A contract is not paperwork. It is the answer you reach for when something goes wrong. It should be written before you need it.
Every employee is entitled to a written statement of their main terms, and a contract that stops at the legal minimum answers almost none of the questions veterinary practices actually face: who covers the Sunday OOH shift, what happens to CPD funding if someone resigns, how holiday accrues for a part time RVN on irregular hours.
This template exists so those answers are written down calmly, in advance, in plain English. Use the checklist below to audit whatever you have today, or request the full version and start from something built for your world.
Three gaps we find in almost every practice running on a downloaded office template.
Out of hours and on call terms, professional registration requirements, CPD time and funding, clinical scope, branch mobility for multi site work: none of it appears in a generic SME template, and all of it causes the real disputes.
The written statement of particulars is a legal minimum, not a working agreement. A contract that only restates it stays silent on the questions that end up in a grievance: swaps, overtime expectations, deductions, what on call actually pays.
Roles change, sites open, the law moves and the contract stays in a drawer. If your newest starter and your longest server are on wildly different terms for the same job, the drift has already begun. An audit is cheaper than a dispute.
Fourteen sections, each in plain English with guidance notes on where practices usually go wrong.
We send the full version by email, free, usually the same day. If you want it adapted to your practice and roles, that is a fixed price job we quote in writing first.
Every system carries your practice's name and branding, not ours. These are the ones that matter most here.
It is a strong starting point and far better than an office template or nothing. But a template cannot know your rota, your on call arrangements or your roles. Use it to get the structure right, then have the finished contract checked before anyone signs it.
The structure works for every practice role, and the guidance notes flag where clauses should differ by role: clinical scope, registration, CPD and notice being the usual four. We can supply role specific versions on request.
Existing terms cannot simply be swapped overnight: changing a contract needs agreement and a fair process. The sensible route is an audit of what everyone is currently on, then a planned, consulted move to consistent terms. We do that as a fixed price project.
Because it is the easiest honest way to show you how we work. Some practices take the template and need nothing else, which is fine. Some come back when they want it adapted, checked or rolled out. That is the whole business model.
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