Raises

[BiologyNerd]

I know other professions that get yearly raises....my question is:

If I start at $19 an hour what would the raise be each year?

[patwil73]

Unkown. Completely dependent on your hospital and contract. Our staff get a raise with each "step" they earn (roughly equivalent to years of service) and then the union will negatotiate a cost of living raise for the term of the contract so on certain dates everyone goes up by whatever they negotiated.

I am salary and non-union in my hospital, so my raises are cost of living each year and merit increases.

However I am sure there are hospitals out there that give raises every 6 months, other maybe every two years. One hospital near me gives a retention bonus every 6 months you stay - but that is not really a raise.

Hope that helps,

Pat

[sleepyndopey]

Where I work we have a review each year. We can score between 1 and 4. If we score 4 we get a 4% raise, 3=3%, etc. So if you made $19/hr and got a 3 on your review your new rate would be-$19.57.

[caliotter3]

There are employers that will never give you a raise if you don't bring up the subject. This is a question that one should ask about when they are hired. It totally depends on what system is in place with the employer. You can usually depend on being informed about pay raises if you have a union position. You will know the amount and when you will be eligible. Otherwise, you have to communicate with the employer. Some people are surprised to find out what their coworkers are getting, but forget that they have never brought the subject up with their boss. The typical time for a pay raise is after the yearly performance review. If you aren't given an automatic raise, then you should be asking why.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

My workplace issues 3% cost-of-living raises per year. No merit pay increases exist.

[MikeyJ, RN]

My workplace issues 3% cost-of-living raises per year. No merit pay increases exist.

Out of curiosity, why? I have never heard of an establishment doing this, and furthermore, I am suprised people actually accept jobs that do not issue merit increases.

[bill4745, RN]

I've gotten 5-7% each year for the last 4 years.

[Zookeeper3]

cost of living 3%, bonuses every 6 months and a year end bonus if our patient satisfaction scores are 90%. Plus there is clinical ladder (one of my pet peeves) which gives you an additional 5%.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I've gotten 3 to 5% for the last 15 years at my job, along with promotions, market adjustments, etc. One year I got over 11%. Last year I got 5% and then I got my BSN another 4%, plus a market adjustment of 50 cents per hours. My salary is $20 more per hour than it was 15 years ago.

The problem however, is the last two years my salary has been "maxed out", meaning we have a ceiling that we can't go higher. The only reason I got a raise last year was that I went from an RN II to RN III (charge nurse) and they raised the max 50 cents. I'm maxed out again in my new position and unless they raise the max, which is unlikely because they just did that, I won't get a raise.

[sonja77]

where i work we have a review each year. we can score between 1 and 4. if we score 4 we get a 4% raise, 3=3%, etc. so if you made $19/hr and got a 3 on your review your new rate would be-$19.57.

same here!

[caliotter3]

From the employer that I worked for for seven years, I got a bonus in the form of a $.25 cent raise after about a year, due to above average performance. I never saw a raise after that. What incensed me, was that I had been told that all persons in my category were hired at the same rate. I found out that several were being paid much more than me. When I brought up the subject, I was told a load of baloney about the type of cases that I was working. Pure snow job. The same case that I took over from a nurse, same insurance company, nothing different. She was being paid $4 an hour more than me. Now I moved to a different area, and the same company wants me to take a $2.25 pay cut. I told them, "You expect me to take a pay cut after 7 years, when the company is paying $4 to $7 more to people with the same type of license? I found out all this info by reading job listings on the internet. I'm now working for a company that is only paying me $.75 an hour more than the previous company, which is $3 an hr less than my best company. I don't think I'll be pushing to go back to the company that thinks I'm worth a pay cut.

The moral of this story: Pay raises and pay rates are often individualized and you won't know unless someone divulges that info to you. When your company tells you that everyone starts at the same rate and you find out that they pay someone hired after you $6 an hr more, then you know that you are being taken advantage of. The only way to get around this is to go to a union shop. And even there, you will find that they use ways to get around the pay scales. I saw it and was told by the HR person that they do it. So you have to be able to speak up for yourself. Both when you are hired, and a year later, when it is time for that first raise.

[SaderNurse05, BSN, RN]

My workplace issues 3% cost-of-living raises per year. No merit pay increases exist.

Same here. Other places in town can go 2 years without a raise. At least my job has been consistent.