Do you get paid for your lunch?

[blondy2061h]

We're going to be starting paid lunch breaks soon. This seems to be almost unheard of. Anyone else?

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

We don't get paid for our lunch breaks, even if we DON'T take them. That's right, you can fill out the slip that says you were too busy to take a meal break, but they still won't pay you for them: will claim that you should have gotten someone to cover you, supervisor to cover, whatever...you're not allowed the "excuse" that you were too busy! How's that? And don't get me started on the Labor Board thing: as far as they're concerned, if we haven't exhausted every option (meaning, bugging every nurse--who has 8-9 patients of her own already-- and supervisor to cover every single time) then no, we're out of luck.

And btw, even when we do get meal breaks, we're also "on": I work nights, and there's no way to not be reachable for 30 minutes (see above non-covering situation).

There's no clocking out, payroll just automatically deducts a half hour from every shift where you've worked at least 6 hours.

It goes with the job, so I've learned to accept it. If I wanted to guarantee my lunches, I'd have to work days!!

[jmking]

Getting paid right now on lunch.

[Wishinonastar, BSN]

I have mostly found in my 23 years as a nurse that the norm is to work 8.5 to 9 hours a day without a lunch. Not only do we not get paid for lunch, but we work right through it and usually still leave late. If we write no lunch on the time card we get in trouble, but how can you take a lunch breaK? And if we try to stubbornly take one we end up working even later because we get behind. Now there is usually a way to eat- munching as you chart or something, so we eat, but we don't stop working. I have worked in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, hospice, home health. The only job I have had that definitely had a lunch break was teaching : > But I was also going to school then, so I studied on my lunch break. When I worked as an aide long, long ago before I became a nurse, we always got a lunch break. After all these years of no lunch I am used to it and don't really think about it anymore. It is just one more thing about nursing that burns us out over time.

[NewWayofLife]

Lunch? I'd love to GET a lunch, nevermind be paid for one!

And no, I'm not talking about those times where you're just too busy. I actually don't get one. The other two shifts are 6:45-3:15 and 2:45 to 11:15- they punch out for an unpaid 30 minute break (when they can!) 11-7, however, works exactly 11-7 with no meal break... we technically get two 15's, but I've never seen anyone even take those.

I'm not even sure this is legal in my state, but that's the way it is!

[ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN]

they atomatically take 30 mins from your shift each day so the supervisors always tell us to clock in at least 15 mins before and 15 mins after clock out to cover it, of course the earliest I've managed to clock out is 0730 but I'm still kinda new so if I'm outta there by 0745 I'm a happy camper lol