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A pharmacist accused of making inappropriate comments to a dispenser while working a locum shift at a Tesco in North Yorkshire has been suspended from practise for two months.

Following a videolink hearing that concluded on November 6, the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) fitness to practise committee found Sufian Farooq had made 10 inappropriate comments to a colleague, including telling her “I can finesse you” and that she was “a beautiful girl”.

Mr Farooq was also found to have said that “girls have certain hormones that make them want attention from males” and he wanted “to test the physical boundaries” to establish what the colleague, who at the time was 22 and in the fourth year of her MPharm course, was comfortable with – despite her saying she did not wish for him to approach her. 

He admitted to having told the dispenser she was “too young to get married” and that she had “an innocence and naivety about [her] that is refreshing”.

In instances where his account of what was said on the March 1, 2025 shift differed from the dispenser’s, the fitness to practise committee said it “particularly noted” the dispenser’s “consistent” oral evidence as well as contemporaneous messages sent to another dispenser and to a Tesco regional manager detailing her concerns.

Mr Farooq accepted that some of his remarks during the shift may have been unprofessional but denied that they were sexually motivated or that he had sought to make his colleague uncomfortable in any way.

He acknowledged he had not given due consideration to the power imbalance between him and the dispenser, who is 16 years younger than him, and said of his conduct: “I can see now it was wrong.”

The FtP committee found his comments towards the dispenser were sexual in nature and amounted to harassment, but did not find that they were sexually motivated in the sense of expressing an intention to establish a physical relationship with her.

Since the March 2025 incident, Mr Farooq has undertaken CPD training on professionalism and a course on sexual harassment. 

The committee found he had demonstrated genuine insight and remorse, quoting his evidence in which he stated: “It was a massive mistake on my part. I should never have made her feel that way. It was unprofessional.”

It found Mr Farooq has successfully remediated his misconduct and is “highly unlikely” to repeat it, but concluded a brief two-month suspension order was necessary to uphold public confidence in the profession.

The committee did not impose an interim suspension during the 28-day appeal period, as it found there was no risk to the public in allowing him to practise during that period.

Related: Superintendent suspended over marriage proposals to teenage apprentice