working for independents

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think

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Hello everyone,
Just wanted to see if any one out there has any input on what it is like to work for independents
I am asking because I may be landing a job with a small pharmacy near my house. It seems like a great location, and little stress but I don't want to jump the gun since I have no experience at all with independents
what can i expect the pay to be around?
what are some risks /benefits?
FYI i am located in south Jersey
Thank you
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What kind of benefit plan can they provide?

Employer paid health plan?
Long term and short term disability insurance?
Life insurance for you and the family?
Matched 401k?
Paid time off?
Evening and weekend differentials?
Maternity leave?
Paid medical leave?
Termination benefit?
Pension plan?
 
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Thanks for the input...great questions that I had not thought of before
I was thinking it may be much better to work for an independent since I have done chain pharmacy and hated every minute of it
any other advice will be appreciated and I'll let you guys know what I decide:)
 
Work itself is only half of the equation. Its the benefits and flexibility that define the quality of life. Don't get so hung up on the hourly payrate and work environment.
 
I've applied to and worked numerous independents in CA
They offered salaries at half the retail rate and zero benefits.
They preferred to pay cash and sign no contracts, against IRS regs.
It's all on-call.

In CA, most are owned by immigrant pharmacists and often end up raided by the BOP.
They seem to be the suppliers of choice for the Oxy crowd.
Work at your own risk.

The best bet is to work for outpatient services of hospitals that operate independently from the retail chains.
Or find a practice that CVS hasn't bought out in a medical office plaza.
 
ellwoodis said:
I've applied to and worked numerous independents in CA
They offered salaries at half the retail rate and zero benefits.
They preferred to pay cash and sign no contracts, against IRS regs.
It's all on-call.

In CA, most are owned by immigrant pharmacists and often end up raided by the BOP.
They seem to be the suppliers of choice for the Oxy crowd.
Work at your own risk.

The best bet is to work for outpatient services of hospitals that operate independently from the retail chains.
Or find a practice that CVS hasn't bought out in a medical office plaza.
Click to expand...

Very true. :thumbup:
 
ellwoodis said:
I've applied to and worked numerous independents in CA
They offered salaries at half the retail rate and zero benefits.
They preferred to pay cash and sign no contracts, against IRS regs.
It's all on-call.

In CA, most are owned by immigrant pharmacists and often end up raided by the BOP.
They seem to be the suppliers of choice for the Oxy crowd.
Work at your own risk.

The best bet is to work for outpatient services of hospitals that operate independently from the retail chains.
Or find a practice that CVS hasn't bought out in a medical office plaza.
Click to expand...

WOW!! The offers I got are also from immigrant pharmacist and they were so eager to hire me. I was so surprised as to why since the economy is so bad..
getting cash for a pharmacist position?? how is that even legal and what happens to the pharmacist if the BOP finds out you were getting paid cash?
hmmmm I better start looking at other places and forget these offers if I want to save my license
 
Legal or not, apparently (at least in my neck of the woods) its pretty common to get paid cash at independents for relief work (or so old pops told me for the first few years of his "retirement")
 
joetrisman said:
Legal or not, apparently (at least in my neck of the woods) its pretty common to get paid cash at independents for relief work (or so old pops told me for the first few years of his "retirement")
Click to expand...

This might be true, but not at anywhere I've worked relief (only a couple of places). It's contract work and the rate is pretty competitive. You get a 1099 instead of a W2 at the end of the year.
 
All4MyDaughter said:
This might be true, but not at anywhere I've worked relief (only a couple of places). It's contract work and the rate is pretty competitive. You get a 1099 instead of a W2 at the end of the year.
Click to expand...

I'm not from Louisville btw. This was more western ky in a very much smaller town than here. I say my neck of the woods, I still think of that home.
 
joetrisman said:
I'm not from Louisville btw. This was more western ky in a very much smaller town than here. I say my neck of the woods, I still think of that home.
Click to expand...


I'm from western ky too. But I've never gone back there to work. Do have some great horror stories from colleagues who have done relief in far eastern Ky. Don't have time to post this morning, late to clinic. Slacking off! :eek::laugh:
 
joetrisman said:
Legal or not, apparently (at least in my neck of the woods) its pretty common to get paid cash at independents for relief work (or so old pops told me for the first few years of his "retirement")
Click to expand...

It would be wrong of me to say yes, the independents I have worked relief for all paid me cash at a VERY competitive rate so I would never say such a thing. That would be inappropriate of me to say so I wouldn't do it.
 
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All joking aside, relief rate at half the normal rate is outrageous. Rates here in my area range from $55-65 for independent relief. I would laugh and leave if they wanted me to fill in for $30 an hour. Not worth my time and effort.
 
interesting ..so when you get paid cash do you automatically get 1099?
 
In general, if you are paid cash for relif work it is assumed you will not be receiving a 1099 (unless otherwise stated). You can discuss the legality of the matter, but legality and reality are two different things. And anyone who would work relief for half the normal rate is a sucker...

