Finances
Here you will find information and guidance on how to manage your money and any debts you may have, and ways to find funding, including from Pharmacist Support, should you need financial assistance.
Our Financial Assistance is here to help you manage your money worries.
Financial worries affect most of us at some point in our lives. We provide a range of support to pharmacists and their families, former pharmacists, trainees, and students who are facing financial difficulties due to unexpected circumstances such as a reduction in your income and find it a struggle to pay bills, or unexpected challenges such as bereavement, relationship breakdowns or illness have caused financial stress. You can find more information about the types of financial support we offer further down on this page.
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Pharmacist Support provided me with support in a compassionate and respectful manner at a time when I was struggling financially. Their help has made a huge difference to my situation both financially and emotionally.Financial Assistance beneficiary
Grants for Essential Living Expenses and grants for one-off costs
We aim to provide support to empower people to make changes that improve their financial position. The charity will take a holistic approach to requests for support and will also look at what other services may be appropriate for you. Our partnership with Citizens Advice Manchester means we can refer you quickly to a specially trained adviser for confidential advice in areas such as benefits and debt. Have a look at our Specialist Advice service for more information.
Our grants are for one-off essential costs or longer-term support if necessary to help people struggling to meet their essential daily living expenses. They are available to pharmacists, former pharmacists, and their dependents, trainee pharmacists and pharmacy students. Please check our full Eligibility Criteria before applying.
Grants for pharmacists
Having a professional career doesn’t make you immune to money worries – and all the stress that can bring. Pharmacists experiencing financial difficulty can apply for our Essential Living Expenses Grant or our Grant for One-Off Costs over £300. Financial help can be up to a maximum of £6,000. Please see below for grant eligibility and how to apply
Grants for trainees
Trainees facing unexpected financial difficulties can apply for our Essential Living Expenses Grant or our Grant for One-Off Costs up to £3,000 during their GPhC approved placement, or whilst waiting to sit the assessment (evidence of application to sit is required). Please see below for grant eligibility and how to apply.
Grants for students
Being a student means for many living on a limited budget and learning the life skills of money management. Students can apply for our Essential Living Expenses Grant or our Grant for One-Off Costs up to a maximum of £1,500 per academic year. You must be able to demonstrate that, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are experiencing financial difficulties meeting your essential living expenses. You must be enrolled full time and actively attending university as we do not pay grants to students over the summer break. Please see below for grant eligibility and how to apply.
Eligibility for a grant and how to apply
What can the Essential Living Expenses grant be used for?
We can consider helping with essential costs such as:
- Essential daily living expenses (such as bills, food, travel costs, rent costs) as a result of temporarily reduced income due to illness, suspension from the GPhC register, nursing/residential care costs, or other unplanned issues.
What can the Essential Living Expenses grants not be used for?
Pharmacist Support does not generally provide financial help for costs including:
- legal costs (including visa costs)
- tax arrears
- large household repairs/renovations (beyond remedying a particular issue to the fabric of the building) such as replacement windows, roofs, new bathrooms, or kitchens
- university tuition fees.
Please see our Eligibility Criteria for the full list of exclusions.
What can the Grant For One-off Costs be used for?
We can consider help towards an unexpected one-off essential cost such as:
- essential household appliances/household appliance repair
- essential car repairs
- disability equipment
- convalescence/respite care.
What if you have savings?
Applicants with total household savings (applicant/spouse/partner only) of more than £6,000 (including money, stocks, shares, savings and second homes over the previous 90 days) would be ineligible for this grant. Individuals must be able to demonstrate that they meet our Eligibility Criteria to receive financial support.
What is the application process to apply for the Essential Living Expenses Grant or the Grant for One-Off Costs?
Accessing Financial Assistance through Pharmacist Support is easy. All you need to do is:
- Ensure you have thoroughly read and meet our Eligibility Criteria
- Register to use our secure online Grants Portal (below) and complete each section step-by-step (this includes uploading supporting documentation)
- We will check your eligibility and if supporting materials are missing or we need further information in order to assess your application, we will contact you
- We will notify you of the outcome within three weeks.
