Paycheck Question

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I have a question about how my facility determines our pay but don't know where to put it on this site. Hopefully, one of you will see this and have an answer or suggestion for me:

During a 2-week pay period this summer, I used one week for vacation and in the other week, I worked a total of 5 hours overtime. When I got my check for this period, I saw that I was paid the 5 hours overtime but was not paid for 5 hours of my vacation. When I inquired, they said, "when a person works overtime and then takes time off, how do we know the person just didn't work overtime to make up for the time they were going to take off?" This response shocked me -- it doesn't make sense! -- but when I asked my co-workers about this, they said they'd been told the same thing and that they just accepted it!

I thought I was doing them a favor by accepting the overtime when asked, and never dreamed it would mean I'd be penalized for vacation time! Furthermore, I got permission months in advance for my vacation and I just don't see how I can be denied 5 of the hours because I helped out by working 5 hours overtime the previous week!

During a pay period in November, I see I'll have one vacation day but I was asked yesterday to work another day in that same pay period as overtime......so now I'm worried I'm not going to be paid for the vacation day!

Do any of you have this same policy in your facility? If you agree that this practice is unethical, do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks for any thought you put in to this.

Not if she were counting on that money to help pay a bill. Never having worked in a 2 week system this would n't have happened to me, but if it had I would have been raising a stink. nobody messes with my money. and, as she has pointed out, how is she supposed to use it?

You ended up ahead in my book since you weren't charged the 5 hours PTO and were paid 5 hours of OT so while I get where you're coming from in a way, you actually came out ahead and they were doing you a favor. This is how it is at my (non-nursing) job as well.
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krisiepoo, I'm grateful that they paid me the 5 hours overtime but I wouldn't say I came out ahead or they were doing me a favor because those 5 hours vacation time are lost.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
krisiepoo, I'm grateful that they paid me the 5 hours overtime but I wouldn't say I came out ahead or they were doing me a favor because those 5 hours vacation time are lost.

Don't you accrue PTO hours every time you work a shift? When I was staff (I'm now registry), I accrued something like 0.6 hours per 8 hour shift. If that's the way it is where you work, you haven't lost five hours, you just have to work until you have earned at least 8 hours to get another day off paid from PTO.

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Specializes in Oncology.

I am surprised you got overtime at all. In one of the places I worked, you couldn't get over time in a pay period that you didn't actually WORK the entire contracted hours.

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Specializes in critcal care, CRNA.

Regardless what everyone's opinion is about this situation you at least learned to never help them again unless it benefits you.

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no, dudette10, it doesn't work that way where I work. Vacation time does not carry over to the new year. I'm left with 5 hours vacation time that are lost because there's no way I can use just 5. HR suggested I use an hour here and an hour there such as coming in an hour late or leaving an hour early -- but how is a nurse supposed to not work her full shift? At least where I work, there's no one who's going to fill in for me if I were to take those individual hours. I need a full 8 hours and I don't see how I can get 3 more.

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Since this is the case, I would be approaching HR/pay roll for that check I spoke of in my first post...

no, dudette10, it doesn't work that way where I work. Vacation time does not carry over to the new year. I'm left with 5 hours vacation time that are lost because there's no way I can use just 5. HR suggested I use an hour here and an hour there such as coming in an hour late or leaving an hour early -- but how is a nurse supposed to not work her full shift? At least where I work, there's no one who's going to fill in for me if I were to take those individual hours. I need a full 8 hours and I don't see how I can get 3 more.
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morte, I agree with you but from reading these posts, it seems like it's pretty common for facilities to get away with this sort of practice. Because it's so prevalent, it must be legal and there's nothing I can do :(

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Specializes in Pedi.
krisiepoo, I'm grateful that they paid me the 5 hours overtime but I wouldn't say I came out ahead or they were doing me a favor because those 5 hours vacation time are lost.

How are they lost? They're still in your bank for you to use, no? How does your facility do vacation time?

I've always been on a PTO system. I took yesterday off (not a holiday at my office) and I'm probably going to end up working a few extra hours to make up for it. So say I end up working 36 hrs over 4 days, I will simply put in for only 4 hrs of PTO for Monday. The other 4 hours aren't lost, I just use them another time.

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she went onto clarify that she will lose them because she can't carry them over to next year. Which is why I would be at payroll looking for a check.....

How are they lost? They're still in your bank for you to use, no? How does your facility do vacation time?

I've always been on a PTO system. I took yesterday off (not a holiday at my office) and I'm probably going to end up working a few extra hours to make up for it. So say I end up working 36 hrs over 4 days, I will simply put in for only 4 hrs of PTO for Monday. The other 4 hours aren't lost, I just use them another time.

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If you have to take vacation in increments of 8 hours, you are screwed. And they know this. My question is how did you end up with only 5 hours OT and not 8 if the shifts at your place of employment are in 8 hour increments? I would be looking for a way to use up that 5 hours somehow. Just inquire around. Most people will not just "give up" vacation time.

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Specializes in Pedi.
she went onto clarify that she will lose them because she can't carry them over to next year. Which is why I would be at payroll looking for a check.....

I got that but this year isn't over so presumably these hours are still in her bank and available for use. Her employer didn't take them away as far as I can tell.

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