Why work for us

Pay

We aim to recruit and retain the most talented people. At the heart of our commitment is the consideration of the external job market and the financial capabilities of our charity. We have established a salary system that is both fair and competitive for all our employees, ensuring they not only receive fair and equitable compensation but also salaries that reflect industry standards.

Pension

You’ll be automatically enrolled in our personal pension scheme where we contribute six per cent of your basic salary even if you pay less.  This is part of the National Pensions Trust. 

Life insurance protection

We don’t want to think this would ever happen but if you die while working for us, your beneficiaries will receive a lump sum, currently three times your annual salary.

London weighting allowance 

If you’re based in one of our central London locations you’ll receive an annual payment of £3,954 (pro-rata for part time) to help you with additional costs. This doesn’t apply if you work from home. 

Employee referral scheme 

We offer our staff £500 for each successful candidate referred to one of our roles. We place great importance on referrals because we trust our people to know what's best for our charity.

Season ticket loan

If you travel to work either by bus or train, we can help you spread the cost of your travel over a year with a season ticket loan.

Relocation

If you need to move home for your job we'll contribute towards your removal expenses. Paid time off will also be provided so you can relocate.

Discounts 

You’ll get immediate access to a range of discounts. For example, discounts at high street shops, a selection of insurance services, a Simply Health cash plan and cinema discounts. 

Cycle to work scheme

You can save up to 42 per cent on the value of the bike and accessories (depending on the level of tax you pay). We buy the bike and safety equipment that you choose up to the value of £1,000. 

Building your career 

We're passionate about helping you develop your career. We've got a range of learning and development opportunities for you to choose from. From presentation and leadership skills, to Continual Professional Development and our vet apprenticeship programme. We encourage everyone to define their own learning and development journey, but we’ll be here every step of the way to support you. 

E-learning

Our online learning platform contains hundreds of courses and resources, accessible to everyone, on a range of topics. Everyone can join in one of our live monthly development programmes. They're aimed at developing your core soft skills and increasing your knowledge on other areas of the charity. 

Continual Professional Development (CPD) 

We believe Continual Professional Development (CPD) is essential to keep you up-to-date in your career. Nowhere is it more important than within our veterinary teams. We want to make sure we’re maintaining the high standards we need to deliver the very best service to our customers and their pets. 

CPD in our vet teams includes both formal and informal learning activities. You could be attending workshops or conferences, completing online training, working on projects or spending time reflecting on how our services impact on pet owners and the local communities. 

Vet nurse apprenticeship programme

We run a vet nurse apprenticeship programme in collaboration with City and Islington College. This will help you get started in your vet nursing career at our London hospitals. 

Manager and leader development 

If you’re joining us as one of our managers or leaders, you’ll have the opportunity to attend regular masterclasses and benefit from a coaching partnership to support specific development objectives and priorities. 

Apprenticeships

We have lots of different apprenticeships you can take part in. For example, animal welfare, finance and management and leadership (in collaboration with Lifetime Training).

Flexible working

We’ll support you to achieve the work life balance that works for you. Wherever possible, we'll support you to work part time, compressed hours at home and in job shares.

Employee assistance programme

You and your family have access to a 24-hour independent, confidential helpline. This is to support you with personal and financial problems that might impact your work, performance, health and wellbeing. Our employee assistance programme gives you access to assessments, short-term counselling and referral services.

Support Groups

We have a couple of support groups available that have been set up to help you through those important life events; connecting you with others across the organisation to help build that valuable support network. Currently we have a Menopause support group and a Parental support group, which meet on a monthly basis via Teams. 

Eye tests

You're entitled to a free full eye test, every two years, if your role requires a lot of time on the computer. If you need special corrective glasses and lenses for regular use of computers, you will be entitled to a voucher to use against the cost of them.

Enhanced sick pay

When you’re ill we offer enhanced sick pay, on a discretionary basis, over and above any entitlement to statutory sick pay. If you've completed three complete months’ service or more, you’re entitled to 20 days full pay and then a further 20 days at half pay. After three years this rises to 45 days full pay and then a further 45 days at half pay.

Annual leave

We all start with 38 days holiday entitlement per year (including public holidays). After one year's service it increases by one day per year, up to a maximum of 43 days (pro-rata as appropriate for part-time workers). 

Holiday exchange

Need more holiday or have too much? You can buy additional holiday days or sell part of your holiday entitlement.

Volunteer days

We offer one day off each year to participate in volunteering either at our sites or services or with other charitable organisations. 

Maternity leave 

If you've worked with us continuously for 12 months or longer (at 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. This is also known as the qualifying week), you're entitled to enhanced maternity pay. This is made up of 12 weeks at full pay followed by 27 weeks statutory pay (assuming you meet the qualifying criteria). We also pay 12 ‘keep in touch’ (KIT) days to help you ease back into your job when you return to work.

Adoption leave 

We keep this in line with our maternity leave. The main adoptive carer will be entitled to Enhanced Adoption Leave at 12 weeks full pay (following 12 months employment) followed by 27 weeks statutory pay (as long as you've worked with us for a year). 

Paternity leave   

To support your partner and the new arrival at this exciting time we’ll give you one week's enhanced paternity leave, at full pay, followed by one week’s statutory pay. 

Parental leave   

After 12 months, and in line with statutory requirements, we'll give you up to 18 weeks unpaid leave per child, up to the child’s 18th birthday. You can take up to four weeks unpaid leave in any one year in blocks of one week. 

Shared parental leave 

Our shared parental leave arrangements mirror our other policies. If eligible, you can benefit from up to 12 weeks enhanced shared parental leave pay, in addition to the balance of any statutory payments you may be entitled to. 

Long service awards

We like to celebrate staff who have been with us for a long time. Our long service awards mark 20, 30 and 40 years of employment with Blue Cross! 

Blue Cross Spirit Awards 

We recognise and reward the outstanding work of our employees and volunteers. We celebrate individuals and teams, who work so hard helping vulnerable pets and make Blue Cross such a great charity, at the Blue Cross Spirit awards.

We're committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). We believe EDI must be part of our everyday life. 

We have an EDI group, made up of team members from across the charity, from volunteers to directors, who are passionate about making Blue Cross a more equal, diverse, and inclusive organisation. 

Our EDI group works through nine different but interlinked agreed workstreams :

• Age
• Disability
• Mental health
• Neurodiversity
• LGBTQ+
• Race
• Religion and belief
• Sex
• Socio-economic

The group raises awareness of EDI and work together to change our policies and processes to be more EDI-friendly. Most importantly, the EDI group leads the way in helping us create a truly people-led EDI culture. 

Disability Confident Employer

As a member of this scheme, we have committed to:

• Inclusive and accessible recruitment
• Providing reasonable adjustments
• Supporting existing employees

Menopause Workplace Pledge 

In signing the Menopause Workplace Pledge, we have committed to:

• Recognising that the menopause can be an issue in the workplace and  women need support
• Talking openly, positively and respectfully about the menopause
• Actively supporting and informing your employees affected by the menopause

Show the salary

As part of our commitment to this pledge, we will:

• Always show a salary range on our job adverts
• Never ask candidates their previous/current salary
• Never ask candidates for unnecessary degrees as part of our essential criteria