DESPITE a "slight increase" in the Pharmacy Industry Award in Jul, wages across the sector have largely remained steady, the Raven's Recruitment Pharmacy Salary and Market Report 2020 reveals.
Raven's General Manager, Heidi Dariz, said the 1.75% pay increase announced by the Fair Work Commission for pharmacy staff on Award rates was effectively offset by "a reduction in penalties for Sundays and Public Holidays".
The recruitment firm's third annual salary update reflected on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on pharmacy.
Dariz, noted that full-time recruitment had slowed considerably over the last 12 months, while "short-term locums have been more in demand than ever", as pharmacies sought to operate split teams, or had staff self-isolating.
She said the slowdown in full-time hiring was attributable to pharmacy owners being "wary of putting on new staff in uncertain operating conditions", while the suspension of elective surgeries during the height of the COVID crisis had led to less demand for staff, with CBD and major shopping centre pharmacies also cutting hours due to the decline in foot traffic.
When it came to employees looking to move jobs, Dariz said, "candidates seem to be experiencing a 'fear of the unknown' with an enhanced preference to stay in-place with current employers, due to the desire of security" in some cases.
However, she noted that others were seeking new opportunities as a result of changes to workloads and increased mental health pressure.
The report has forecast that "critical" shortages of pharmacists in rural and remote locations will ease in 2021, with "an increase in the number of pharmacists who will consider moving away from the larger cities".
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