Notice

[Phoenix1565, BSN]

Seen this topic floated around a couple of times, read about it elsewhere but am now faced with it. Gave the standard 2 week notice at my job, sent letter to Manager and HR giving last day. Manager said its 4 wks or no PDO cash out. Handbook says 2 weeks for staff RN’s. Nurses in this hosp all seem to get threatened if no 4 week. I never said I would work 4 weeks.

I am looking for new employment and mgr has contacted me saying I did not give 4 wks, no show, no rehire, no PDO. 
Its rather frightening and I am concerned about how this is a trend bow to cower nurses and what recourse is there?

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

The PDO issue may be illegal and able to be challenged, but the "no rehire status" is completely up to them. More and more places are moving to the expectation of 4 weeks notice. I worked in a place where the expectation was changed from 2 to 4 weeks  post-hire, so I didn't explicitly agree to it, but the company has 99% of the power. (Ironic, as there is no guarantee of 4 weeks notice before lay-off or termination...)

 

If it's a monolithic company in your area you may want to take the hit on this one and adhere to the four weeks.

[sleepwalker, MSN, NP]

I would've just sucked it up to get the pay out. You can challenge it but it'll most likely cost you more in time, money, effort, and fees than you would have received in payout.

Not saying the company was right...just easier to take the high road, don't complain, do as asked and move on at the 4 week mark with PDO payout and an intact re-hire status. 

The option of "sticking to your guns" with the 2 weeks notice only hurts you in the long run.

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

Are you absolutely sure that the handbook says two weeks for nursing? In most hospitals, four weeks is the standard for clinical staff (I.e. nursing); non-clinical administrators might get two weeks, providers may have to give more than four weeks. The idea is that non-clinical staff are the fastest to find/hire/orient, nurses take even longer, and providers take the longest.

As others have said, if there's any way you can put in the extra two weeks (even if it means asking for a later start date at a new job), it's probably worth it. Getting yourself on the do not rehire list could seriously mess up your prospects for getting future jobs if you're asked to list references along with your former places of employment.

[Orca, ADN, ASN, RN]

Some issues are not worth fighting. This is one of them. Another two weeks is not a high price in exchange for cash for your PDO and avoiding do not rehire status.

[caliotter3]

On 8/6/2021 at 5:39 AM, sleepwalker said:

I would've just sucked it up to get the pay out. You can challenge it but it'll most likely cost you more in time, money, effort, and fees than you would have received in payout.

Not saying the company was right...just easier to take the high road, don't complain, do as asked and move on at the 4 week mark with PDO payout and an intact re-hire status. 

The option of "sticking to your guns" with the 2 weeks notice only hurts you in the long run.

As I was told one time by a wise colleague, "You can be right, and you can be dead right". 

[Peachpit]

Since you don't have another job lined up you will need this current one as a reference - even if it's just HR being contacted to validate your dates of employment - so you need to really think about not going in the additional 2 weeks as it may be short term gain but it's going to be long term pain for you.

You could reach out to the HR Dept and Risk Management to get their take on the situation (clarification of the policy) but I would also keep your manager in the loop so it does not appear you are trying to single her/him out. See if there is an exception to the 4 weeks or ask why the handbook states one thing when the expectations are another. Nothing wrong with asking for clarification.

But, like others have advised...suck up the additional 2 wks. , get your pay out and don't look back.