animal care assistant

animal welfare and rescue officer

animator

assistant manager

inspector

Scottish-Spca

If you want to work for this charity, then you need to be made fully aware of the following personal experience.

The Balerno Centre of this charity is dreadful.  Terminally understaffed with a revolving door of dissatisfied staff constantly leaving which leads to new non-trained replacements given responsibility they are not getting trained for.  By the time some training has been applied they then leave as they themselves have become totally disillusioned.  Many leave losing faith having quickly realised that the SSPCA is not the place to be.  That’s mainly because the management here is shocking! Most of you will only survive if your face fits if not they make your life very hard. Most cliquey place I have ever experienced.  For starters mymanagement changes rules on the fly.  Not even sspca rules, just ludicrous on the spot changes shouted out without having any constructive manner or reasoning other than just to catch you out.

So, one word - AVOID 

At my interview I thought I had a chance to test my suitability.  My qualifications and experience were discussed in detail.  What was not mentioned (and for obvious reasons) was the very high staff turnover here, and that many staff here have not only walked out on the spot, but many have resigned without notice.  So many more simply didn’t even turn up for their shift the next day.  Staff have also been unfairly dismissed and taken the sspca to court over it.  What makes this more distressing is that these employees were highly qualified and highly experienced, some were in the job for 20 years or so. The number of staff we go through says it all. Very unfair on the animals.  Its not what you know but who you know!  Management needs to have a good long hard look at themselves with inexperienced managers who are in their own wee bubble.  Back to the old pals act and all that! They fail to listen to any concerns as they know better. Many have questioned that they should not even be in that sort of position.  And as time went on it became very and unpleasantly clear as to why there is such a high staff turnaround, which is simply because this management feels threatened by anyone with more qualifications and experience and is more popular.  Once we had popular, genuine, dedicated, fantastic and very experienced long serving manger but he was thrown to the wolves.  Soon after my enthusiasm, interest, and joy soon diminished and it was only the animals to which we have a great responsibility too kept my sanity which are the only elements of the job itself I did find very rewarding.

The job comes with its own normal difficulties the same as every other job out there although these in question are mostly easily managed, but when it comes to having to deal with such poor management, then that takes over everything. Many feel that the management is not professional, staff are very rarely given the support they need, they prioritise certain staff over others, with an extreme lack in consistency. It’s a do as I say not as I do policy. 

There can be a great deal of potential but what fails it is the same issues that are not being addressed time after time after time.  I find that if the issues within current management were to be addressed robustly and decisively then staff morale would be a lot higher and staff turnover would be less of a problem and we certainly would not have lost so many good people.  Typically, human resources standards in investigating workplace bullying is woefully subpar.  Unfortunately, HR is generally loathed by just about everyone within the ARRCs which means there is a general unwillingness to report bullying.  This is because of the shambolic events with recent unfair dismissals and the fall out that happened afterwards. Might be nice folk who work there but the general consensus is that HR needs to get a backbone and deal with the many rotten apples .   

Generally there is a woefully inadequate level of animal care assistants and behaviourists throughout the organisation and we are continually told that there is no money yet since my time with the sspca there has been an explosion of highly paid “executive” type positions that have been created by the current CEO thus returning the society to top heavy, unnecessary over paid fat cats that previous Chief Executives got rid of years ago.  It seams more important to have someone in a highly paid job to make sure members are doing "ok" rather than have more staff to care for the actual animals.  Despite multiple complaints and staff engagement surveys upper management and the CEO still have no concept of what challenges we face every day but hey, at least now we have our very own sspca tartan, and our vans look like something from the my little pony range.  That waste of money makes it all OK then.  

Unlike other departments we don’t get overtime, weekend enhancements, housing allowance.  The pay is terrible for the quantity and quality of work they demand of you. We are seriously underpaid for what we do. Animal Care Assistants are the lowest of the low. The work load can become over whelming and the time we are allocated to clean animal accommodation is unrealistic.  If we don't clean the kennels in time then we don't get our break and the manager instructs other staff that they are not to help staff falling behind.  This has far wider consequences with health and safety as staff are exhausted and constantly having to watch what you say around colleagues due to cliques within the staff team.  Its quietly heart breaking to see such fantastic people not have their concerns listened to or respected.  These stresses are then put onto staff which is then put onto hard workers which is far from fair.  This situation was well established before covid.  

Work here if you have no other choice, it's a guaranteed job, but don't consider a future here.  Treat it as a stepping stone to a better animal career which is now my bright light at the end of this very sad chapter of my working life.  The place is stressful and emotionally draining. It’s certainly had a marked impact on my mental health too which I was further made to feel guilty about.  

