How Vets Now builds careers people stay for

Megan Hull leads the Talent Team at Vets Now, the UK’s leader in emergency veterinary care. Her team is responsible for recruiting across the business, supporting internal development, and making sure the company continues to attract and retain exceptional people in both clinical and non-clinical roles. We sat down with Megan to explore how Vets Now’s benefits, career pathways, and wellbeing focus have evolved and what truly sets the business apart in the sector today. How would you sum up the role of the Talent Team? We’re here to answer the question ‘Why should someone join, and why should they stay?’ Of course, recruitment is a big part of our role, but we’re just as focused on retention, development, and helping people thrive. Once someone joins, we don’t simply hand them off. We stay connected and support them through their career journey – whether that’s exploring new roles, stepping into leadership, or building clinical confidence. It’s a long-term relationship, not just a hire. We want people to feel supported, because that’s how we create a culture people want to stay part of. We’re here to support people at any stage of their ECC journey. If you’re just starting out, our ‘Cutting Edge’ programme helps you build essential ECC skills with full support. For more experienced vets, ‘AdvantEdge’ gives you the confidence to step into emergency work often with more autonomy and support than expected. These are just two of the structured Pathways to ECC we’ve built to help people grow. And while some assume out-of-hours work means working all hours, our shift patterns often offer more flexibility and work-life balance, with longer blocks of time off, which many of our team say fits better around parenting, travel, side projects, or simply time to recharge. And you don’t need prior ECC experience to join us — just curiosity and a willingness to learn. We offer real flexibility too, with contracts that include two shifts a month, weekend-only, or even day-only weekend work. What does professional development look like at Vets Now? Development is at the heart of what we offer. All our vets and nurses have access to funded CPD. Vets receive a £1,500 budget and 35 paid CPD hours each year, and we fully fund the ECC Cert – including paid study time. Senior clinicians receive enhanced allowances, but we support growth at every level. That includes our non-clinical teams too. We’ve seen people move from support roles into leadership positions or retrain to join a clinic team. Others have moved from clinical to non-clinical careers within the business. Wherever you start, we want you to feel there’s a path forward – and that you’re supported to take it. Vets Now launched a Leadership Development Programme — can you tell us more about that? Yes, and it’s been really well received. It’s open to all managers, and to anyone interested in building their leadership or communication skills. The programme is fully remote, designed to be flexible around your role, and typically takes between 6–12 months to complete. At the end, you’ll receive a recognised qualification, plus a year’s membership with the Institute of Leadership. If you want to continue, we’ll keep funding that membership too. It’s a great opportunity to grow into leadership, whether you’ve managed before or not, and it’s just one of the ways we support people to lead in a way that works for them. What wellbeing support does Vets Now offer? We take a holistic approach to wellbeing – covering physical, mental, financial and emotional health. Our Wellbeing Hub is available 24/7, with everything from mental health tools, apps and financial planning tools to practical everyday resources, all accessible online or from your phone. There are articles, videos, self-help tools, and live webinars from organisations like Vitality – designed to give people real, usable support in their daily lives, not just something to turn to when things feel tough. We also offer enhanced sick pay, private medical insurance, and an Employee Assistance Programme, so whether it’s day-to-day wellbeing or longer-term support, people know they’re backed by a business that puts their health first. What other benefits do Vets Now offer? We know people have full lives outside work, and our benefits reflect that. We offer enhanced parental leave, enhanced sick pay, seven weeks of annual leave (plus your birthday off) and two paid volunteering days each year. We also cover key professional costs, like RCVS and VDS fees. We also have a huge variety of with staff discounts, pet care offers, Cycle to Work and our new E-Car scheme. We want people feel recognised, supported and able to enjoy what matters most – both in and out of work Do you review your benefits regularly? Absolutely. I sit on the People Strategy Committee, which brings together voices from across the business to regularly review our benefits and explore new ideas. It’s important to us that we’re not just keeping up – but leading the way when it comes to supporting our people. Having a dedicated group focused on staying current and seeking out new ways to add value is a big part of that. We’re always open to feedback and if someone has a benefit they think we should consider, we’ll listen. We don’t want our benefits to stand still. Like our people, they should keep evolving. Tell us about the Angel Fund – how does that work? We launched the Angel Fund in 2017 as our own internal charitable initiative. Each year, our vets receive £2,000 from the fund to provide emergency care for critically ill pets whose owners can’t afford treatment, or to help stray animals who might otherwise face euthanasia. It’s one of the most meaningful things we offer. It empowers our vets to make life-saving decisions in the moments that matter most and reflects our deep-rooted belief in putting animal welfare at the heart of everything we do. Do you offer any recognition or reward schemes? Yes, recognition is a big part of our culture. We believe great work should never go unnoticed. We celebrate individuals and teams through quarterly awards and our annual MAD Awards – where anyone can nominate a colleague who’s gone above and beyond. It’s about creating a culture where people feel valued, appreciated, and proud of the impact they make. Is there support for people relocating or moving from overseas? Absolutely. We understand that relocating is a big decision, whether you’re moving across the UK or joining us from overseas. For eligible clinical roles, we offer relocation support, and for international candidates, we can also provide visa sponsorship. Our team works closely with each person to make the process as smooth and supportive as possible from the paperwork to settling into a new area. We’re proud to have people from all over the world as part of the Vets Now team, and we work hard to make everyone feel welcome from day one. We'd love to hear from you Whether you're unsure about what route you'd like to take in ECC or if the roles you've seen aren't quite ticking all your boxes, we'd love to talk and help find you the perfect match. #J-18808-Ljbffr