Maternity benefits

RE: Maternity benefits

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 16:44:50 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]

If pay and benefits are the most important things to attract someone to a job like ours then that is very sad.

Fair treatment in a supportive and fun environment would be far more important to me than a benefits package.

[/quote]

I do know what you mean, and no amount of money is worth being miserable, but most people aren't working for fun. If what you're looking for is a nice environment and fun, you can get that by getting a good hobby. Most people work for the salary, not the craic.

RE: Maternity benefits

Julie Innes — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 14:40:18 GMT

I'd love to be able to offer a great maternity package, but as a small practice owner who has had 3 people on maternity leave in the last couple of years, even the basic mat leave takes it's toll. Yes, you can reclaim most of it against your NI contributions, but that doesn't pay the locum costs!

Do you give all staff the best wage you can, or pay less wages and offer better maternity packages? There is only so much money in the pot

RE: Maternity benefits

vs0u — Fri, 26 Apr 2019 13:31:35 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]A really good package might just attract staff members planning a family and may be seen as counterproductive!!![/quote]

Attracting any vets at all might be seen as a good thing for some corporates...is it worse to have a vet who stays for 3 years and takes 9 months off out of this, than to not have a vet at all?

Probably most staff members will want a family at some stage - the point is that you as an employer want to retain and support them thereby benefiting from their loyalty and hard work! Most women now return to work 9 months or a year after having a child. If they have 2 children that is only 2 years off out of a 40 year career, which will (on average in a company with many employees) more than offset the expense and inconvenience caused by the time off.

[quote user="Bob Russell"]If pay and benefits are the most important things to attract someone to a job like ours then that is very sad[/quote]

It's not really about attracting people, more about retaining them. Lots of people want to be vets but they aren't staying

RE: Maternity benefits

Clive Ansell — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 16:34:31 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]Yeah... but somebody has to pay for that, and it's the people who buy Smith and Nephew stuff or Audi cars. So your friends will definitely be expected to do the business, as it were.[/quote]

Yes, for sure. They work damned hard, have targets to meet, and are loyal and committed employees. The point I was making was not really financial, but more about acknowledging and rewarding devoted staff. Our profession doesn't seen particularly good at it.

[quote user="Bob Russell"]Smith & Nephew and Audi are highly profitable organisations whereas corporate veterinary practices are not it would seem.[/quote]

Maybe they could become so if they treated their staff better, like the committed professionals most of us are, and their staff retention was dramatically improved.

I think their reliance on locums for long term staffing in place of permanent staff members is to their detriment. I have worked in corporate practices last year and this that have no permanent veterinary surgeons or RVN's at all.

RE: Maternity benefits

Bob Russell — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 15:52:49 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

it's not confined to maternity or paternity pay either.

I have 2 friends, one works in sales for Smith and Nephew, the other in management for Audi. In addition to good salaries they receive a good pension, private health care, full pay if off with a genuine illness or on maternity/paternity leave, and other benefits like fully paid for personal car use and gym membership - they acknowledge and look after their staff, and treat them as an asset.

The corporate employers in our profession are yet to catch on with this. Maybe they should be offering a package that reflects what a respected and valued professional should receive. Instead we are viewed as a cost that needs cutting, almost a nuisance , with our mundane work offloaded onto nurse to reduce costs even further.

One of the corporates in their recruitment advertising uses phrases such as the "join the family", "the close knit team" - pity the remuneration package isn't in keeping with the BS.

[/quote]

Smith & Nephew and Audi are highly profitable organisations whereas corporate veterinary practices are not it would seem.

My cousin works in 'The City' is on a salary that even he blushes about. They pay vast sums in benefits to their staff because they generate millions in revenues. They actually don't seem to make anything or add value to any product. Just move electronic money from A to B and back again. Funny old world!

RE: Maternity benefits

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 15:42:25 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]I have 2 friends, one works in sales for Smith and Nephew, the other in management for Audi. In addition to good salaries they receive a good pension, private health care, full pay if off with a genuine illness or on maternity/paternity leave, and other benefits like fully paid for personal car use and gym membership - they acknowledge and look after their staff, and treat them as an asset. [/quote]

Yeah... but somebody has to pay for that, and it's the people who buy Smith and Nephew stuff or Audi cars. So your friends will definitely be expected to do the business, as it were.

RE: Maternity benefits

Bob Russell — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 14:55:27 GMT

Like it or not maternity leave is expensive and disruptive for practices. Not suggesting it is wrong (actually the tax system should be supporting both pregnant mother and affected businesses better IMO).

The larger the practice the better the chances that absences can be covered with minimal disruption.

I have been impressed by just how well everyone has shown flexibility here when a member of staff has gone off on maternity leave.

I would have thought the corporates would have been able to find 'floating' staff members to limit disruption.

If pay and benefits are the most important things to attract someone to a job like ours then that is very sad.

Fair treatment in a supportive and fun environment would be far more important to me than a benefits package. A really good package might just attract staff members planning a family and may be seen as counterproductive!!!

RE: Maternity benefits

Silvia Maldonado — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 13:49:11 GMT

Issue is as complex as human nature. There is a perception that the more you offer a vet the more likely s/he will accept the position. Initially that may be the case. However, the environment and the reputation a clinic has (word of mouth) has a huge impact on it.

An initial decent offer is essential to recruit, but keeping your staff involves respect and empathy on a daily basis. Certainly a good maternity/paternity leave plan could make a difference in some situations (ie single mother, divorced, family abroad, others). You are putting yourself in their shoes.

Retaining your staff is the next step. Personally, the day my boss/manager/clinical director has no respect to me, then I know I should start looking for a new place. A basic rule: would you speak to a client the way you spoke to your vet/nurse/receptionist? if the answer is no, something needs to be done.

RE: Maternity benefits

Clive Ansell — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 18:36:21 GMT

it's not confined to maternity or paternity pay either.

One of the corporates in their recruitment advertising uses phrases such as the "join the family", "the close knit team" - pity the remuneration package isn't in keeping with the BS.