Contract

You agreed to do something. What was your question again?

My question is can I back out of a contract once it is signed? I have not started my assignment yet. Are there penalties for doing so?

Well, the first thing that I would think of is that I would never again be able to work a contract for that company. Secondly, if the company who offered you more is aware of your breaking contract with the initial one, they may not be too thrilled to be working with you for the long term. I believe there should be some wording in your contract's fine print, or on their website, that will give you specifics regarding what you would owe in this situation. I would imagine the costs of any pre-employment physicals and drug-screens would have to be repaid. The more experienced travel nurses on here may have better knowledge though, I'm new to it myself.

You didn't read the contract you signed? Read it now for the penalties, we haven't seen it.

So your word, your promise your honor, your reputation, and your signed contract mean nothing? You have no real reason to break the contract and you want advice? Besides not breaking the contract, I can give you some excellent reasons. One is the contract you signed. You can now be sued for breach of contract. On receiving your signed contract, the agency signed a contract with the hospital to supply you to them. Now they have to breach that contract. There may be contractual penalties that the hospital will now charge the agency (which will be passed on to you). Even if not, you have damaged both the hospital, and the good name and promise of the agency. Depending on the time frame and agreement, your agency may have

Next up, does that other agency really pay more? Generally no two agencies quote exactly alike, yet the total compensation often ends up very similar, usually within a couple of bucks. Check PanTravelers calculator to make a real comparison, not just the verbal some recruiter or traveler told you.

Every dollar makes a difference, but let's say two dollars - that is about $1,000 for the three month contract before taxes. I would consider that a cheap lesson in due diligence before signing a contract.

Now was the new agency or their traveler just flat out lying about the pay? That is common. If it was the agency, they could have been high balling you on purpose to make you unhappy and cancel your assignment. More potential work for their travelers, or potentially you might work for them in the future. If it was a traveler, they may not understand their own compensation, perhaps including their housing stipend while you were going to take agency provided housing (that is a common reason for big differences in pay). Or they could just be lying as many workers do about their compensation for several very human reasons. They might also be fishing for a referral bonus from the new agency too. I'm just guessing here of course.

Finally, you can't switch agencies anyway. Your profile was submitted by your original agency, and the hospital is not going to get involved in helping you switch. That first agency "owns" you for this hospital. All you can do is go to work for a different agency somewhere else.

Travelers trying to switch agencies is common because the grass always appears greener. Every once in a while it can happen, but 49 out of 50 times it just causes issues. If you really have some solid facts on your side, you can discuss modifying your contract with your current agency. They may be willing raise your pay to keep you past this one assignment or to stop you from bailing which is bad business for everyone. But I doubt it. You are unproven, and right now you are turning out to be a big liability. There is a good reason to pay first time travelers less, and you are the reason - you are higher risk than a proven traveler and you haven't even started yet.

I'm not sure why this is such an ethical hole for travelers. Would you think it right if an agency breached a contract because they found a nurse willing to work for less than you?

This a three month contract and I seriously doubt that the price you are paying is more than a thousand bucks at most (before taxes). You might even be getting more with your current agency once you examine real numbers and a real contract. Just do it and get a successful contract under your belt. Presumably you were happy with the compensation when you signed the contract originally. Then you will be much more valuable to agencies, and hopefully you will shop around so you won't have unpleasant surprises about pay. The traveler mantra should be that you can do anything, it is just three months. That applies not only to the working conditions, but an agency you are not so happy with.

Actually I'm a seasoned Traveler and I was submitted by both companies. It was a random case I know. But thanks for the advice! I'll just stick to what I signed. No need to cause stress for anyone-

Wow, sorry for the rant - I just went with what I thought the back story sounded like. Thanks for the soft reply.

I still think you should stick with the contract you signed, but if you hadn't signed it, you might have had options. Ideally, you don't want to have two agencies submit you to the same assignment. It is possible that the hospital receiving the same profile from two different agencies will just disqualify you completely. In fact, the hospital may not have received your profile from the second agency. But it is a good idea to pre-approve all submissions to avoid any snafus, and make sure your favored agency (it is not always about the money) is the only one to submit you.