Veterinary clinic employee benefits

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics¹ (BLS) projects the employment of veterinarians will grow by 19% from 2021 to 2031. That's much faster than the average for all other occupations.

As demand for these types of professionals grows, attracting and retaining veterinarians can be challenging. Providing employee benefits to your animal-loving staff is an excellent way to improve retention. However, many traditional employee benefits options can be too expensive or complex to administer, especially as a small, independent practice.

So, how do veterinarian employers provide quality employee benefits to their staff without breaking the bank or taking on too much work?

In this article, we'll explain how you can offer enticing veterinary clinic employee benefits, even as a small private practice.

Takeaways from this blog post:

• Providing employee benefits can help smaller vet clinics compete with larger corporate vets for top talent and reduce turnover rates.
• Some popular employee benefits for vet clinic employees include health benefits, mental health and wellness benefits, paid time off (PTO), retirement benefits, and education benefits.
• In addition to traditional benefits like health insurance, vet clinics can offer unique perks such as discounts on services and financial literacy programs.

Why should veterinary clinics offer employee benefits?

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association² (AVMA), there are more than 32,000 clinics in the United States, employing more than 73,000 veterinarians and even more support staff. With an average of three staff members for every veterinarian, the U.S. veterinary industry is predominantly made up of small private practices.

With the rise of large corporate vets, smaller clinics can have trouble competing for top veterinary employees. If you can't afford to match their competitive salaries, you can offer additional employee benefits to help your veterinary practice stand out. A comprehensive compensation package makes it easier to attract top talent and reduce employee turnover by improving your employee experience and overall job satisfaction. Employee benefits have also been shown to improve productivity in the workplace, reduce employee stress, and build a better workplace culture.

How do personalized employee benefits help veterinary clinics?

While traditional benefits like group health plans are often the first consideration for employers wanting to build a benefits package, they can be hard to implement because of their cost and complexity. This is why you should consider personalized employee benefits.

Personalized benefits are often offered through a defined contribution approach, where employers allocate a fixed amount either as a reimbursable allowance or an account. These benefits can be easier to administer and allow your employees to use their benefits the way they want to, enabling you to satisfy each employee's individual needs.

Personalized employee benefits can also save you money and provide more value. With personalized benefits, you have the ability to set your own budget that stays consistent each month. Because your employees have more say in how they use those benefits, their participation rate can go up—meaning that you won't be funding unused employee benefits.

As a result, many clinics switch to personalized benefits and individual health insurance plans to free up valuable time and money.

You can provide personalized benefits through the following methods:

• Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)
• Benefit expense cards
• Lifestyle spending accounts (LSAs) or employee stipends
• Expense reimbursement

What types of employee benefits are available?

Employers can choose from a wide range of employee benefits, including traditional benefits, personalized benefits, and employee perks.

Some of the most popular employee benefits are:

• Health benefits
• Mental health and wellness benefits
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Retirement benefits
• Education benefits

Let's look at a few of these benefits in more detail in the following sections.

Health benefits

One perk job seekers tend to look for the most is a quality health benefit. It's one of the most sought-after employee benefits you can provide. According to PeopleKeep's 2024 Employee Benefits Survey, 92% of employees rated health benefits as important.

There are many different types of health benefits available. Let's go over your options.

Traditional group health insurance

Many employers choose to offer a group health insurance plan to their employees. While group health insurance is an excellent benefit, the rising cost of health insurance has turned many small to mid-sized employers away.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation³, only 31% of organizations with fewer than 50 employees offered group health insurance to their employees. Assuming vet clinics follow the same pattern, 69% of veterinary staff would be without a group health plan.

For those who want to offer group health insurance, small group health plans are available for small businesses. You might also be eligible for small business insurance subsidies.

However, many clinics are moving away from traditional group health insurance in favor of personalized health benefits like HRAs.

Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)

A health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) is a popular option among organizations that want to offer flexible health benefits to their employees. An HRA is an IRS-approved, employer-funded benefit that allows you to reimburse employees tax-free for qualifying medical expenses, including health insurance premiums.

Three of the most popular types of HRAs available are the:

• Qualified small employer HRA (QSEHRA): A QSEHRA is specifically designed for organizations with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) that don’t offer any group plans. The IRS caps QSEHRA allowances for the year. This is a great option for small veterinary practice owners who want to offer their first health benefit to employees. Employees must have health coverage that meets minimum essential coverage (MEC) standards to participate.
• Individual coverage HRA (ICHRA): An ICHRA is a great health benefits option for clinics of all sizes. With an ICHRA, you can customize your monthly allowances, including by employee classes. If you have more than 50 FTEs, an ICHRA can help you satisfy the Affordable Care Act (ACA)'s employer mandate as long as you offer an affordable allowance and your employees have individual coverage with MEC.
• Group coverage HRA (GCHRA): The GCHRA, also known as an integrated HRA, supplements your existing group health insurance plan, such as a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). This helps your employees with their out-of-pocket expenses, such as copays, coinsurance, and deductibles. A GCHRA can't reimburse employees for premiums.

