Pets at Home CEO Lyssa McGowan has warned that the changes to National Insurance in the Budget will negatively impact part-time workers and women.
McGowan stated in an interview with Mail on Sunday that Pets at Home faces an £18m increase in costs.
The National Insurance contribution threshold will be lowered from £9,100 to £5,000 per employee from April, meaning employers will face higher costs for part-time staff.
She said: “It’s more expensive now to have two part-time employees than to have one full-time employee doing the same job. But it’s done. It is what it is. This came as a big surprise to business. If they had consulted more widely, they might have realised the impact on young, flexible workers, as well as part-time workers and women.”
Alongside this, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating allegations that veterinary costs have become too high, partly as a result of consolidation.
More than half of consultancies in the UK are owned by one of six companies including Pets at Home.
McGowan defended the private healthcare model stating that consumers in the UK “don’t understand how much healthcare costs because of the NHS”.
She added: “If you go to the US, people are much more au fait with how much an MRI, for example, costs, or an operation. Here, it can quite often come as a shock.”
Pets at Home’s underlying profit-before-tax rose 14.1% to £54.5m for the half year ended 10 October 2024.
Its veterinary practices delivered double digit revenue growth supported by growth in subscriptions, visits, and average transaction values.
