Well Pharmacy has announced it is to increase pay for thousands of its staff, who may receive a rise of up to 10 per cent.

Pay for 4,500 staff working across the company’s store and driver teams is increasing, with the starting rate for healthcare assistants rising to £7.38 per hour, 18p per hour ahead of the National Living Wage that came into force on 1 April. Delivery driver’s pay will also rise to £7.33 per hour. “We’ve benchmarked ourselves against the pharmacy and retail markets and are investing in colleagues who are behind the national average,” said Tracy Barton, HR director at Well Pharmacy.

“Given the challenges that are out there in the pharmacy sector, we will need our colleagues to play a vital role in helping us deliver our ambitious growth plans and continue delivering expert advice and service to our customers and within our communities,” she said.

A total of seven roles are set to benefit from the pay increases: trainee healthcare assistant (+10 per cent), healthcare assistant (+8 per cent), pharmacy assistant trainee (+8 per cent), pharmacy assistant (+10 per cent), pharmacy technician (+2 per cent), delivery driver (+8 per cent), and delivery team manager (+2 per cent).