salary with experience

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 23, 2009

I suppose it might come down to how your experience was quantified in the documentation you provided. Canadian employers would report hours worked and the hiring employer would then divide those hours by what is considered to be full time in their organization. (For example, in one health region in Alberta, full time is 37.5 hours per week or 1950 hours in a year. But the region where I work counts full time as 38.75 hours per week, 2015 per year.) But if your experience was reported as full time from January 1, 2000 to August 31, 2002, there would be some question as to exactly what that means. And you know they're going to choose the route that causes them to pay you the least they can get away with. I suggest you make an appointment to speak to someone in Human Resources and ask them to show you their written policy on portability of experience, and to show you the documentation they're basing yours on. If there's a written policy that they only count completed years, then you're basically stuck. If there isn't you will have some grounds to contest it. I would also suggest you speak to someone at your union local office and get their feedback. That's what they're there for.

liton · Jan 23, 2009

My hospital doesn't have union for RN. But they pay consistent with union. If they admit my 8 months, it's really easy to change the salary because our hospital is small. And the money is not more for employer, just little for a hospital. Anyway, it broke my heart. Thank you for replying.

Fiona59 · Jan 24, 2009

Just want to add that under some union contracts, overtime worked is NOT included in the total for hours worked towards salary step increases.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 24, 2009

you're quite right fiona59. i think most union contracts don't count ot for wage increases, vacation accrual or seniority. manitoba does but i think they're the only one.

liton, without a union contract or any other sort of signed contractual arrangement i'm afraid your employer can totally make it all up as they go along. when it all comes down to a "he said - she said" verbal agreement, the labour relations boards will usually side with the employer. and in alberta, even when it is written down in unambiguous language, the labour board will "interpret" in favour of the employer 99% of the time. i'm sorry but i think you're not going to get your raise until you've worked for them for a full year.

liton · Jan 26, 2009

Thank you, Janfrn and Fiona59. I communicated to HR. The answer is for full time nurse, we only consider whole year not working hours. Your overtime working hours cannot be accumulated equal to working years. And HR said since there's more than 2 years between you left your last job and started this job. I should have not give you any credit. Is that mean I should start as new graduate? Plus I took nursing course in these 2 years. I cannot understand. If some mom return to work 2 years later then she has to lose all the working experience. I only have to accept this result now.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 26, 2009

For the purposes of placement on the pay scale, taking courses wouldn't count unless you were already employed by your employer, and maybe not even then, since you're not unionized.

The working mom you mentioned would only be given credit for her previous experience if it was with the same employer most likely, unless she was on a disability leave or some other formal long-term leave of absence.

There are definitely pitfalls to changing jobs. I'm afraid you're going to have to accept things as they are. They're paying you more than they believe they should according to their policies, so hopefully they won't decide to roll your pay back and claw back any overpayment they might think you've been getting. That would be even worse than just going with things the way they are. I'm very sorry this happened to you and I hope others how read your story will be very careful when they accept new jobs.

liton · Jan 26, 2009

Thank you for replying so quickly. I said I took nursing course mean I am not away from nursing career in these 2 years. It has no relationship with working hours. I always thought working experience is easy to calculate. Now I find it's not easily to be accept when you change job.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 26, 2009

Yes, unfortunately attending school to upgrade your education isn't counted as work experience, even if it's a nursing programme. The nurses from the Philippines are finding this out now as they try to work their way through the Canadian assessment minefield.

oneLoneNurse · May 3, 2009

Interested in relocating to Canada. Don't have a problem with the pay since I think they will have to give me the top level. However, what about vacation? I note the contracts talk about years of service. Does that mean if I have been an RN for 25 years I will receive that year of service vacation or would I have to spend that 25 years within that hospital system?

Thoughts?

Thanks

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · May 3, 2009

I just answered this question from you on another thread. Your vacation entitlement accrues based on service to the employer. While they'll recognise your experience for placement on the pay scale, you have to "earn" your vacation. In many places, at least the places I've worked, the only people who get vacation during prime time (summer and over the holidays) are those who have been there since the place opened. If there's a collective agreement in place, the unit's seniority list is the basis for the vacation planner and everyone below the top half-dozen will be settling for something less than their perfect choice. On a stable unit with little turnover, a newbie could sit at the bottom of the list for a long time. On our unit there have been so many resignations since I came to Alberta (115+) that I'm in the lower end of the top half of our 95 regular staff after 6 1/2 years.