Internal transfer--can your hourly pay change?

[jessimee]

For example, you are a certified med-surg RN (your facility pays you extra for being certified) with "x" years of experience and you transfer to the case management department as an RN. You are not a CCM. Can your organization lower your pay rate?

[llg, PhD, RN]

Yes. Different jobs often have different pay ranges. There are lots of different ways an employer can handle that situation. Some of those ways include lowering your pay.

Think about the principle in another context ... if you go from being a neurosurgeon to being a surgical tech, you shouldn't expect to make the same amount of money as you did when you were a neurosurgeon. Similarly, if you go from one job that has a higher pay scale to another job that has a lower salary scale, your employer may adjust your pay accordingly.

Sometimes, when the pay difference is small, they may keep you at the same pay rate - but there is no guarantee of that.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I'm guessing the extra for being certified is contingent on being relevant to the current position? I can definitely see that being a reason to remove the extra pay. It could also be a pay grade. If I were to leave my current position and return to the bedside, my pay grade drops two levels.