Vets’ salaries up by £3,000 in year

The median salary package for vets in 2021 was £48,325; £3,000 more than in 2020, it has been revealed.

The Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons’ annual survey also revealed the median package for nurses was £24,227 in 2021 and for head nurses the figure rose to £31,013.

The median daily rate for a locum vet was £350 in 2021, a rise of over 16% since 2020 and the hourly locum rate increased by 36% to £41 per hour.

has published the results of its latest salary survey.

The survey, which this year had a record 1,605 respondents, covers everything from basic earnings, bonuses and dividends to benefits such as accommodation, car allowance and pensions.

For all nurses the median package was £24,227 in 2021 and for head nurses the figure rose to £31,013.

The median daily rate for a locum vet was £350 in 2021, a rise of over 16% since 2020.

The hourly locum rate increased by 36% to £41 per hour and the hourly rate for nurses rose by 14% to £20.

However, new graduate salary packages actually dropped by £800 in 2021, to £32,700 despite the new grad hourly increasing to £15.66 from £15.04 in 2020.

SPVS said this could point to the fact they are working, on average, three hours less a week and prioritising their work life balance.

The survey also highlighted a growing gender gap in salary, with the median full time salary difference between men and women 21%, compared to 15% in 2020.

SPVS said that this was likely because there are more male vets in more senior positions.

For more information, visit: https://spvs.org.uk/spvs-survey/