A veterinary surgery which gives everyone a day off for their birthday has been named as one of the UK’s best employers.

Guiseley-based White Cross Vets has secured a place in the ‘Best Small Companies to Work For’ league table for the second year in a row.

 Last year the family-run firm, which operates 12 practices in Yorkshire, became the first veterinary surgery to be named by The Sunday Times as a three-star ‘extraordinary’ employer in the list’s 13-year history, and the company has repeated the success this year. The vets climbed two places in this year’s table to gain 45th place. The judging panel surveyed a large proportion of the company’s 100-plus employees about a wide range of employment-related issues including their overall opinion of the firm, contribution to the local community, personal development opportunities and workplace well-being.

 Tim Harrison, managing director of White Cross Vets, said: “Ultimately, people who enjoy coming to work will provide high standards of service, so a large part of our company ethos is about creating a great place to work. It’s fantastic that this has resulted in us being named as one of the UK’s best employers for the second year running.”

Other initiatives to keep staff feeling happy include the creation of a charitable trust to enable employees to support good causes during work time, the launch of a Leadership Team training programme and fresh-fruit deliveries to every practice.