How much is a normal raise

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I am feeling heartbroken. I work hard, I am always on time. I switch shifts all the time when asked by my manager last minute. I am on 2 committees that are extra. I am also back in school working on my BSN. Well, we just got our annual raise, mine is almost 2%. I feel very hurt. What is normal? Of course we were told if we discuss compensation or raises in any way you can be fired for violation of the code of conduct. It was delieverd to us via email, not even face to face. I am now feeling like I want to give up my committees, since they cut into my school time, and as soon as I finish school IM OUT. Clearly no appreciation here. And when they continue to call me last minute to cover a shift, the answer will now be NO.

I am weekend status, and the $5.00 differential in addition to my base rate is what makes it possible to maintain the standard of living I maintain now. Otherwise, I'd not be able to do that. And I got this job by job hopping. The next hop I make will be to another state that has higher wages for nurses. The rate I make now with the $5.00 differential is what new grads make starting out in the neighboring state to the state I work in now.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Job hopping doesn't always result in raises. I job-hopped and I actually had to take a decrease in pay! I live in a highly saturated area, and hospitals already had salary set in stone based on experience.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Policy is not law. Companies can certainly make their own policies and require that employees abide by them or risk termination. Policies have nothing to do with law.

Policies actually are required to not violate applicable laws, an employer who enforces a policy and terminates an employee based on that policy has illegally terminated the employee and is subject to legal repercussions.

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Job hopping doesn't always result in raises. I job-hopped and I actually had to take a decrease in pay! I live in a highly saturated area, and hospitals already had salary set in stone based on experience.

I have never tried to negotiate pay, but I suspect that in many places the "based on experience" is not truly set in stone. My biggest raises have been "market review" raises. Both times, hospitals told me they were paying under the typical rate for area hospitals and bumped pay up by 1.50/hr plus. My current job came with a pay cut, but I was desperate to leave a bad situation, and the market analysis raise (which came out to 7% of base pay) brought me back to what I was making before.

That knowledge of current pay, coming from two analyses on opposite sides of the city, will help guide me if I get another job in the near future, because I actually know what the average pay rate is for someone with my experience.

I'm a little bit afraid of merit raises; I've heard about people getting crummy performance reviews just so the hospital won't have to pay them more.

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Raise? What is that?

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.
I'm a little bit afraid of merit raises; I've heard about people getting crummy performance reviews just so the hospital won't have to pay them more.

Our raises will now partially be determined by factoring in the facility's annual scores. 😈

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

My wife and I work for the same organization. I got a 1%, she got a 6%. So who knows what is "normal" as they were both defined as standard not performance raises

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
Policy is not law. Companies can certainly make their own policies and require that employees abide by them or risk termination. Policies have nothing to do with law.

You understand that hospital policies cannot supersede the law right?

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Specializes in geriatrics.
This is not a profession you go in to in order to retire young or rich..it's a calling and a passion. Can you make a "decent" living? Yes....

Nurses should be adequately compensated for their skills, which should include at the very least cost of living increments. I don't expect to get rich, but nursing should be viewed as more than a "calling" so that we are compensated as professionals.

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And I thought my 5% was crappy...oh wait it is :p

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One word...UNION.

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I am almost done with new grad year and we get a pay bump of 4-6%. I have heard slightly different amounts so won't know exactly until I get it.

Most years there are merit raises and they range from 1-5 percent. The problem is the manager has to make their average be something like 2.5%. So if you get better than that then they are forced to give someone less. Which is ******. Merit raises shouldn't be on a curve. My manager has me do a lot that a new grad isn't suppose to do and I haven't been compensated for since I am new grad. He has stated multiple times that I am one of his stronger, more thorough nurses who doesn't get flustered by things yet I can't imagine getting more than 3% at most. Of course all managers always get their yearly bonuses which is about 12-15k.

The one good thing is we do make a fair amount more (couple dollars and hour) than most other hospital systems around here other than Mayo. So job hopping might actual be to our detriment. And at least twice in the last 8 years they have had across the board pay increases to keep pay competitive.

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