Those of you who work 12 hour shifts....

Nurses General Nursing

Published

....do you get paid for 12 hours or 11.5 hours and they take out 30 min for lunch? I have worked 12 hour shift jobs before (non-nursing) and they did this and I am just wondering what to expect as a nurse working 12 hours shifts.

Thanks in advance!

Amy

Specializes in Med-Surg, OB/GYN, L/D, NBN.

We get paid for 12 hours a day...or usually more as it turns out. But we do not get docked for our 30 minute lunch.. However, we do not leave the unit to eat so we are always there is something needs done right then and cant wait or if someone needs help. Therefore, its not really a "break" but simply a "refueling".:wink2:

At my hospital, we work 12 1/2 hour shifts & they automatically deduct 45 minutes for lunches & breaks. I always end up working over 12 hours, but when I leave for lunch, I make sure my phone is off since I am being deducted.

We work 12.5 and get paid for 12 with 30 min. for lunch...(haha)

Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.

Now that I am agency I get my full 12 hours counted as paid. I did work for a facility just before agency where I was docked 30 minutes on an 8 hour shift no matter if I took a break or not...that was their way of dealing with state labor laws (they said if we didn't take our breaks like we are suppose to...it was our probelm not theirs!).

Considering nurses are on call pretty much on their lunch breaks..I feel they should be paid for it. Heck, what do they want us to do, run to the clock to punch in during a code and deal with the paperwork excusing us from our lunch break for it??? (which is what my last employer expected...and you had to do it at the time you came back in too....anything after was considered your loss!).

Heck..my hubby who is a paramedic gets paid his full 12 hours, and sometimes gets lunch breaks (most times not though) and I am just as busy...but the state labor laws states they are expected to work through breaks if necessary and be paid for it regardless..why not RN's??? They are protected by state labor laws (and dinged too..that means 12 hour shift no breaks is okay), so why aren't we???

At my hospital, we work 12 1/2 hour shifts & they automatically deduct 45 minutes for lunches & breaks. I always end up working over 12 hours, but when I leave for lunch, I make sure my phone is off since I am being deducted.

They deduct for your BREAKS? How rotten!

Specializes in Med/Surg, ICU, educator.

we have a book that we log in if we don't get a lunch so we get paid....I don't think a day has went by in the last 2 years that I haven't put my name in it. HR says they can't understand why none of the units gets a break at night, all the pts are asleep, we couldn't possibly be busy :chuckle

My 12 hour shift is from 1845 to 0715, so basically get docked 30 min for dinner however not allowed to leave facility (free standing of the main campus - we do not have access to hot meals during the night like they do) and most of the time the unit as I am the only nurse.

Now when I was in AL there was a lawsuit where I worked 8 hour shifts 2245 to 0715 and we started getting paid for our dinner breaks. Couldn't leave facility, which was freestanding from the main campus (no access to hot meals here either however main campus did). I always had at least 2.5 hours OT every week.

Don't know if each state is different but seems like if you can't leave the unit/floor and always have to be on call, then should get paid for the ENTIRE time you are clocked in..........Think it will change? Yeah right!!

Day shift clocks in at 645a and clocks out at 715p, that is if you get your work done. They automatically deduct for 30 minute lunch. We can fill out a form if no lunch is taken. We are also allowed 2 15 minute payed breaks, yeah right! It's not too bad. As long as you clock out 8 minutes past the hour, you get payed for the full 15. Same goes if you clock out early, they dock you the 15 minutes.

Specializes in NICU.

We work 12-1/2 hours (7am-7:30pm, 7pm-7:30am) and get paid for 12. It's pretty normal to deduct the lunch break. Every other full-time job I've ever had (hospital, retail, office) did this - we swiped or punched out for lunch and back in when we returned.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Same as above. The hourse are 6:45 to 7:15 and to allow for shift change, and they deduct 30 minutes lunch.

Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.

We work 12 1/2 hours, paid for 12. And I make SURE to take my 1/2 hour break. We actually (at least the LNA's) give our beepers to another LNA, and cover each other. But I also make sure to take quick breaks every couple of hours, when things are slow. You never know if you'll get one later.

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