They're forcing me to work a different shift

[Lapishsunsmile]

My scheduled shift is 3-11. My great grandma died and her funeral was this morning. Not wanting to feel rushed I called and asked if I could come in late. They said it would be fine as long as I was there before 7 and I said I would come in as early as possible. They later texted asking if I could do 11p-7a instead. I said sure. I had plenty of time to sleep at that point. Then they texted again asking if I could do 7p-7a. I said no and that I would just leave early and come in at my original scheduled time if I had to do twelves. They assured me it was fine and so I stayed on the schedule as 11p-7a. At 5p they call and say I HAVE to do 7-7. Meanwhile, I have no time to sleep or revert to my original schedule and I've been awake since 8:30am and at a funeral for that matter! Didn't really even get to enjoy the family because I was being pestered about work the entire time. It is taking every ounce of sanity I have inside me to keep from turning in my two weeks notice when I show up in an hour.

[caliotter3]

Some days it is like this. You may have to hide the phone or the computer to keep from resigning over the phone or by email.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

I'm sorry this happen to you. What ever happened to bereavement time off? The lack of empathy is horrible. You just lost someone close to you and you are expected to be awake for 24 hours straight and work in an unsafe condition just so that you could attend a family members funeral...Again, I am so sorry.

[Rexie]

I don't know what the repercussions would be for you, but I'd be tempted to call out and tell them that you can't work because you were unable to get any rest and would be unsafe. I had to do that once when I worked night and go no sleep due to insomnia.

I guess the moral of the story is that no good deed goes unpunished. You needed the time off and did your best to work with your employer, only to be jerked around. I don't know if you would have been better off not offering to come in at all or to turn off your phone (because you should have been sleeping!) but I'm sorry you're being treated so poorly.

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

I would have "called in" as soon as I knew the date and time of the funeral. When you agreed to come in late, you left the door open for negotiation. I also don't answer my phone when my employer calls. They can leave a message if they choose (this includes text), and I can decide if I want to call back or not. If they want me to work and I don't respond, that's a "no".

[amoLucia]

To Nurse Speedy (& OP) -not all places offer bereavement benefits. It usually only applies to spouses, parents, siblings and offspring. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grands (great-grands are even removed one more generation) are rarely included.

To OP - my condolences on your loss. It is a shame that you tried to be a 'good guy' and got your chain pulled. Your mistake was answering your messages. I'm guessing your employer has the upper hand in that they did offer you an alternative when they really didn't have to. (See my comment to PP.)

Just don't be cutting off your nose to spite your face by resigning. They really don't have a lot of regard for you (as just noted) so resigning will just be a temporary annoying blip to them. And you'll jeopardize unemployment & future job opportunities.

[walkingdeadhead]

I would tell them no. They already agreed to your shift, they shouldn't be able to change it later

[Maevish, ASN, RN]

Most places I've worked you don't get leave for this sort of situation unless it's immediate family (and some places don't even count grandparents-it has to be a brother, sister, mother, father, spouse, child, etc).

Since the funeral more than likely wasn't thrown together out-of-the-blue, I would have called off or gotten coverage since I would have obviously known about the funeral for some time.

That aside, unless I've said they can call me in 4 hours early and they haven't called yet, my phone is silent so that I CAN get rest (and work has it's own ringtone so I know it's them even if I hear my phone ringing from another room:cheeky:).

Lessons learned, eh?

xo

[Guest219794]

Nobody can force you to do anything.

And, nobody forced you to answer the phone, text, or whatever.

FWIW- I wouldn't work an overnight without prepping properly. Too high a chance of me killing somebody.

The hole in the overnight schedule is completely unrelated to your request to come in late. Just some knucklehead trying to leverage that and pressure you into fixing a problem you did not cause.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

I would have asked to take a personal day if at all possible. If that were not possible, a person who may stay over a few hours if you needed time to regroup.

As a pp stated, it leaves open to negotiation when you ask for a couple of hours off, or agree to a 11-7 shift.

My condolences on your loss.