Holiday rotations...

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2012

We have three holiday blocks of major and minor holidays. Block A's major holiday is Christmas, Block B's is Thanksgiving and Block C's in New Years. The lesser holidays are distributed to each group, so every nurse is assigned to about 5 holidays per year. Each year you rotate blocks, so you end up working each holiday every third year. In the event that we need more staff- we can schedule per diems on a holiday, or ask for volunteers. If we need less staff, they are called off in order of seniority.

I'll add that, according to our Blocks, if you work Christmas, you also work Black Friday. If you work Thanksgiving, you also work Christmas Eve, and if you work New Year's Day, you also work New Year's Eve. It makes it a huge pain to schedule trips around the holidays if you (like I do) have family that lives out of state.

Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2012

Like Ashley, PICU R, we too use a block type of schedule. FT/PT are assigned a block (A, B or C) and remain within that block for three years where it is reshuffled so you do not work with the same staff every single holiday. Each block works one major summer and winter holiday. Per-diems are then scheduled where the need is necessary. If staff needs to be called off because of low census we have a "wish list" where staff can sign up to be cancelled if they so wish. It works pretty well and I have no complaints.

I don't normally do much for the holidays so I tend to work for people who have children and would prefer to be off Christmas and Thanksgiving, in return I always get New Years off :-]

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 16, 2012

at the facility where i work, everyone rotates during any given holiday this includes nm's and seasoned nurses, this prevents any animosity among colleagues :cool:

loriangel14, RN · Jun 16, 2012

Where I work EVERYONE rotates,even the senior nurses.Especially Xmas and New Years.You get one or the other off each year.They work it in blocks.One year you work 24th,25th,26th,and 27th of December and the next year you work 29th,30th,31st and 1st.Of course we get time and a half for the stat holidays.

amoLucia · Jun 16, 2012

Is there something in your employee handbook??? You're right, it does sound lop-sided to me too.

Nite shift has always been the tough one to schedule but sounds like they have something to log a protest about. Just curious, are you UNION?

sauconyrunner · Jun 16, 2012

The last place I worked at had what they called your "holiday Package" It spelled out which holidays you worked from year to year, and also, like many if you were off Xmas eve, you worked xmas day...very frustrating for me who has ALL family out of state.

Another option, that I loved, and worked great at a large hosptial was that they put up a list of all staff and had you choose 1-4 for which holidays you wanted to work. There was also an option to write "will work" on some holidays. So, I would always choose xmas of T-giving to go see family and wrote Will work on the others. I always got the holiday I needed off Off.

They dont like to do the above because it takes actual thought on the part of management and I am sure time and organization, but I admit, I found it much fairer, and people were happier.

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2012

Like Gitano and Loriangel, my hospital also requires everyone, including the NM to rotate holidays. I like the way my unit sets the holiday schedule, because if a nurse works a major holiday like Christmas, they will be assigned to a minor holiday the next year, like Memorial Day.

Most of the time, staff will switch with each other if they don't like their assigned holiday. If a holiday happens to be on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, staff get paid an extra $10/h, plus time and a half, so you can get some pretty good bank. One of our retiring nurses actually called out the weekend of Christmas, and my NM asked me if I would cover both days since I was already working Christmas Eve. I had no plans, so I agreed. I made over $1500 just for 24 hours of work. Got that new electronic system for my boat as a result!

What kind of compensation does your facility offer to those working holidays?

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2012

When I worked in the hospital, there were no assigned "groups" or anything. Sometime around September/October, a list was posted with all the holidays (night before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, Xmas Eve, Xmas, New Years Eve and New Years Day) and everyone had to "rank" their preferred shifts with 1 being the holiday you most wanted to work and 6 being the one you least wanted to work. Preference went to senior nurses. The expectation was that "everyone" would work one minor/one major holiday but it never worked out that way. I worked there for 4 1/2 years and I worked Thanksgiving and some part of Christmas every year. Some people always got to work New Years Eve/Day.

Holiday pay was only paid if the majority of one's shift fell on the actual holiday day. So, you could holiday pay for the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving but nothing for Thanksgiving night. Christmas Eve day, Christmas day night, New Years Eve day and New Years Day night also had zero differential.

msjellybean · Jun 16, 2012

Wow, that's awful. At my facility, we recognize Memorial Day, the 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year's Day. Everyone has a pattern of working every other holiday & then you switch the next year.

Ruas61, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2012

That is just ridiculous. How demeaning for a person and lttle thought to their private life.

lockheart678 · Jun 17, 2012

At my hospital, management puts up sign up sheets for each holiday and all staff are required to work one major and one minor holiday each year. We must also take call for one major and one minor. If we don't have enough people sign up, they supposedly draw names from a hat and if your name is picked, you're working the shift, whether you like it or not. One year they actually did that for one holiday and we could all tell by the names "drawn" that it wasn't so random after all. There are some people whose names would never get picked for something like that, which is very ridiculous. Then, last year, we were short staffed so the new rule was that we had to work two minor holidays (I can't remember if that was an issue by the time the majors came around). I was out after having shoulder surgery during Memorial day, and shortly after I came back, my supervisor was telling me I had to work the night of July 4 because I didn't work Memorial day. Again, not so random.

The people who enforce these rules at my hospital don't have to take a drop of call or work any holidays. It's really sad that, in a time of severe need, management won't do a thing to step in and ease the pressure. To me, if they can't do my job, then they should not be supervising me. I think all of them actually can do the job though and they just choose not to help out.