1. Employees can lay a minefield

A business that fails to cater for employee issues is probably guaranteeing itself some significant financial losses in the future. For the veterinary sector, insurances not only incorporate employee liabilities, but also provide access to employment lawyers, who can advise and direct employers on the employee issues as they arise. Good examples of useful insurance and professional brokers, include Sterling Insurance, engaged through Professional Practice Services Ltd. Some relevant employee issues for the veterinary sector have been outlined in the column to the right-hand side.

2. Business models

If you have the opportunity to work as a locum, it's a well worthwhile experience. Whilst you may find yourself unable to use the drugs you're familiar with, and you could be expected to perform surgical procedures in a manner that you're not accustomed to, the upside is that you can learn: in fact, you can learn very rapidly how different veterinary businesses operate. There are three types of veterinary business. The most profitable practice is the one that bases its revenues upon pet insurance. Under this business model clients are encouraged to secure pet insurance, although for insurance purposes, a practise isn't allowed to increase its prices above the norm. Such practices can legitimately circumvent the issue of normal pricing because most of their costs are artificially high. You may get the odd client (without insurance) who balks when you charge them over 100 pounds for a consultation fee and some cheap drugs. However, the success of such a practice lies in the fact that it handles all of the insurance claims itself, and the clients don't pay the practice directly - the insurance companies pay the practice instead: hence most of the clients aren't ever affected by the high prices. The client base is low, the workload for staff is small, but revenues and profits are high.

The second type of practice is a middle of the road, or typical and local practice that's been operating as a sole practitioner (or as a 2/3 man partnership) for many years. Their prices are reasonable, some of the clients have pet insurance, the annual turnover is moderate (about 150k GBP to 240k GBP per vet per practice), and the veterinary staff usually work hard because they actually own the practice. A large number of practices fall into this category. These practices typify the old English veterinary business.

A third type of practice encompasses the low-end charity establishments. Pet insurance amongst clients is unusual, the costs are low, and the high volume of clients love the practice. Conversely, the veterinary staff are worked extremely hard which in turn results in an inevitably high turnover of personnel. Moreover, when veterinarians are worked unreasonably hard (to the extent that unnecessary time pressures come into play), then the likelihood of medical mistakes can increase. 'Cutting corners' may not only become common place, but can also be seen as a necessary evil.

Lower prices are likewise a tool of veterinary corporates, where costs are manipulated to force local (type 2) practices out of business. Corporates buy supplies from wholesalers in bulk to receive a correspondingly high discount on their purchases, and therefore corporates can undercut business rivals for many months. This action will kill the competition. When their business rivals are removed, then prices will increase, until eventually another startup practice arrives in the area to fill the gap. A fascinating situation arises when two veterinary corporates take each other on locally, and the outcome is by no means pre-determined.

If you're more interested in profits than ethics, then the high revenue (type 1) practice is the option you should adopt. It's clearly a winner in terms of profit margins and reduced workload - whilst it might increase the cost of pet insurance for all pet owners in the UK, it's a business model where you don't have to worry about the finances.

Subjectively however, it's probably a good idea to place business ethics on an equal footing with profits, and the type 2 practice is the business model that's geared to achieve this type of balance. Ultimately, whatever anyone else chooses to do, your chosen strategy really is your own business.

2. Cascades to avoid

It's both important and a legal requirement to buy suitable employee insurance (for example, via the Veterinary Defence Society) because employees' mistakes can ultimately become a financial burden for a practice. When employees' mistakes cascade, the financial penalties can also mount up. One employee was asked by management why there was a discrepancy of 5,000 pounds between takings and invoices over the previous month - the employee reported sick the next day, and never returned to work. Several weeks later it was discovered that this same employee had handed out pet passports to a client, but hadn't allow a veterinarian to sign the documents: the client was subsequently held up with his pet at the port of Calais for several days, and then threatened to sue the practice. It was insurance that provided the client with compensation and eventually resolved the matter.

2. The IF... THEN principle

There's a tried and tested method to determine whether your clients are being honest with you, and there are occasions when that's useful to know. "Mrs. Brown, IF your neighbour hadn't suggested that vaccinations were ineffective, THEN would you want to vaccinate your dog?" "No, because I don't think that vaccinations work either!" "Mrs. Brown, IF you felt that vaccinations did actually work, THEN would you want to vaccinate your dog?" "No, not at the moment... because money's just a bit tight, to be honest."

The useful thing about the IF...THEN principle is that it isn't generally intrusive - all you're doing is turning the client's last statement into another question. Ultimately, people will want to share their real concerns with you, so long as they know that they'll encounter a sympathetic ear. When you know what's bothering a client, sometimes you can help them, and at other times, unfortunately you can't.

2. Posts and people

If you're an employer and are faced with an employment tribunal, then the odds are unfortunately stacked against you. Whilst this is now widely accepted, an example of how an employment tribunal works may be useful. One employee took a vet practice to tribunal for making her telephonist post redundant. She was offered a post elsewhere but turned it down, and requested redundancy. During the tribunal the judge cited the employee as having requested redundancy, yet ruled that not only should her post have been made redundant, the employee herself should also have been assessed against other practice staff for the redundancy. There were no other telephonists, but there were vets, animal assistants, and financial advisors. The telephonist testified (as evidence of her animal assistant experience) that she had monitored anaesthesia in the operating room for hours and alone. Although it was pointed out that she would have contravened the 1966 Veterinary Surgeons Act, the judge found in the employee's favour.