I know there's little we can do about this, and we're expected to just 'suck it up' but how do you all feel about your cancel / on call / being sent home early policy?
We recently got a new NM and since she started a few months ago, a lot of new nurses have been hired (all from her previous hospital wouldn't you know)...this has resulted in there being too many nurses on our floor now.
Also, the new NM has decided we can cope with our ratios being increased, we've gone from 5:1 to 6:1 (which in real terms means we often get hiked up to 7:1)
End result is, she has trimmed down the number of nurses needed per shift, so someone is cancelled every day, and we are getting put on call much more often. Also, whenever a nurse or two gets any discharges, someone gets sent home and the remainder of their patients given to whoever is staying (hence the hiking up of the ratio)
Some of us "old-timers" on our floor feel this new NM is gradually bringing in her buddies from her previous hospital and to heck with those of us who are losing working hours and pay EVERY pay period.
I made a comment at one of our staff meetings about how some nurses are bound to struggle financially as not everyone can afford to keep losing pay. The response?......"It's not about what YOU can afford, it's what WE can afford"
Yes, I understand it's a business and they have to balance the books, but what's the deal with keep hiring nurses when there's not enough shifts to go round already?
You should review your contract and then go to the HR or Legal Dept if your contract isn't being held up to standard.
I also liked the suggestion about filing for partial unemployment. Chances are if you can provide a paper trial for lost hours you will surely get it. This will also alert the hospital as to what is going on. F/T employess with contracts shouldn't need to be supplemented by unemployment benefits.
I would go to the proper dept. Monday to file a complaint and then go to unemployment on Tuesday.
Get this....at my PRN job they are now calling off full time employees and have also frozen all PTO. So that means....no pay if you are called off. Not even call pay, nothing at all for the 12 hours.
It's legal too because PTO is a benefit and something that can be taken away.....just like health insurance. It's just a benefit of the job but not a requirement that they supply it to you.
I luckily do not work there full time - but because I work PRN, I get called off a lot now there. PRN, Registery and Part Time are called off 1st, then full time staff.
But even at my full time job, call offs are part of the beast of the game and a frustrating game. Effective Jan 1st our M/S floor has gone to strict staffing ratios and so call offs are plently. Unfortunatly it just means people are going to get mad and quit - when they do that - it costs even more to find and train new nurses all over again and it's a vicious cycle that is repeated time and time again.
Isn't it ironic that this is happening in Florida.....where supposedly they have a huge nursing shortage? How are there 'too many nurses' for this NM to hire? HMMM.....
I think the labor board might want to hear about this since you don't have a union. I ditto the unemployment route. Your place of employment is going to have to explain why they cannot supply you with full time work.
We are unionized, so that doesn't happen here. Yes, they can offer you a chance to go home, but they will usually let you take a vacation or holiday day. Only agency is called off or sent home. Even per diem is offered but not forced to leave.
Although for piece of mind you may just have to find another place to work.
Specializes in Onco, palliative care, PCU, HH, hospice.
I can relate, I work weekend nights Fri-Sun and our census is very erratic, we generally get tons of admissions friday, d/c everyone sat, and then admitt everyone again on sun. We've had a lot of problems where we're on call so much, we have the option of using PTO so of course everyone's PTO is depleted from where it hurts your check so much to only get the $2/hr on call pay. Several people have threatened to leave due to it and our manager is finally realizing there's a problem, hopefully she'll take some action. I sympathize and empathize with you!
I work in a state that is "at will", when I had a job that increased patient to nurse ratio's I just found a new job.
Unless the other nurses start to leave the unit and write letters to upper management changes will not be made that favor the nurse, instead the power to be will see that a nurse can handle 7:1 patient load therefore it is not necessary to have 6 nurses when 5 can do that job. This does not mean that the job is done as efficently or as SAFE but unless the nurses advocate for their patients no changes will be made.
