Rates of pay. Guidelines or law?

[5kilocat]

please help. i am a uk nurse who will be emigrating to melbourne on 28/01/09 having been offered a job in a healthscope facility.

this job was sourced through recruitment agency geneva health.i have been working as a registered mental health nurse in the uk for about fourteen years now and have submitted evidence of employment, to confirm this, to geneva health.

i am more than a little confused though.

my understanding is that in australia you are paid depending on how long you have been working as a registered nurse, up to a maximum of nine years. that is the longer that you have been working as a registered nurse the more you get paid. also that australia recognises that working in the uk is equivalent to that of working in australia.so as far as i am aware i should be entitled to be paid as a level 1 grade 2 year 9 nurse.

healthscope offered me a payscale of that equivalent to a level 1 grade 2 year 3 nurse.

when i queried this with my agent at geneva health she told me to ignire this payscale, stating that employers tend to offer this rate until they receive proof of employment. my agent then told me that she would chase this up with healthscope and forward me an ammended payscale and job offer letter. my agent then emailed me the following day that healthscope stood by their original offer(year 3 equivalent) in a sort of take it or leave it offer.

i then received another email from my agent and she wrote this (copied and pasted from the email)-

"the grade in the level that you are entering on is grade 9 and this is the maximum grade in the level. so any years worked over 9 years will not come into consideration"

......."

all nurses that we place always come in on the level that you have.(is that grade 3 or 9? my words) - after you have started work in your job there is of course then the potential to progress to a higher level and obviously then a higher salary!"

now, to my mind this is a complete contradiction.

what i would like to know (amongst numerous other things) si are payscales a legal entitlement or are they just guidelines that an employer can choose to ignore?

i have already booked my flight to melbourne and could really do without this sort of confusion and uncertainty.

please help me with this one because it is really doing my head in.

[Interested Party]

Hi there

I work in Queensland for Qld Health (public). I have previously worked for one of the Healthscope (privately onwned company) Mental Health Facilities in Qld. I came from overseas some years ago.

I know that Healthscope's pay rates are lower than that of public hospitals and they can legally offer you the rate which they deem 'to be your level'. Yes, they do ask for proof of how many hours you have worked since you graduated and you may be granted the right pay level and looking at your ETA, you will have to sort that out when you arrive in Melbourne. Who is sponsoring your work visa? Alternatively, if you are going to work for a public hospital, you can usually access their pay rates online and know exactly how much you are going to be paid and penalties etc etc. The Nurses Union will be good to access and make sure that you join the union.

Personally, I prefer to work for public health facilities. The benefits are far better including superannuation benefits. I also feel better about being able to access doctors, psychiatric emergency assessments etc easier through public -of course there are pros and cons. Opportunities for higher positions are better in public also. And, in Australia, supposing you have worked for a public hospital in Melbourne for 4 years and you move, say, to Sydney and start working for a public hospital in Sydney, you can apply to carry forward your nursing service history to that service, meaning that you get to carry that public service history and be eligible for long service leave after 10 years (long service is leave given to you on top of what you would usually get yearly)

I hope that it makes some sense to you.

I am having a mental health day today.

[talaxandra]

Public hospitals have almost no discretion over pay rates, and the only option they do have is to pay higher than award (which my hospital does for management positions).

Youa re right to say that Australia recognises UK experience equally to local experience, and your details about the pay scale is also accurate. If you were working full time you without doubt meet the requirements for YP10 (grade 2, year 9).

As far as I know, assessing experience (and therefore pay rates) is an issue for nurses who have worked part-time for some or all of their career, and in those cases the level of pay is determined by contact hours.

