Casual benefits in manitoba

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 7, 2012

It is worth close to 5% of our wages and more if we can get increments for vacation based on hours/years of service as do many provinces. I also belive the def of casual is antiquated unless you can call getting phoned almost daily, occasional.

Casuals do not have vacation entitlements. When a casual employee takes a temporary or permanent position with a defined FTE their seniority date would decide where on the vacation list their name appears, but only those regular, straight-time hours actually worked would be part of the vacation entitlement equation. In Alberta no one accrues additional vacation or pension on extra hours or overtime. I know too many people who have decided to work casual because they didn't want to work nights/weekends/holidays, or they didn't get the vacation they wanted, or they needed time off for their weddings and their rotation wasn't accommodating. It's hard to be sympathetic when you've been working rotating shifts for 20 years, worked Christmas every second year and have always taken your vacation in February because that's when nobody above you wants it. But I digress.

I do have to agree with you that being called every day, sometimes several times in a day, isn't really the definition of "occasional". However, as a casual you cannot be compelled to work, as a regular employee can.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 7, 2012

I find many of our casuals don't take the burden off of permanent employees. Some of them don't work for months, while we work overtime still, because they only want certain shifts that aren't available. This becomes very frustrating.

Fiona59 · Mar 8, 2012

I worked casuals for the first three years of my nursing career. I didn't get "vacation" I had weeks that I signed off as unavailable.

Also, you shouldn't be getting calls every day if you submit your availability sheets with the days you don't want to be called clearly marked off.

Most of the casuals in my hospital want M-F dayshifts leaving the nights, evenings, weekends to be filled by part timers, full timers on OT, or the line left unfilled with units working short.

itsmejuli · Mar 8, 2012

I'm in agreement with the other posters. If a casual wants stat and vacation payout then they should take a permanent line.

I have a permanent part-time line. Its me they call when they need to fill a shift, the only shifts I don't pick up is nights. When it came time to fill shifts for this coming vacation season I told the scheduler to just fill me in without asking me first about every single available shift. It seems our casuals are not that reliable when it comes to picking up or showing up for shifts.

With all my pickups I work close to full-time but won't get the same accruals as a full-timer. I deserve the stat and vacation payouts I earn. My benefit is that I'm able to book off 5 weeks by taking the 9 vacation days I do earn :)

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 8, 2012

One perk that casuals (and people who have agreed to work overtime) in Alberta have that I've never heard of anywhere else is that they can cancel themselves if they decide they just don't want to work that shift. So they can leave the unit in the lurch at 5:30 and not feel guilty in the least. I'm of the leaning that if you've said you'd work, you should work. End of story.

Another thing I've noticed is that several of our casuals can be banked upon to work the statutory holidays. It's usually OT for them because they all have regular jobs elsewhere and since we're all one big happy family here with only one employer, they get double time and half. The same handful of them turn out for the day shift on the stat and that's typically the only time we ever see them.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2012

Like you mentioned Jan, I never heard of casuals arbitrarily canceling shifts, but they do. We've had people book say 8 shifts in a month, then cancel last minute. If you take a shift, keep the shift. Grrrr!

JoJo6 · Mar 8, 2012

The fact is all provinces in Canada casuals get paid for stat holidays, the contracts are online, here is a summary.In lieu of holiday pay, stat pay and benefits

PEI 12%, NS 11%, Newfoundland/Labrador20%, New Brunswick 13% BC 12.2%

Ontario Sask and Ontario all give EFTof 4.8, 4.62% or whatever it is in their prov and pays increments for holidays based on hours worked up to 12% in some places. Manitoba pays 6% vacation pay on each check and that is it. 0% for stats. I have notices their def of casual is someone who has no regular schedule and is booked to work only with the employees permission.

Ours states a nurse who works occasionally for unforseen shortage ofr pt or ft On our critical care unit they have had posters for us to help them out more.

In the 90's the def might of been acurate, and the benefits missed minute, , I work aprox .7, all shifts, last minute etc. The benefits missed for stat pay(basic ones which a cashier would get ),is alot of money, and the hosp a benefiting from that. It would not affect your job security at all. Many nurses casual at a second job, why for less. Also I pay the same rate of dues, and pay the max. yearly amount too. I support many things that only benefit the other categories. The fact is I am a vulnerable minority, that isnt even defined correctly, as we arent even worth that I guess. Anyways my unit is supportive as is my Manager. Our educator has worked across the country and is suprised how we are regarded. She says in some places you take care of the casuals and you get your days off etc.

Remember I work what is left over.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2012

You work what is left over because that is what casuals were created for. To fill in the shifts when permanent staff request them off. The upside is, you are able to choose your shifts. You aren't bound by a set number of shifts or hours each week. It sounds as though you expect the best of both worlds.

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2012

And in most Provinces, in order to be eligible for Stat holiday pay, you either need to have worked a number of hours before you are eligible, and the day before and the day after the stat. Otherwise, people would elect to work only the stats. How would that be fair to the permanent staff? The solution is to find a permanent line then.

JoJo6 · Mar 8, 2012

Please . I just found out we are the only Casual Rns in the country who dont get this, my union is apparently unaware (good job huh )and I am trying to find a forum to inform others in Manitoba, to get this info out here.

I understand the whole casual thing, that is not the point of this. Our union membership is pretty apathetic, compared to others, me included. How do you reach others when you are a small group spread out, and your union is neglectful.

Trust me, I have been searching everywhere for a way not to leave my issues up to those who believe as you do, but through legal obligations my union has as sole bargainer for me, to research and compare, and come to a thoughtful decision. I had hoped we Manitobans could have had a thread for porposes of informing.

I am done here

Critical care nure, mb

ps. please dont say Most off the top of your hat. It took me alot of time to gather all the info from all the contracts, so I could put out real facts. You havent had enough time to make such a statement .

JoJo6 · Mar 8, 2012

I work what is left over simply means , what it means. Best of both worlds how? What did I say that implied I want more, perhaps your job? My point is that our unit runs with casuals. Our nurses leave for better workingt conds/hours less stress etc, and has had a critical shortage leading to cancelled surgeries etc. I am experienced, and in demand. We cannot predict how acute our pts are going to come out of surgery. Any critical care nurses wish to wade in?I get prebooked and called for emergency situations which are practically on a daily basis. The ot is unreal. No working just stats is a weird accusation. 12 a year, wow. I work on avge a point 7, some work full time. Yes some work only days mon-fri, but they usually dont work that much or take work on multiple units. So some people abuse sick time. What of it. Should we vote out sick time because that is not fair? At least if you dont like a casual you dont call/book them. We always have to consider we have no real job.

Hospitals are relying on us to get the job done, I have personally worked eve/night 16 hour shifts more than I care to, and none of my friends would even consider the schedule I work. I also have the same chance to be mandatoried as anyone else on my unit Code37 they are called, but since I am more flexible, I volunteer and it doesnt usually come to that. I only book what I am up to and have called in sick 3 times in 5 years. Beside my name on those occasions it says Cancelled as we cant call in sick. Others may read that and think I took the day off . Whatever. My point is why the hospital gets to pay me less per hour, because some antiquated way of thinking is that they only work occasionally so what does it matter. Yes this is my choice and if I didnt have it I would leave nursing as my husband refused to be the only 55 year old he knows whose wife cant get a week off when he does, because we moved and she has no seniority.

You should all want a good option should you find yourself in a similiar situation.