So overall, very disappointed as I'd considered working here for years, because of its importance to animal welfare.  Unfortunately, it just fulfilled my worst fears.

The only positive point was meeting some nice people and animals.


Do not work at the Balerno Scottish SPCA.

I have worked at the Scottish SPCA Balerno for nearly six years and I can wholeheartedly say that the center has got progressively worse over the years.

The atmosphere is horrendous.

The center management are bullies with multiple warnings yet they are still working with the society and still getting away with it.

Higher management are "good friends" so turn a blind eye towards the bullying center manager.
I have never worked in such a degrading and emotionally damaging atmosphere.

The manager’s only desire is to turn staff against one another, creating a hostile environment in the process. There is one rule for one and another rule for her 'favourites.' 

The Balerno Centre has a genuine issue with bullying managers directly causing the high staff turnover, high sickness rate and causing stress and anxiety for the care assistants. The centre management makes its own rules and if you don’t follow them you are punished. The Head Office Senior Management and the HR Department have failed completely in their responses to bullying and are failing to provide a stress free workplace.

There you will observe adults who are supposed to be in charge behaving like spoilt children after following the example set by their senior management. Hard workers, late stayers and those with the most relevant and extensive animal experience will be bullied, exploited and demoralised, Yet those in bed with the CEO will be protected promoted. I've never worked anywhere else with such a high turnover rate. The work climate is so toxic you can taste the stress and anxiety it causes.

Don’t even think about complaining. 

The Scottish SPCA HR department  is constantly trying to prove to itself that it can do the job it purports to do, but fails in almost every way.  It has a shiny staff inter-web, and claims to be at the forefront of staff development but this nothing more than a lame attempt to justify their existence and pose in front of the Investors in People plaque. 

Yes the Scottish SPCA advertises itself to be part of Investors in People scheme. It is anything other than this. It promotes a work/ life balance, again which is nonsense as it’s a fight to get to that point.

If you even dare report being bullied, or have concerns about someone else then you will expect to be accused of being the problem, expect a swift denial of being any issues, if you’re lucky expect a half-hearted investigation but ultimately expect an attempt to be paid off.  The HR department has a very bad and well-deserved reputation within SSPCA of ignoring dangerous reports of bullying and intimidation which should have been dealt with more robustly and effectively. 

This is no exaggerated description of daily work

After wanting to work for the SSPCA for as long as I could remember, I was excited to start my job with them. Unfortunately, this "dream job" did not turn out as expected. I loved working in the rescue centre and greatly appreciated the team I directly collaborated with. If my experience had been limited to these colleagues, I would have given the society a 5-star rating and highly recommended working there. Sadly, this was not the case as time went on.

During the few years I worked there, I witnessed the entire organisation rapidly deteriorate. Many changes in management above the rescue centre/frontline staff led to decisions being made without considering the consequences for the lower-level staff and the animals in their care. A culture of constant bullying often went unaddressed, with repeat offenders being overlooked because they had "been with the society so long" or were "so experienced," allowing them to get away with anything they liked. Promotions were given to underqualified individuals, resulting in toxic working environments. Jobs were "created" to promote senior staff, but no equal opportunities were provided for those at the "bottom" to advance. There were significant issues with pay gaps between staff, with some discrepancies being mere pennies and others far too large.

Most frontline and centre staff were extremely understaffed and underappreciated for all the hard work they did, receiving very little praise and often facing criticism and constant questioning about decisions made for the benefit of animal welfare. The understaffing issue meant animals could not receive the best care possible, as staff were stretched thin with the current staff-to-animal ratios. Yet, the society is supposed to be promoting good animal welfare, right? I believe the majority of these issues stem from upper management and this needs to be seriously addressed, as the society is losing some of their best, most experienced members of staff month by month, individuals with irreplaceable experience and knowledge.

There is a pervasive "just get the animals out the door" culture, where upper management constantly pushes to get animals into any home rather than focusing on what is best for the animal and allowing those who work with the animals and know them to make this decision.

There is very little work-life balance as shifts are often ever-changing and spontaneous from month to month, with very few consecutive days off, resulting in a lack of "real rest." As much as I would like to recommend the society to those looking to join, I would advise, given the current leadership, to look elsewhere.

There are a few pros to working here. There are a few staff who are lovely and helpful and really care about the animals.  I enjoyed working with all types of animals and did learn a few things. In theory it could be a great place to work but its not.  Initially was great fun and some colleagues are lovely.  