I work around 5-10 days of relief per month (at several different locations, usually a hospital or an independent) and the amount I make is dependent on location and volume. If it's an independent and they do 700-1200 Rx's/day, I expect around $900-1000, if they do 200-400 it's more like $500-750. If they do less than 200, I'd bet they don't need a lot of relief help. Hospital relief is generally less well paid, I do relief work for critical access hospitals (25 beds) and I usually expect $400-600 for those. Some larger hospitals, however, that hire people on a PRN basis will pay a bit higher if they have more beds than a critical access hospital.

I should also mention these numbers come from a fairly remote location (as you may have guessed from high volume independents and critical access hospitals). Hope this helps.
 
I recently got offered a position at an independent pharmacy as an independent contractor (1099). It's not relief work but a set schedule and I would be the only pharmacist working there. They are new so I figure they are trying to cut costs everywhere. The pay is incredibly low but the way the job market is, I can't afford not to work. I have been trying everywhere. Has anyone been in a similar situation? What's your experience? Is this even legal? Advice?
 
cam87 said:
I recently got offered a position at an independent pharmacy as an independent contractor (1099). It's not relief work but a set schedule and I would be the only pharmacist working there. They are new so I figure they are trying to cut costs everywhere. The pay is incredibly low but the way the job market is, I can't afford not to work. I have been trying everywhere. Has anyone been in a similar situation? What's your experience? Is this even legal? Advice?
Click to expand...

It is probably not legal if you are the sole pharmacist. It could be determined that you are in fact their employee, not a truly independent contractor. That said, if you don't report it, it's unlikely that anyone will look into it. If you do this, you will need to make estimated tax payments every quarter to avoid a huge penalty at the end of the year. And you'll have to pay the employer's half of SS and Medicare tax.

Don't forget that you'll need to provide your own malpractice insurance, disability insurance, health insurance (if you want that), etc.
 
This is all very interesting. I will have to look into this. This is more complicated than I thought. Thanks for the help.
 
If it is not legal, I wouldn't do it. What if the bop visits the pharmacy?
 
Would it matter to the BOP if I am an independent contractor vs.their employee? It's a legal pharmacy. I'm a bit confused.
 
cam87 said:
Would it matter to the BOP if I am an independent contractor vs.their employee? It's a legal pharmacy. I'm a bit confused.
Click to expand...

Since you will be the only pharmacist, can a pharmacy have a PIC who is not an employee? I don't know but just to be safe, I would confirm this.
 
BMBiology said:
Since you will be the only pharmacist, can a pharmacy have a PIC who is not an employee? I don't know but just to be safe, I would confirm this.
Click to expand...

Good point. I don't know. I'm going to look into this.
 
There is no way you would qualify as an independent contractor. This is a shady deal.
 
Old Timer said:
There is no way you would qualify as an independent contractor. This is a shady deal.
Click to expand...

I really don't think any pharmacist working in someone else's pharmacy qualifies as an independent contractor, primarily because the pharmacist does not control HOW or WHEN the work is done. But plenty of places use 1099 labor for relief work. I've done 1099 relief work, but never complained because the hourly rate was quite a bit higher. Sure wouldn't do it for way below market rate! :laugh:
 
cam87 said:
I recently got offered a position at an independent pharmacy as an independent contractor (1099). It's not relief work but a set schedule and I would be the only pharmacist working there. They are new so I figure they are trying to cut costs everywhere. The pay is incredibly low but the way the job market is, I can't afford not to work. I have been trying everywhere. Has anyone been in a similar situation? What's your experience? Is this even legal? Advice?
Click to expand...

What's the hourly wage?

If you're an independent contractor, you'll have to pay your own taxes and buy your own insurance too. In addition, they won't have to carry worker's compensation on you which is where a lot of that cost-cutting will come from, on top of their share of Social Security payments.

As for being paid cash for relief work, that only happened to me once. I got a call on a Sunday afternoon from a man I had worked with several years earlier who was now working for a local chain; he had made plans to go do something with his son, his relief person bailed on him at the last minute, and he got the phone book out and started calling anyone who came to mind. I was the second person he contacted; the first one was unable to do this. With my approval and the store manager's permission, he decided to pay me out of the store's petty cash rather than have me fill out all that paperwork (application, W-4, etc.) for working 3 hours.
 
All4MyDaughter said:
I really don't think any pharmacist working in someone else's pharmacy qualifies as an independent contractor, primarily because the pharmacist does not control HOW or WHEN the work is done. But plenty of places use 1099 labor for relief work. I've done 1099 relief work, but never complained because the hourly rate was quite a bit higher. Sure wouldn't do it for way below market rate! :laugh:
Click to expand...

If you fill in once in a blue moon, you could possibly fall into the independent contractor status because YOU control if you work or not. If this is a regular schedule then he is an employee according to the IRS. If anything were to happen, the owner would face a **** storm....
 
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