Call Handler - Part Time & Full Time Options

Vets Now; Dunfermline; On-site; GBP 1,853,000 - 2,149,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

7 weeks annual leave

Birthday paid off

Health cash plan

Pension contributions

Staff pet care discount

Death in service

Wellbeing programme

Parental leave schemes

Job summary

Vets Now is recruiting part-time call handlers to join our Dunfermline-based Contact Centre for out-of-hours emergency services.

You will cover a variety of shifts, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays, with training starting October and contracted hours ranging from 16 to 37 per week.

Qualifications

• Experience in client or customer service environment.
• Excellent customer service and communication skills.
• MS Office proficiency and ability to learn new systems.
• Good general language skills; articulate information clearly in speech and text.
• Ability to work well under pressure with diplomacy.
• Adapt quickly to a rapidly changing environment.
• Demonstrate problem solving skills.
• Passion for delivering service excellence.

Responsibilities

• Handle calls as presented and manage call flow to establish nature of call or emergency.
• Offer a consultation.
• Gather and analyse information to determine the appropriate action.
• Explain Vets Now and provide clinic/hospital information, fees, directions and procedures.
• Use Helix to send SMS with clinic information and directions.
• Log all calls accurately and book consultations using telephony/PC systems.
• Process personal data in line with Data Protection policies.

Skills

Customer service

MS Office

Under pressure

Communication

Problem solving

Tools

Helix PMS

Telephony systems

Job description

Vets Now - Providing Exceptional Emergency Pet Care

Vets Now are the UK’s leading provider of emergency pet care, providing a trusted service to more than 1700 veterinary practices – from 60 plus dedicated out-of-hours clinics and two 24/7 pet emergency hospitals. You will be joining our team of dedicated call handlers in our Dunfermline based Contact Centre.

Are you ready for a part time role?

Vets Now are recruiting call handlers for our out of hours emergency service within our Contact Centre, Dunfermline. You will be required to work a variety of shifts covering our opening hours. We are looking for people who are flexible about the days and hours that they work to enable us to be there when our clients and their pets need us most.

• Weekday evenings from 18:00-01:00
• Saturdays from 12:00-01:00
• Sundays and Bank Holidays from 07:00-01:00

Please note before applying that weekend and bank holiday working is a pre-requisite of accepting this position and you will be expected to work public and bank holidays.

Start date Thursday 15th October 2026

Training dates for 15th October start date:

• Week 1 - 15th October - Thursday and Friday 5pm - 10pm
• Week 2 - 19th October - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 5pm - 10pm
• Week 3 - 26th October - Monday, Tuesday either Wednesday or Thursday and potentially Friday 5pm - 10pm.
• Week 4 - 2nd November - Various shifts throughout the week including weekend will be confirmed at start date

Contracted Hours

• Various contracts available - 16hrs/week, 20hrs/week, 25hrs/week, 28hrs/week, 30hrs/week, 35hrs/week & 37hrs/week.
• Shifts will vary in length (typically 3–8 hours).

Shift Patterns

• Candidates under 18: can work until 23:00 (in line with working time regulations).

• Candidates 18 and over: may be required to work shifts finishing as late as 01:00.

• All contracts include Weekend & Public/Bank Holiday working as standard.

Pay Rates

• Standard rate: £13.45 per hour.
• Enhanced night rate: £15.60 per hour (for hours worked between 23:00 and 08:00)

Do you have strong customer service skills and a passion for helping others, especially in urgent or high-pressure situations?

• Experience of working within a client or customer service environment. Ideally some of this experience will have been gained in a contact centre environment.
• Excellent customer service and communication skills.
• Computer literacy with knowledge of MS Office packages and comfortable learning new systems.
• Good general language skills. Able to quickly collate information and relay it in speech and text.
• Able to work well under pressure, maintaining the tact and diplomacy required in challenging situations.
• Ability to adapt quickly and professionally to a rapidly changing environment.
• Demonstrate problem solving skills.
• A passion for delivering service excellence.

Your role and responsibilities

• Handle calls as presented and manage according to agreed call flow to establish the nature of the call/emergency.
• Offer a consultation.
• Gathers and analyses information provided, using judgement, knowledge, and pre-determined algorithms to determine the most appropriate course of action.
• Explains who Vets Now are and ensure customers have all necessary information for their clinic/hospital consultation including location, fees, time taken to travel from their destination and arrival procedure.
• Uses our practice management system (Helix) to send an SMS with clinic/hospital information and directions to the customer.
• Accurately and efficiently log all calls. Using our telephony and PC systems to book consultations, log cases and alert clinics/hospitals to incoming patients.
• Process all personal data in accordance with our Data Protection Policy and all Data Protection legislation and comply with all Information Security policies.

Our benefits

• 7 weeks pro rata annual leave
• Your birthday as a paid day off
• Health cash plan provided by Simply Health
• UK standard Pension contributions – 5% Employee/3% Employer
• Up to 50% discounted staff pet care
• Death in service of two times annual salary
• Membership of employee wellbeing programme
• Company sick, maternity, paternity and adoption pay schemes

We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, including those from diverse and minority groups. As a Disability Confident Employer, we encourage candidates with disabilities and health conditions to apply and are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.