All applications for financial assistance are assessed on a case-by-case basis. We may need to ask you for additional information to clarify your situation further. For people that we feel need benefits/debt advice, it is a requirement that the applicant receive this advice from our Specialist Advice service before a grant is given. It would be helpful for the processing of your grant application form if, prior to applying, you have already checked and applied for all benefit entitlement that you, and the household if applicable, are eligible to receive.
Any grant provided by the Charity is done so at the discretion of the Charity’s Trustees and there is no statutory or other right for an individual to receive a grant.
Go to the online grants portal
Contact us directly
If you are having difficulty using the online grants portal or if you need help filling in the application form, please email info@pharmacistsupport.org for further assistance.
Essential Assistance Grant
Pharmacist Support is pleased to offer a new grant for pharmacists and former pharmacists. This grant can provide up to £300 to help towards an urgent one-off unexpected cost for essential item(s) that the applicant is not able to meet. The purpose of the grant and its easy application process is to provide prompt consideration of financial support to alleviate the stress of an unexpected essential cost which may impact wellbeing. Please check our full Eligibility Criteria before applying.
This grant is not means tested and no personal financial evidence is required.
- Applicants can apply once in a 12-month period (maximum three essential assistance grants can be considered within a five-year period)
- As part of our process, you must provide evidence/receipts for your purchase
- We reserve the right to remove the Essential Assistance Grant at any time.
What can this grant be used for?
This grant is for an essential item(s) needed for daily life – for example:
- essential household appliances/household appliance repair
- essential car repairs
- a piece of essential furniture such as a bed
- school uniform
- GPhC registration fee that unexpectedly cannot be covered.
What can’t the grant be used for?
- any form of debts (including to family and friends)
- non-essential items such as birthday gifts or cosmetic procedures
- household bills (including mortgage and rent)
- items already purchased.
How to apply for an Essential Assistance Grant
To apply for an Essential Assistance Grant, please complete the form below. We will consider your application and get back to you within five working days.
Our Essential Living Expenses grants are for one-off costs over £300 or longer-term support if necessary to help people struggling to meet their essential daily living expenses
We understand how financial difficulties can impact mental health and wellbeing. Whether it’s managing the everyday or an unexpected change to your situation, getting help with financial difficulties early on could help to stop things spiralling out of control. Our financial support is here to provide a safety net and to help you get back on track.
Students going into their final year of study can apply for a charitable bursary
We understand how financial difficulties can impact mental health and wellbeing. Whether it’s managing the everyday or an unexpected change to your situation, getting help with financial difficulties early on could help to stop things spiralling out of control. Our financial support is here to provide a safety net and to help you get back on track.
Pharmacist Support’s Student Bursary Scheme
Once a year the charity opens its bursary scheme to all fully accredited pharmacy schools in Great Britain.
3rd year (or 4th year if undertaking a 5 year sandwich degree) MPharm students facing unexpected adversity can apply and successful applicants can receive a bursary of either £3,000 or £5,000.
To apply students must demonstrate outstanding and exceptional qualities to overcome an ongoing adversity, financial hardship, an endorsed expectation by their university of a positive contribution to pharmacy in Great Britain.
Find out more about our bursary scheme
Further financial support
We also have lots of information on our website about how to find alternative funding. Additionally, our Specialist Advice service may be able to support you to manage debts and secure benefits entitlement. If you are unsure whether an application for financial assistance is the best route, you can contact us to find out about what other support might be available.
Additional help with financial difficulties, further support and information can be found in the finances area of our website.Go to the finances area
More financial information can be found in our Trainee Experience area of our website.Go to the Trainee Experience area
More financial information can be found in our Student Experience area of our website.Go to the Student Experience area
This page was reviewed and updated October 2024
