pay their debts, there seem to be no consequences for the pharmacy owners other than individuals taking legal action to recover what is owed to them.” 

In February, P3pharmacy revealed that pharmacy chain Jhoots had been accused of significant delays in paying out locum fees, with some claiming to have waited several months and others reporting that the company had failed to respond to their emails.

And in recent weeks the PDA claimed that online shift booking platforms have helped drive hourly rates down compared to last year as they limit locums’ ability to negotiate with contractors.