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Veterinary workplaces should be supportive and inclusive.

Stress, burnout, discrimination, and lack of career progression all contribute to the retention crisis in the veterinary profession. To tackle the ‘leaky bucket’ of vets leaving the profession, we all need to change the culture to create more supportive veterinary workplaces.

No matter your role or chosen sector, and regardless of whether you are an employer or an employee, every member of the profession has a role to play in creating and maintaining good workplaces.

#TimeForChange #TeamVet #BigConversation #GoodWorkplaces

Why do good workplaces matter?

Healthy workplaces are good for everyone and for business. They are also vital to allow veterinary professionals to fulfil their professional oaths and continue to safeguard animal health and welfare, and public health.

Vets' day to day experiences have the greatest impact on their satisfaction with their work. We all need to play our part in creating a good workplace culture, where everyone feels valued and included.

How can you get involved?

Read our position on good veterinary workplaces and follow our recommendations in your workplace.

Get your team to sign up to the BVA good veterinary workplaces voluntary code - download our workbook and display a signed copy of our poster to show your commitment.

Share on social media using #GoodWorkplaces #TimeForChange and #BigConversation. Don't forget to tag @BritishVets.

Download our good veterinary workplaces resources
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We have developed the following reports and positions:

Good veterinary workplaces

We’ve set out our vision for how a good veterinary workplace should look, highlighting the core principles and key resources every workplace should have.

Good veterinary workplaces

Discrimination in the veterinary profession

Our ground-breaking research found that 24% of working vets and vet students have experienced or witnessed discrimination in the past year, yet only 56% of the profession said they feel concerned about discrimination.

BVA Report on discrimination (328 KB PDF)

Motivation, Satisfaction, and Retention: Understanding the importance of vets’ day-to-day work experiences

This study, carried out with the University of Exeter, provides evidence that having role models, feeling that you 'fit in', and feeling valued would likely improve the experiences of vets and improve the retention of skilled and motivated staff.

BVA Workforce Report 2018 (1.35 MB PDF)

Gender discrimination in the veterinary profession

This study, undertaken with the University of Exeter, demonstrated that there are differences in how some managers perceive, treat, and pay male and female vets. This was based on whether or not they believed women in the profession still face discrimination.

Gender Discrimination In The Vet Profession (1.47 MB PDF)

Vet-led team

Effective delegation of work can impact job satisfaction within the veterinary team. Our vision is for the vet-led team to use a 'hub and spoke' model that will benefit both the veterinary workforce and animal health and welfare.

The Vet-led team

UK undergraduate veterinary education

Veterinary medicine courses must be well-structured and adequately funded to produce well-respected and adaptable vets who are leaders in animal health and welfare. Increasing the number of veterinary students alone won’t provide a holistic, long-term approach to making sure we have enough vets in the workforce. We need to address both recruitment and retention.

Veterinary education

News about this campaign

Blog posts about this campaign

Blog posts about the workforce crisis

  1. It’s time for a culture change - Daniella Dos Santos

  2. It’s not about millennials or women - Daniella Dos Santos

  3. Are you Mark or Elizabeth? In 2018, it really shouldn’t matter - Gudrun Ravetz

  4. Why the focus on gender? - Christopher T. Begeny

  5. The design of the 'Mark' and 'Elizabeth' study - Christopher T. Begeny

  6. What do the results of the ‘Mark’ and ‘Elizabeth’ study mean? Christopher T. Begeny

BVA Resources for members

Other organisations who provide support