Yessirree!! I have lived in Sarasota Florida, where you routinely would get called off- I worked L&D at the time- sometimes only got 12 hours a week. I don't know about collecting unemployment in that state, as nobody ever did, so I guess not. I had to figure out how to get my hours- I was a single mom of 1. I learned, and got certified on ICU and Open heart Recovery. I learned and worked hard, becoming a nurse that the hospital director, and units requested that I work on the units. That was my revenge- learn more! I could have worked 24/7 after I got cert in other areas. Is that an option for you? Also must say that we got transferred to another unit/called off in Michigan too. That is one of the reasons that I asked on another post about having a shortage of nurses. It doesn't sound like it when this happens routinely. Good luck.
Get this....at my PRN job they are now calling off full time employees and have also frozen all PTO. So that means....no pay if you are called off. Not even call pay, nothing at all for the 12 hours.
It's legal too because PTO is a benefit and something that can be taken away.....just like health insurance. It's just a benefit of the job but not a requirement that they supply it to you.
I luckily do not work there full time - but because I work PRN, I get called off a lot now there. PRN, Registery and Part Time are called off 1st, then full time staff.
But even at my full time job, call offs are part of the beast of the game and a frustrating game. Effective Jan 1st our M/S floor has gone to strict staffing ratios and so call offs are plently. Unfortunatly it just means people are going to get mad and quit - when they do that - it costs even more to find and train new nurses all over again and it's a vicious cycle that is repeated time and time again.
If you have a union contract they cannot "freeze" PTO. It is a negotiated benefit that can only be modified through the collective bargaining process. If you aren't in a union hospital this is a good reason to start organizing as a bargaining unit. Wouldn't you like to work in a hospital where you have a real grievance process? Where changes in procedures are discussed in a meet and confer process? If so go union!
Yessirree!! I have lived in Sarasota Florida, where you routinely would get called off- I worked L&D at the time- sometimes only got 12 hours a week. I don't know about collecting unemployment in that state, as nobody ever did, so I guess not. I had to figure out how to get my hours- I was a single mom of 1. I learned, and got certified on ICU and Open heart Recovery. I learned and worked hard, becoming a nurse that the hospital director, and units requested that I work on the units. That was my revenge- learn more! I could have worked 24/7 after I got cert in other areas. Is that an option for you? Also must say that we got transferred to another unit/called off in Michigan too. That is one of the reasons that I asked on another post about having a shortage of nurses. It doesn't sound like it when this happens routinely. Good luck.
I think the max for unemployment in Florida is like $275/wk or close to it. Therefore if you are making more than that each week even when they send you home, than it isn't worth filing. So that is probably why no one you know has filed. So I will take back my advice to file for unemployment . But I would still call the labor board to see if what they are doing is legal.
Our workplace tried the, you are only get paid for the hours you are scheduled for. If you stay late, you need PRIOR approval from management and you will not get paid. As we all know, having to work over your time is quite common and a lot of times not planned. Someone went to the labor board, and they had to pay all of us all the time we worked. Needless to say, that rule went out the windows. The only thing they can do now is prevent us from punching in more than 7 minutes early.
This used to happen to me and, being a Pediatric nurse, sometimes in the summer I got only 18 hours/ week. For some reason I was afraid to float. I finally bit the bullet and got cross-trained into the ER, then learned I was not so stupid after all and made myself available for various units. When managers learned I was "flexible" I had all the work I needed. This gave me the courage to return to school, get another degree and now I am in management. So that first step made a huge difference. This practice of laying off nurses prn makes me think we should ALL be contract nurses and work as independents. But that is another thread.
. But I would still call the labor board to see if what they are doing is legal.
Batman24
1,975 Posts
You should review your contract and then go to the HR or Legal Dept if your contract isn't being held up to standard.
I also liked the suggestion about filing for partial unemployment. Chances are if you can provide a paper trial for lost hours you will surely get it. This will also alert the hospital as to what is going on. F/T employess with contracts shouldn't need to be supplemented by unemployment benefits.
I would go to the proper dept. Monday to file a complaint and then go to unemployment on Tuesday.