However I very quickly began to be let it down by the ever changing "rules" which would regularly contradict each other every day which often led to confusion and conflict between the Management and Care Assistants because quite often you weren't told of "rule" changes.  This was so that  the centre management can get you on something waiting for you to make a mistake and then jumping down your throat.  The management are very picky with what employees could or couldn't do (depending on how staffed they were that day). I never received all the important training I needed and I went for months and months without even learning how to vaccinate or microchip a cat or dog.  Its depressing because I do believe in the work we do, it  is so worthwhile and we do try to treat the animals to the highest of quality.  Its a a shame as the centre management lead a culture of bullying and harassment and has done for years.  Far too many years.  And its STILL going on. There is a real issue with micromanagement and negative culture with management and Animal Care Assistants crying all the time because we simply can't cope   The management makes your life very hard. I was 1 of 16 people who had no choice but to leave and thats been over a couple of years now.  Thats 16 staff in and then out! Its a very high staff turnover.  If anything that alone gives you an indication into their culture!

Put simply the managment there dont care about staff interaction.  Only one manager was great but the very senior management sacked him because he dared go against the management.  It was a witch hunt and a vendetta.  Everyone knows this.  It was the most heart-breaking thing I seen. I loved the job helping animals but could no longer stand being treated the way I was by management!!! 

If you value your mental well-being and want to enjoy uout your time working with animals then you need to give this place a miss.


The society is not a charity, it is a business. The higher-ups are constantly making up new roles for head office with inflated wages, while closing centres and making entire (vital) teams redundant.

Staff in the centres are overworked and beyond stressed. Centres are at capacity (or over capacity) and no intention to hire more frontline staff. Care Assistants spend 80% of their time cleaning and doing paperwork, there's no time to spend socialising animals and actually meeting their needs. Staff are expected to perform tasks that they've never received training for, with little support from seniors. There's little investment in training, and little chance of furthering your career.

Centres are incredibly cliquey and there is a massive problem with bullying. Staff who have been there longest seem to run the place and get preferential treatment, causing a huge "us Vs them" attitude. Management are either unable or unwilling to do anything about it. The toxic atmosphere leads to a constant rotation of staff putting in sick lines due to stress and poor mental health. Speaking up gets you nowhere (except maybe made redundant).
There is almost no work-life balance. You're contracted to work 10 days out of 14, but that's rarely the case. It's uncommon to get multiple days off in a row. It's not sustainable and everyone is burnt out.

The people in head office are banking on the staff in centres putting up with absolutely atrocious conditions and wages because they love the animals. It's incredibly unfair and toxic. Those in charge of the SSPCA should be ashamed of themselves.


Working at the SSPCA was my dream job, but unfortunately, it has taken a significant toll on my mental health, leaving me feeling upset every day. It’s heartbreaking not being able to help the animals as much as they deserve.

In my opinion, the SSPCA's focus seems more on maintaining a positive image on social media than on genuinely caring for the animals. Everything seems driven by profit, and the money doesn’t appear to be allocated where it's truly needed—like the animals' care. Instead, it seems to go towards high salaries for upper management. Centre staff work hard to protect the animals, but it often feels like an uphill battle due to the decisions made by those in higher positions. It’s disheartening to see animals being euthanized because the organization doesn’t want to invest in their care.

I would advise against working here. While everyone’s experience may be different, mine has left me feeling helpless and upset for the animals. I wish I had never taken this job, but I’m worried about what would happen to the animals without dedicated staff at the centres. It’s a tough situation, and I wouldn’t recommend this job to anyone, as it’s incredibly heartbreaking to invest time and care into an animal only for management to decide they’re not worth the expense.

Additionally, the work environment is challenging. I’ve experienced management making inappropriate comments and being generally unsupportive. The lack of work-life balance is another major issue, as days off are rarely given together. Unfortunately, I can’t find anything positive to say about the job other than the opportunity to care for the animals directly.

I hope that changes are made to improve the work environment and to prioritize the well-being of the animals above all else.

