After leaving the Isle of Wight in March 2005, I started working at Boots The Chemist in the Portsmouth, where Anjella was my immediate boss (Group Pharmacy Manager) and right from the start she informed me that there was no overtime pay or "Time in Lieu" (TIL) due to wage budget restraints and targets to be met, and each day I was to work one of two shifts: 8am-5pm or 9:10am-6:10pm with 1.5 hour breaks to make up a 7.5 hour day.
Pretty soon I was asked to work 8 or 8:30am until 6pm as there was only me to open at the beginning of the day and to close at the end of the day, with another pharmacist only able to work between 9/9:30am to 3/4pm due to children schooling, but just my usual breaks as it was busy. So I had to work over my 7.5 hours paid day without extra pay or TIL. Eventually I made enquiries with other pharmacists as this didn't seem right, and they said they kept an account of extra time and gave it to Anjella, who then gave them TIL off, so this is what I did.
Then one day in April 2005 I was asked to work all day by Anjella, as the sole pharmacist as there were no other pharmacists available due to sickness and holidays, which means you cannot leave the shop by law (even for lunch etc), but I was told by Anjella in the morning before she rushed off to cover another branch (I think it was the new Gunwharf Quays store which had stretched the pharmacist shortage - another store with the same number of pharmacists to run them all!) to "grab a sandwich off the lunch bar (in the Boots store) and eat it in the corner of the dispensary when it slows down a bit" which I duly did (a few times when sole pharmacist actually).
By August 2005 the Pharmacist shortage was so bad with three pharmacists on holiday including Anjella, one a working parent (gets school holidays off) and another one on sick leave, that I was asked by a manager (Amanda H.) from an adjacent group, who was looking after Anjella's area while she was on holiday, to work a few days as sole pharmacist (8/8:30am to 6:10pm without a break), which I did and claimed for in September (later to be denied - see resignation.).
The shortage was so bad that a couple of months later pharmacists were asked to fill out a form indicating when they would like holidays by stating 1st,2nd and 3rd preferences in the next year and send it back to Amanda H., so Boots The Chemist could arrange the holidays so that not too many pharmacists were on holiday at the same time. This was, as it turned out a complete waste of time - as by the time my holiday preferences had came up I had resigned - and all my holiday plans for that year were destroyed.
In February (amongst other times) 2006 I was asked to work as a sole pharmacist once again as pharmacists were sick, as per previous instructions I grabbed a sandwich, over-rid it in the til to account for it and for stock control, and ate it when quiet between customers ... but later in March I was called to the managers office ....Resignation