Your vet just resigned. Locums cost £494/day. VN locums £250. Your agent starts screening candidates before lunch.
The UK veterinary sector faces a well-documented workforce crisis: EU registrants fell 68% post-Brexit, vet course applications are down 10% since 2022, and 17% of vets plan to leave within 5 years. When a vet or nurse leaves, the cost is immediate: locum vets at £494/day mean rate (£840 for nights), VN locums at £250/day, plus recruitment agency fees of 15-25% of salary. For an independent practice, a single unfilled vet position can cost £10,000+ per month in locum cover. Your agent screens locum and permanent candidates, verifies RCVS registration (the register is public), checks professional indemnity insurance, assesses availability against your rota gaps, and handles initial scheduling — getting you from 'we need someone' to 'we have options' in hours rather than weeks.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent screens candidates, verifies RCVS registration, checks indemnity insurance, and matches availability to your rota gaps — getting locum cover arranged in hours, not weeks.
Screens locum and permanent candidates
Initial availability, species experience, procedural competencies, location preferences, rate expectations — your agent handles the initial screening conversation that takes 20-30 minutes per candidate, filtering out mismatches before a practice manager's time is involved.
Verifies RCVS registration status
The RCVS register is public. Your agent checks each candidate's registration status, any conditions or restrictions on their practice, and their current registration type (full, temporary, provisional) — ensuring only verified professionals reach the interview stage.
Checks professional indemnity insurance
Locum vets and nurses need their own professional indemnity insurance. Your agent verifies that candidates have appropriate cover before they're offered shifts — protecting your practice from the liability risk of uninsured locums.
Matches availability to rota gaps
You need a vet for Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next 6 weeks while your associate is on maternity leave. Your agent matches candidate availability to your specific rota gaps, finding the best fit without the back-and-forth that typically delays locum placement.
Reduces agency dependency
Recruitment agencies charge 15-25% of annual salary for permanent placements and significant markups on locum rates. Your agent handles the initial screening and verification directly, reducing your dependency on agencies for routine locum cover and straightforward permanent hires.
The real numbers.
| Locum agency fees and rate markups | £5,000–£15,000/year |
| Permanent recruitment agency fees (15-25% of salary) | £6,000–£12,000 per hire |
| Practice manager time screening candidates | £2,000–£4,000/year |
| Realistic annual cost | £10,000–£20,000 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your rota and requirements) | £3,500–£5,500 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI + communication) | £120–£200/month |
| RCVS register integration and updates | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £4,940–£7,900 |
The veterinary workforce crisis is structural, not temporary. Brexit reduced the EU vet pipeline by 68%. Burnout is driving experienced vets out of the profession. Course applications are declining. For independent practices, every vacant position is a direct cost — in locum fees, in lost appointments, in overworked remaining staff.
Your agent doesn't solve the workforce crisis — but it dramatically reduces the time and cost of filling gaps when they appear, and reduces your dependency on recruitment agencies that charge eye-watering fees for basic matching work.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Practices that use locums regularly (3+ locum shifts per month)
- Practices that have paid recruitment agency fees in the last 12 months
- Multi-vet practices with complex rota requirements
- Practices in areas where vet recruitment is particularly competitive
This probably isn't for you if:
- You have a stable team with minimal turnover
- You're a sole-practitioner practice not looking to hire
- You have an exclusive arrangement with a recruitment agency you're satisfied with
Let's talk.
We'll start with your team structure, how often you use locums, and what your last recruitment agency bill looked like. Usually a 10-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com