Decline a shift equals termination?

[kparry]

Seeking work and came across something odd.

Preceeding the following paragraph is a grid 24 rows long by 7 columns wide with the instruction to put an x in each box for hours you are commited to work going forward. Hours commited can only be changed with two-weeks notice. And then this:

"By signing this document, you are knowingly accepting the hours you have advised you are available and upon receiving a shift within your available hours you decline it will serve as voluntary termination as per this agreement."

Would you sign this?

I'm thinking if I say I can work Tuesdays 7 AM to 7 PM, they are free to call me at 11:00 AM on Tuesday and "demand" I work Noon to 7 PM or I'm voluntarily terminated.

Maybe this is a common agreement. Surely they have some problem they are trying to solve. But it seems threatening their employees is their first best effort at solving it. Of course they can fire me at any time, but this agreement says if I decline a shift, I quit. Worse still, it seems a handy way to implement forced overtime.

I'm leaning that given the odd document and general messiness, this is not the place for me.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I have NEVER HEARD of such a thing! That is exactly what they are saying....they are trying to circumvent mandatory OT by saying you volunteered.....yet still threatening your job.

I would proceed with extreme caution.....me personally.... I would NOT sign the document.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Never heard of that before. Sounds like a terrible work policy. I wouldn't sign it.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Don't put your X in any box. Nursing scheduling seems random enough as it is. How am I supposed to know if I will be available every Tuesday for the next 20 years?

Do you do self-scheduling?

[aachavez]

I don't think I would sign either, sounds like there is something going on....

If OP gets more info on this, I'd be curious to see what it is.

[loriangel14, RN]

I wouldn't touch it.

[SummitRN, BSN, RN]

It's a trap.

[dt70]

The stress would be too much for me, even if I was available .

I'd sign it without any complaints and start brushing up on my interviewing skills .

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

wow- they must not be planning to keep any employees around for too long.

[Career2_BSN, BSN]

"voluntary termination" = quitting a job = no unemployment benefits should you find yourself unemployed after refusing a shift.

hmmmm Definitely sounds shady.

[amoLucia]

I'm not sure if I understand ... Is this for something PRN or on-call or regular full-time/part-time?

With summer coming up, I know staffing coordinators are anxious to plump up their summer vacation schedules. But I also know that signer-uppers freq cancel on short notice when the weather will be esp nice (or nasty) or if there's a special ballgame to be played or impromptu social event comes up, etc. And the mentality/excuse of the signer-upper is, 'Oh, well, I was just signing up as extra'. So I do understand the frustration of management.

Sounds like this employer has been burnt before and is taking a NO-NONSENSE approach to cancellations for the summer.

But I do agree with all the other posters. Something just doesn't sound right. I would be asking more questions before I signed anything!

[llg, PhD, RN]

More information is needed before I could make a judgment. Is this a sheet on which people are signing up to work specific shifts on specific days? If that's the case ... and you sign up for a particular shift ... then of course, yes, you are expected to work the shift you committed to. You are committed to work the shift you signed up for. That's a normal expectation in most work environments. You can't sign up for a shift and then change your mind at the last minute and leave everyone in the lurch.

Or is there something else going on here that I am missing?