High street chain Pets at Home has entered a consultation with its thousands of store workers over working roles and pay.
The pet retailer is looking to “streamline” its management systems and is reportedly set to axe the assistant store management role across its over 450 UK Pet Care Centres. Currently, Pets at Home has a three-tier management system, which includes deputy and assistant managers and a six-layer colleague model.
According to a report from Retail Week, the retailer’s colleague structure on the shop floor will also be simplified. The current three tiers of pet care expert, pet care adviser, and store assistant model will be replaced by the two roles of “pet colleague” and “pet customer expert”. It is understood that current assistant store managers will transfer to the pet customer expert role, while most store assistants will move into the pet colleague role.
Pets at Home said the current structure was “no longer fit for purpose” and simplification would ensure workers had “clearly defined roles and responsibilities”. In a note to employees, seen by Retail Week, Pets at Home chief operating officer Anja Madsen said: “Our goal is to create a simpler, fairer, and more efficient retail business. We want to reshape the way we operate while staying true to our purpose, keeping the customer at the heart of everything we do, and remaining a pet and colleague-first business.
“We want to remove complexity and outdated legacy ways of working and introduce a more transparent structure. To achieve that, from today we will be consulting on a range of changes with our retail colleagues. This consultation is about ensuring colleagues have more clearly defined roles and responsibilities; they have access to the best training and tools they need to set them up for success; and that pay levels are fair and consistent across roles in store.”
Pets at Home has also announced that it was investing £7million into shopfloor pay. From April, the new roles of pet colleague and pet customer expert will receive an hourly rate of £12.21 and £12.60, respectively. This will increase to £13.46 and £13.85 for those inside the M25. Store and deputy store managers will also receive a 2% pay increase. In January, Pets at Home reported that consumer revenue was up 2.3% to £ 468 million in the 12-week period to January 12, 2025. It also reported that the number of its Pet Club members had increased by 400,000, going from £7.8million in 2024 to 8.2million in 2025.
Then retailer made headlines last month after it was forced to stop selling guinea pigs after an infectious disease outbreak. The retailer discovered that some of the animals it was selling had Streptococcus – which is more commonly known as Strep – which could spread to other animals.
The infection can cause guinea pigs to catch pneumonia and could cause them to die suddenly without showing any symptoms. The bacteria can spread from animals to humans and lead to a range of symptoms. The chain contacted customers who purchased a guinea pig from Pets At Home with “detailed advice and guidance”.
On the issue, a Pets at Home spokesperson said at the time: “We have identified a small percentage of cases of infection in our guinea pig population resulting from streptococcus equi zooepidemicus. Pet welfare is always our top priority and as a precautionary measure we have taken swift and immediate action to temporarily pause the sale or adoption of guinea pigs.
“We will be contacting customers directly who have purchased a guinea pig from us recently with detailed advice and guidance. However, if you have immediate concerns, please contact your local Pets at Home or veterinary provider for further advice.”
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