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Salaries survey brings 'sobering news' for vets in small animal practice
Veterinary Record 2013 173: 282

doi: 10.1136/vr.f5737

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Salaries survey brings sobering news for vets in small animal practice
HEADLINE figures from the 2013 salaries survey conducted by the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) have indicated a dip for the second year running in the salaries paid to vets in small animal practice. The annual survey, which looks at the whole salary package paid to employees and includes items such as accommodation and car where provided, subscriptions and CPD allowances, received responses from more than 600 vets around the UK this year. Peter Brown, the SPVSs honorary public relations officer, noted that the society cannot be certain that the same vets respond each year, so it might not necessarily be comparing like with like, but said that the results give us cause for concern. According to the results, only the salaries paid in mixed and large animal practice showed any increase this year, which, the SPVS says, to some extent compensates for a drop reported in the previous survey. The society believes that the figures probably reflect the economic climate, and Among other things, the SPVS salaries survey indicated that spending on pets is seen differences in the salaries paid to male and female veterinary surgeons as something of a luxury, and therefore likely suffer in times of recession. However, it says they call into question the current expansion in veterinary training: With at least one new veterinary school coming on line and others rumoured, while existing ones increase their numbers, will there be enough work for all these new graduates? The survey results also indicated distinct variations between regions of the UK, with the median London salary paid to graduates who had been qualified between two and five years being some 26 per cent higher than that paid in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The society added that it was disappointing to see a significant variation between salaries paid to men and women, as indicated in the table on the left. The full results of the survey are available to SPVS members. doi: 10.1136/vr.f5737

282 | Veterinary Record | September 28, 2013