PRN with set schedule fired for excessive abscenses need advice

MrChicagoRN, RN · May 24, 2015

Either in your handbook, or in their policy and procedure manual, there is probably a section on progressive discipline. This would also include a grievance procedure, as well as a definition of "absence".

Take a look at those and see if you are eligible for an appeal. As a probe you often don't, but you may be if they violated their own rules.

Good luck.

mrsboots87 · May 24, 2015

What you are referring to only applies for accepting a shift. Once the schedule is made, and you are on it, it is presumed you have accepted that shift. Then you are accountable for all attendance policies of the staff RNs. The only time it wouldnt count, is if you dont accept a shift and you are taken off the schedule. Just because you are PRN doesnt mean you can call out whenever you want and it wont count against you. I'm not saying you didnt have a valid reason for calling off. Just that being PRN doesnt excuse the absence.

As for the leaving early, I'm not sure how they deem what is an absence or not, but your facilities P&P should shed some light on that. Did you ask to leave or would you mandated to leave. Because leaving early can be counted as an absence in many places unless you are asked to go home byt management due to census or whatever reason. Not if you ask. But there should be a policy about it.

In any case, it is your responsibility to know your facilities attendance policies. This doesnt sound like intentional bad attendance, and it sucks you lost your job over it. Use it as a learning experience, and learn your attendance policy at your next place of employment.

fortyyogamer · May 24, 2015

ok thanks for input i appreciate it. good peoples.... as far as leaving early we had no patients i asked but said if it would count against me i would rather stay. was allowed to leave

either way good suggestions and yes next time i will read policy and procedure hand book not just the little employee handbook

thanks again

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · May 24, 2015

There are regular, full time employees who are let go for whatever a facility deems "excessive absences". Even if they have the accumulated sick time to cover said sick calls. Which seems a bit crazy, but sick time is earned time, that you can't take all of, and can't take with you. I swear people give sick time just to look good on paper. But 3 sick calls--excused or not--and a permanent nurse can be let go--and any number are, and it covers a multitude of political/financial need.

Anyways, on top of this, there are nurses who are let go for any reason/no reason at all within their 90 day orientation period.

Sounds to me like you really were not per diem if you had a set schedule, that was the same each week. But if they wanted to call that per diem, you would have fulfilled the 3 shift request each week that you worked. I am not sure why leaving early when there's no patients would constitute an absence, they asked you to work, you came in, and when there were no patients, you went home. I would look at the handbook about that. I would think that per diem staff WOULD be the first to go home with no census. UNLESS there's some sort of clause about floating.

I would take this to the HR's supervisor at the corporate level of your company. Or have your manager, who was upset about it advocate for you. But again, any nurse can be let go in 90 days. And calling out ill for any of your three scheduled shifts a week could be deemed excessive. And there are newer guidelines that say that one can't work more than xx amount of hours and not be given health insurance--which defeats the purpose of per diem nurses who are scheduled each week. Additionally, nursing unions are also a bit nudgy when a per diem is getting regular weekly hours.

Sounds to me like you were hired for part time employment, and they call it per diem as to not have to give you benefits, and someone caught on and made a fuss about it. Perhaps the part time nurse who IS receiving benefits, but would rather work 3 day shifts a week, and who never calls out.

Sorry this happened to you.

fortyyogamer · May 25, 2015

OMG, i think you are onto something. I asked numerous times especially after 6 straight weeks of automatic mon wed friday schedules why i can't be considered part time. my supervisor said she was not going to use any other PRN person but me and that would be my schedule. Dragon Lady got mad and told me not to question her decisions, so i hung my head down and left her office. My supervisor about a week ago informed me that shed had a meeting about putting me at part time. HR lady wanted to know why, one of the reasons i gave was well i am working part time and i had a difficult difficult time financing a home based on my status as PRN, no guaruantee of hours. So my super nice boss was trying to help me, she said after my 90 was up i was going to moved to part time.

also failed to mention my 2 actual misses were due to anxiety/depression i was hospitalized one night and informed my superviosor about my diagnosis of anxiety and depression for the last eight years on my return to work after the missed abscense. Not sure about ADA stuff..

but i think your comment about part time fits much better because dragon lady was riding her two departments about budgetary concerns for the last month harder than usual.

Thanks for the reply

TriciaJ, RN · May 25, 2015

Probably not much can be done to save a job that was terminated during probation. However, since you have a rapport with your manager, please ask her for a reference. When you apply for your next job, you can just state that you were caught in the middle a policy change re: per diem and benefitted and your position was eliminated. Of course, next time, you will require them to be crystal-clear about their call-out policy.

Good luck.

caliotter3 · May 25, 2015

It was quite possible that after you made it known why you were absent, hospitalization, that someone decided against you, and then the stage was set. Any other combination of circumstances could have existed that also contributed to the decision to get rid of you. When you were told it was ok to go home, and then it was used against you: not the first time for that tactic, not the last. Sounds as if the HR lady had it in for you for whatever reason(s) and got her way in the end.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · May 25, 2015

It was quite possible that after you made it known why you were absent, hospitalization, that someone decided against you, and then the stage was set. Any other combination of circumstances could have existed that also contributed to the decision to get rid of you. When you were told it was ok to go home, and then it was used against you: not the first time for that tactic, not the last. Sounds as if the HR lady had it in for you for whatever reason(s) and got her way in the end.

This.

I think discussing your anxiety and that being a reason for your absences made it more of a reason to let you go.

Moving forward, regardless of your hours, if you are PRN and there a minimal absentee limit, best chances are that that limit is going to be upheld, so tread carefully when choosing a PRN position where the hours are more than the benefitted position.

caliotter3 · May 25, 2015

And it stands to reason that you should refrain from discussing your personal medical problems, as well as other personal problems, with anyone at work. Even a supervisor can not be trusted not to use this information as a potential weapon at some point in time. Show up for work, capable of work. That is all the employer needs to know about you.