I had no idea until reading Interested Party's post that agencies had any discretion about this, and am surprised. I agree with her/him that joining the union would be an excellent idea, as would following this further when you get here. The ANF is very clear about employers honouring our hard-fought terms and conditions, and I doubt that's something you can sign away. In other words, I would think that even if you signed a contract for a lower rate, your experience should still be recognised. I am, however, not a lawyer.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

[Interested Party]

Hi Talaxandra

No, I don't think that the nursing agency has discretion over pay rates. Healthscope is the company who owns the private facilities. I used Geneva Health to secure a position at a private facility before coming over to Qld and they were most helpful. I then discovered that I had to do a lot of running around to ensure that I got paid at the right level. Later, as I secured a position in a public hospital, I saw the differencce in pay rates etc etc. BTW, I'm all woman:nurse::nurse:

:yawn::wink2::wink2::wink2:I am enjoying my mental health day today .............. must take more of them ........... I've got some ADOs accumulated:yawn:

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

Tell them to shove it. There are enough hospitals that need nurses and will pay you at your proper level that you don't need to start off your new adventure annoyed with your employer and feeling ripped off.

[Mr Ian]

Your contract is with Geneva - if they've sent you a letter stating they will pay you 2.9 then that's your contract. The placement is not relevant.

Of course when you challenge GH they'll say it's the hospital that set the rate. Email them and tell them if they don't guarantee the 2.9 you'll be going elsewhere. If they get [oops - I got filtered!] about it - re-post here and you'll have another job offer within a week.

Perth will pay all your relocation at the moment - some guys are reportedly getting up to 15,000ukp.

[joannep]

what an awful situation to be in, especially when you are so far away.

You are being short changed, you are entitled to g2y9, and yes I think Healthscope will try and get away with hiring you for less, simply counting on your ignorance of what you are entitled to. Be assertive, follow it up with your recruiter and find out what you are really being paid.

[Grace Oz]

I see healthscope is at it again! *sigh*

Take the advice given above and best wishes.

[5kilocat]

hi people

just a wee follow up. firstly thank you for all the reponses and advice:yeah:.

i think that there has been a resolution in that it would appear that there has been a bit of a breakdown in communication, confusion on gh's part, my part and healthscopes part and different people using different terminology to say the same thing.

it appears that i am going to be paid on the 2.8 pr 2.9 rate.according to healthscope this is at a rate of $aud 29.6579 per hour which works out to $aud 1127 per week. this according to the figures i have is the rate of pay equivalent to nine years of working as a registered nurse.

[color=#2f4f4f]grace oz you mention that "healthscope are at it again". that sounds ominous.

[color=#2f4f4f]anyway i've accepted the job offer thinking that the most important thing is to get out to oz and any problems can be resolved once i get out there.

[color=#2f4f4f]i'm flying out from the uk to melbourne on 28/01/09 to start my new life in australia and i can't wait. just so happens that i'll be out there to see the first race of 2009 of the world superbikes at phillip island,yippee:d

[joannep]

Glad to hear that it is resolved and that it was a breakdown in communication.

Re Grace's remark - Unfortunately HealthScope have a reputation for being profit driven, but so are many other healthcare facilities.

This is your opportunity to come to Australia, come with an open mind and a positive attitude and I hope it works out well for you.

[talaxandra]

Thanks for letting us know how it turned out - I;m glad you'll be paid appropriately.

Goodluck - and let us know how you find living in the Most Liveable City of God's Own Country

[Grace Oz]

Glad you were able to resolve things.

In advance .... WELCOME to Australia! :)

I didn't mean to alarm you or leave you wondering, sorry.

My comment re Healthscope is in relation to my own experience with them and also in relation to their failed and dismal management of one of our public hospitals. The idiot government handed over management and people lost their jobs left, right and centre! The place went to the dogs and eventually, the government reclaimed it. *sigh*

They (Healthscope) often stuffed up our pays and often people were overpaid, underpaid, etc etc. It was a nightmare! I would caution you to be extra vigilant regarding your hours, the pay etc.

Hopefully by now, they have their act together!

I wish you every happiness and success as you embark on this exciting venture. :)

Oh ... don't believe Talaxandra about Melbourne being the most liveable city!!! She's as biased as all heck and wears blinkers!! LOL

You'll come to learn how we Aussie's take the "mickey" out of each other in relation to cities, states, football teams etc etc. :)

Safe travel and best wishes! :)