The Full Story
Testimonials
This is your page. It contains your stories of issues you've faced as a vet, straight from real submissions on the 'Over To You' site page.
Many of these might feel familiar, because most of us will have heard or experienced similar already. The problem so far is that there's no real documentation of what is happening across the industry. Issues raised within clinics stay private for obvious reasons, but it means that no one is monitoring exactly what the problems are, and how they are affecting us.
To anonymously submit your story, please go to the Over To You page.
I used to work at a clinic where a vet commuted in from a long distance and negotiated not to be on the after-hours roster for overnights...We found out that their pay was the same as the rest of us at the same level of experience, because the boss didn’t have any idea of what proportion of the salary was for after-hours duty. When we raised this, we were told that the call-out fee that we got should be enough. But we felt that we really needed an on-duty fee, a retainer... Being on call, even if you aren’t called in, is work - you can’t go to the movies, you can’t have a drink with dinner, you don’t sleep well as you’re constantly on edge that the phone is going to ring. It felt like we were going through that for free, and it didn’t seem fair.
As a new grad, we worked in a culture that working hard and skipping breaks was heroic. We would brag about it. I now see that I was doing myself, my colleagues and my clients a serious disservice, and probably a disservice to my employer as well. Skipping breaks, taking short lunches, staying late - that didn’t make me a better worker; it made me an inefficient worker. I now encourage new vets and nurses to always take their breaks, unless an animal is needing urgent care. This shouldn't vary by the culture of the clinic, it should be expected across the industry.
I used to work at a clinic where, as soon as their shift ended, the nurses were told to leave, regardless of what work was left to be done, because they would have to be paid overtime, and the vets were made to work late getting the rest of the work done, because we were on a salary and extra hours didn’t mean extra pay.
Vets should be paid a wage, and given overtime if we have to stay late. If there's work to be done and nurses can stay to do it, they should be allowed to earn that extra money.
One clinic would not replace vets that left. We went from 3 to 1 in a couple of months - and then sporadically had locums that would appear when I kicked up more of a fuss than usual about how the workload was unmanageable. They were never vetted to see if they were of an adequate standard. And when they weren't, I was blamed for not ensuring they could do the job in front of them. Obviously, I didn't have the time to assess all their competancies, and assumed my bosses would not hire people without checking their abilities.
We have had half of the entire staff leave within a 6 month period. We are still down a lead vet. Multiple significant changes are happening, despite being told by new management that this wouldn't happen for months. We are not getting our full breaks due to overwork, but are not entitled to overtime or allowed to stay on the premises beyond closing...
How are we supposed to meet NZ Vet Council requirements under these conditions? How does mental health feature under health and safety in our industry?
Because I don’t have children, I am expected to carry the load when others can't. I am expected to be flexible, when others aren't.
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After new management took over the practice and the majority of clinical staff left, a more senior role was placed upon me. The new HR had made it clear that their salaries were consistent with national averages amongst vets, and agreed that these new duties raised my expected renumeration. However, after an initial "we'll review in 3 months" followed by a "you need to complete a dialogue with other senior vets" (which involved travelling to another clinic - something almost impossible to line up,) there was still no renumeration increase. It was not until I told HR that I would no longer attend or contribute to any of the additional duties that they agreed to the pay rise - over 6 months after the duties had been allocated to me. HR would rarely participate in written communication, instead preferring to hold online meetings in order to prevent any formal record of their conversations - a stark reminder to always follow up conversations with written communication to ensure they can't say one thing and do another.
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As a female farm vet 2 years qualified, I discovered I was being paid $6,000 less than male colleagues with the same length of experience as me. We were heavily discouraged from discussing pay, however when I found out and brought it up, I managed to negotiate the same pay.
What's your story? Add it on our 'Over to you' page to help us build a record of what's really happening behind the consult doors.