Stay clear

A dream job for many but a bit of nightmare in reality. The inspectors do well at their job and most seem passionate and knowledgeable on the whole. However the animal rescue centres are a complete shambles and law unto themselves. Driven by targets rather than welfare. Management are more inclined to want you to sweep the paths of the public areas than walk the dogs. Not a single animal/dog behaviourist or trainer employed by the WHOLE society, shocking given they euthanize based on behaviour (with no actual formal assessment process). Dogs are never assessed in a home. Friendly bull breeds in need turned away when we have space in kennels, toy breeds with bite histories welcomed with open arms even if there's not a free kennel - all because they'll find a home quicker for the small breeds regardless of behaviour. No fosters other than staff feeling the need to take animals home so no true assessment within a home. No mental health support for staff who are struggling with the emotionally and physically demanding job. Bully tactics by management throughout the society and quick to push out anyone who raises any concerns about animal welfare, behaviour euthanasias or staff bullying. Tend to hire young "yes" people straight from college who don't yet have the confidence to stand up for the animals or what they believe in. Centre management are "old school" and harsh in their beliefs - both in terms of employee management and animal care/training/handling. Very out of date and uneducated training methods recommended to the public. Pay is atrocious for centre staff while the CEO gets a ridiculously unnecessary salary! 


Working with the Scottish SPCA for 18 years as an Assistant Manager had been both rewarding and challenging. The mission of the charity—rescuing and caring for animals that have suffered from cruelty and neglect—gave my role significant purpose. Every day was challenging but knowing that I was helping vulnerable animals somehow made it all worthwhile.

However, while dealing with cases of animal cruelty was tough enough, it was not as challenging as dealing with the toxic work environment created by supervisors and individuals consistently engaged in unprofessional behavior, which was reported multiple times but was never adequately addressed by upper management and members of human resources. As this behavior was allowed to persist, it made the work environment unnecessarily stressful and demoralizing.

Despite the passion and dedication I had for my role and the SSPCA as a whole the lack of support and accountability regarding prolifiic workplace bullying ultimately overshadowed my experience towards the end.  It doesn't matter to Senior Management how hard you worked, they don't care how many extra unpaid hours you put in, changing shifts and days off, or if you came in early or left late, nor does it matter how many years experience or your expertise you have because the second you start complaining about the workplace management and their practices you will just paint a massive target on your back. The Scottish SPCA still hasn't taken this issue seriously to ensure a more supportive and respectful environment for all staff.

I would not recommend this position at this workplace to anyone until real significant changes are made at the management level.

I work at the Edinburgh and Lothian Centre in Balerno.  Most of the staff are generally very dedicated to the animals and work hard to protect them.  However the centre has a very bad reputation within SSPCA in cases of bullying and intimidation most notably from the Senior Staff. Very disorganized some days and weekends especially when  certain staff are on duty.  Shifting goals and priorities, changes the rules to suit their own agenda as and when it suits them- The Senior staff harassess dedicated employees for facetious reasons - Significant internal communication issues and competing personalities - Callous senior leadership that cares more about itself (and its high salaries) than the team it purports to lead - Some senior staff pretend to be genuinely concerned with their teams, but will quickly eliminate staff and harm their livelihoods - HR shows a disinterest in dealing with complaints of bullying and ignores the high staff turn over.   HRs Reputation is marred by its callousness to staff, inability to admit that there is a genuine issue with management at the Balerno Centre, and refusal to admit that this is the reason for high staff turnover.Advice to ManagementSenior leadership is more concerned with itself than the teams that work for them, which is highly ironic for an organization that pretends to value kindness and compassion. Staff shouldn’t be disposable objects that aren’t truly valued or respected. This organization’s Core Values are platitudes, not realities. If the SSPCA is ever to become the organization is claims to be, there must be significant changes in culture and leadership.


I was at the Glasgow Centre for 2 years. The job itself is rewarding and I love the animals. 
What sealed my fate was a foster dog that was failed by the Aberdeen centre. He struggled in kennels but was thriving in a home environment for two months! Due to an emergency he went to Aberdeen Centre; they were told that if they were struggling; to contact the fosterer and someone would come up to collect him. Three weeks later and they’ve put him to sleep because they “assessed” him as un-rehomable. On the notes, Aberdeen Manager said he was handed back because of difficulty in the home (this wasn’t the case at all!)
There are plenty of videos of him accepting a muzzle; playing with his fosters and getting attention from them. 
The SPCA do not employ trainers or behaviourists so how can they be assessed? When a complaint was made to chief Ex and Head of Operations; it was dismissed as “emotional”. They also said there wasn’t  protocols in place to contact myself or the foster.
Staff shortage is a massive issue at the Glasgow Centre yet this doesn’t stop the Society from filling up every available kennel regardless of whether there’s an appropriate amount of staff. Complaints had been made again to the chief executive as it wasn’t much better than the places they had been removed from. 
Staff training is minimal in regards to actual animal care and often there isn’t correct food/basking lights on site for the animals.
The chief executives are out of touch and when you highlight anything, their replies are so uniform and formulaic.
Zero progression and wage increases have to be fought for.
Centre Managers are restricted and probably get the brunt of the staffs frustrations.

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