Health stipends

A health stipend is another health benefit option. It’s extra money employers offer employees for medical expenses. Health stipends have fewer restrictions on what medical care expenses and mental health benefits you can use for them because they're not formal, defined health benefits. This means that they are taxable for both the employer and the employee.

While HRAs are a better choice for most organizations, a health stipend is helpful if you have many employees who receive advance premium tax credits (APTC). Your employees can take advantage of their health stipend while maintaining APTC eligibility. However, a health stipend doesn't meet the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate for organizations with 50 or more FTEs.

Mental health and wellness benefits

While the veterinarian profession is a fun and rewarding career for animal lovers, it does have its downsides. Dealing with unhappy pet parents and treating sick animals is stressful. According to Merck’s 2024 Animal Health study⁴, 82% of veterinarians experience “low to medium burnout” at work. On top of that, 61% of veterinarians reported feeling exhaustion, compared to 32% of workers overall.

If employers don’t address these working conditions, it can result in severe consequences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention⁵ (CDC) conducted research showing that veterinarians have a higher risk of suicide compared to the general population.

For these reasons, it's important to provide your staff with access to mental health services, such as counseling or support groups. Our survey found that 80% of employees rated mental health and/or wellness benefits as important, so it's likely your employees will take advantage of what you offer them.

With that said, you can also implement a wellness program to further improve the quality of life for your employees. Wellness programs help improve your employees' physical health, which relieves stress, increases productivity, and reduces absenteeism.

Popular wellness programs include:

• Smoking cessation programs
• Fitness or weight loss programs
• Group wellness activities
• Nutrition and healthy snack programs
• Wellness apps
• Gym memberships

There are other ways to introduce an employee wellness program as a small veterinarian clinic. Instead of creating a comprehensive program, you can offer your staff a taxable wellness stipend.

Wellness stipends empower your employees to use their monthly allowance as they want. Your employees can use their wellness stipend to pay for exercise classes, exercise equipment, gym memberships, fitness trackers, mobile apps, and more.

Paid time off (PTO)

Your employees want benefits that support their personal life. An ample amount of PTO gives them more power and flexibility over their work-life balance, which makes the benefit a major selling point for today's workforce. According to our survey, 90% of employees rated PTO as an important employee benefit.

There are many ways to establish vacation time and sick leave. The most common method is for employees to accrue time off and sick leave for the number of hours they've worked. However, some organizations have started offering unlimited PTO.

Retirement plans

Retirement benefits come right after PTO in order of importance to employees. Our survey found that 89% of employees consider them important. Small veterinarian clinics can offer their employees retirement benefits like a 401(k) or IRA to help them prepare for the future.

Education benefits

Veterinary school doesn't come cheap. According to the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges⁶ (AAVMC), four-year tuition can range from $78,479 to $155,295 for in-state students. Out-of-state students pay anywhere from $131,200 to $285,367 for their education.

Consider adding education benefits to your overall benefits package to offset tuition costs. Offering perks like tuition reimbursement or student loan repayment allows you to attract veterinary students, recent graduates, and those looking for additional growth opportunities through things like certification programs in the veterinary field.

Other benefits for vet clinic employees

Vet clinics can offer several other benefits and perks to their employees. While some are becoming widespread, others are unique to the veterinary industry.

Some additional employee benefits include:

• Discounts on veterinary care services for pet owners
• Uniform allowance
• Financial literacy programs

Conclusion

By offering employee benefits at your veterinary clinic or animal hospital, you'll improve the lives of your staff while reducing employee turnover. Health benefits, PTO, retirement plans, wellness programs, and tuition benefits are excellent options that can significantly improve retention rates and attract the ideal job candidates for your practice.

This blog article was originally published on December 16, 2014. It was last updated on June 11, 2024.

1. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm
2. https://www.avma.org/javma-news/2018-12-01/corporatization-veterinary-medicine#:~:text=Depending%20on%20the%20source%2C%20the,about%203%2C500%20are%20company%2Downed.
3. https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/firms-offering-coverage-by-size/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
4. https://www.avma.org/news/veterinary-profession-heading-right-direction-mental-health
5. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/76938
6. https://www.aavmc.org/becoming-a-veterinarian/funding-your-degree/cost-comparison-tool/