The board of the National Pharmaceutical Association has issued a qualified welcome to proposals to put the legal rights of part-timers on a par with those of full-time workers.
At its February meeting, the board accepted that part-timers should enjoy the same core benefits of employment as full-timers but felt that the new regulations would add to the disproportionate legislative burden placed upon small businesses.
The board's observations would be made in response to a Department of Trade and Industry consultation document on the proposed Part-time Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. Under the Regulations, part-timers would become entitled to the same pay and other benefits - including contractual sick and maternity pay - as full-time staff, as well as equivalent training and occupational pensions. The board noted that the Government had up to May 5 to implement the regulations, which would implement a European Community directive on part-time work.
Other matters considered at the NPA board's February meeting are reported below.
Welfare milk The board agreed to advise the scientific review of the Welfare Food Scheme that setting up a nationally funded scheme for distributing welfare food through pharmacies would lead to a more efficient distribution system with better access and less risk of fraud than in the current scheme.
The board's message would be set out in its response to a consultation document issued by the Department of Health's Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition (COMA) policy panel on child and maternal health. The board would support a package of suggested amendments to the Welfare Food Scheme but would criticise the report's failure to address the problems of access to the scheme, and to infant formula in particular. It would point out that in most areas mothers had to exchange tokens or collect infant formula from child health clinics that were open only for restricted hours and were often difficult to reach.
Aristolochia The board agreed that proposed further controls to shield the public from the public health risks of Aristolochia species should be amended to include protection for pharmacists who might unwittingly supply a prohibited substance despite having taken every care to ensure that product purchased was from a reputable supplier.
The board's response to the Medicines Control Agency's consultation letter (PJ, January 29, p171) would express concern that retailers would be strictly liable for the sale or supply of any product contaminated with a banned substance. Although pharmacists were professionally obliged to purchase only from reputable suppliers, it was always possible that a product could be contaminated with a banned herbal ingredient without the knowledge of the supplier or retailer. In such circumstances, it would be unreasonable for the purchasing pharmacist to be liable to criminal prosecution.
Price marking The board was pleased to see that the Price Marking Order 1999, due to come into effect on March 16, included an exemption for small shops from the requirement for the unit pricing of products (PJ, December 4, 1999, p893). The exemption covered any retail outlet with a "relevant sales area" of less than 280 sq m, which included virtually all pharmacies.
NPA intranet The board heard that within a week of its launch more than 450 pharmacies had expressed a willingness to sign up to NPAnet, the association's intranet secure facility, which went live on February 14 (PJ, February 12, p241).