Animal Care Assistant

About the Role

This is a weekend-only position at Vets Now's emergency clinic in Stoke, offering the chance to work in a fast-paced, supportive clinical environment. You'll work every other weekend (Saturday 12:00–18:00 and Sunday 09:00–18:00), plus a fair share of bank holidays. As part of a highly skilled emergency team, you'll contribute directly to the vital out-of-hours care that Vets Now provides to over 1,700 veterinary practices across the UK.

If you're starting your veterinary career or looking for flexible, purposeful weekend work, this role offers real clinical experience under the guidance of qualified professionals in a 24/7 emergency setting.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist Vet Nurses and Vet Surgeons with day-to-day patient care and procedures
• Handle patients during basic procedures and support diagnostic testing
• Prepare and clear down operating theatres for surgical procedures
• Maintain comfortable and stress-free conditions for in-patients, attending to their basic husbandry needs
• Work efficiently during busy emergency clinic shifts

Requirements

• No specific qualifications mentioned; entry-level candidates welcome
• Ability to work weekends reliably (every other Saturday and Sunday)
• Physical capability to handle animals and assist with clinical tasks
• Willingness to learn and work under supervision from clinical staff
• Flexibility to cover bank holidays

Benefits

• Hourly rate: £13.45 per hour
• 7 weeks pro rata annual leave
• Birthday paid day off
• Cash Health Plan provided by Simply Health
• Vets Now For You reward gateway offering discounts and cashback with hundreds of retailers
• £780 CPD allowance pro rata
• 10 hours paid CPD hours annually pro rata
• UK Standard Pension: 5% employee contribution, 3% employer contribution
• Up to 50% discounted staff pet care
• Family-friendly policies including sick, maternity, paternity and adoption pay schemes
• Paid volunteering days
• Death in service benefit of two times annual salary

About the Practice

Vets Now is the UK's leading provider of emergency pet care, operating over 60 dedicated out-of-hours clinics and two 24/7 pet emergency hospitals serving more than 1,700 veterinary practices nationwide. The Stoke clinic is part of this expanding network, staffed by a highly skilled emergency team available when pet owners need support most.

Vets Now is a Disability Confident Employer committed to supporting candidates with disabilities and health conditions. The organisation welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds and from underrepresented groups, offering reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.