The caring and considerate culture at PDSA comes from its very core – with the charity having provided a staggering 100 million free treatments to more than 20 million pets since it was established in 1917, thanks to animal welfare pioneer and founder, Maria Dickin CBE’s, revolutionary vision.

From the first branch of the ‘Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals of the Poor’ from a basement in Whitechapel, today PDSA continues Marias’s lifesaving charitable work in local communities across the UK by providing free and concessionary veterinary care to those who cannot afford it, and by actively promoting responsible pet ownership.

Listening is a big part of life at PDSA – and to better understand how employees are feeling, the organisation hosts live Q&A sessions and informal catchups with senior leaders and line managers so that any concerns, questions, or feedback can be voiced.

The outcomes of these sessions have led to positive change within PDSA, including a wellbeing focus that saw it provide over 3,000 wellbeing days for teams across the organisation, as well as the distribution of mental health awareness booklets and the introduction of a 10-day paid dependency leave to support employees caring for children or other relatives.

The organisation’s commitment to staff sees it put diversity and inclusion high on the agenda, with a working group created to help understand just how diverse the sectors in which it operates are, to help guide PDSA in the creation of an overall strategy to proactively promote and celebrate diversity.