Someone told me something that upset me today.

[oramar]

A person very close to me(but I won't say who) told me in off hand way that their manager swipes them in and out sometimes, not just the person telling me the story but everyone on the unit has been swiped in by the manager. There are a variety of reasons they say this happens and even though this person would not allow anyone else to swipe them in at the time clock they do allow their boss to do. I told them what everyone knows that doing that is cause for instance dismissal in most facility and it says as much in most handbooks. This person blew me off and said that the boss is in very good with higher levels of management and that would never happen. I told this person they are making a big mistake and next time they should tell the boss they would prefer they not do that. They said it would sound as if they were critizing their manager and they would not feel comfortable telling their manager to stop. Am I wrong maybe, is it OK if the manager swipes you in if they need you to go and do something else at the moment which means you have to leave the clockside?

[caliotter3]

The phrase, "in to good with upper levels of management to get fired", sounds like famous last words to me.

I agree. Never give your employer ammunition to use against you now or later or ever.

[CathyLew]

Ok, now at our hospital the labor board came in because of some ovetime glitch... we had 2 week pay periods, and the labor law says 40 hrs in one week, or you get overtime.... we work 12 hr shifts. No one wants to work 3 12's in a week.... it makes for an uneven schedule for most employees. ....so we had been opting for 4 12's in one week, 2 in the next. but they said it was causing overtime. So the hospital put up an absolutly no overtime policy...and they said if you punched in early without written aproval, you would get a warning. (overkill!) so instead of clocking in when you got there, you would go to the floor....put your coat and lunch away. chat with the offgoing shift...etc. then go clock in at 4 minutes before your shift. Well, if anything happend on the floor while you were there, and not clocked in...you pitch in and help! be it holding a child for blood draws.... a code... a delivery.... loading someone on a streatcher for Xray..... next thing you know, it is 2 minutes after! So you don't want to punch in late...especially if you have been there for 20 minutes! your nurse manager says they will clock you into the automated system.

Now...the only thing I see wrong with this, is you should be paid for every minute you are there! I refuse to listen to the no-punch in early rule. I get there, I punch in, and I start working. period. waiting by the time clock to punch in or out... waste of time. I won't do it.

as for management punching staff in and out. that is a case by case thing. and should be the exception, not the rule.

[mbdirt]

If this is not breaking a hospital policy, then it most likely is violating Dept of Labor rules as well as fraudulent behavior of the manager and the nurse she swipes for. A nursing license might be at stake, not just a job. I would address it cautiously. Check your hospital policy, check with the Dept of Labor and the Board of Nursing.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

In some ways I'm very glad we don't use a time clock. This kind of thing is one reason. But on the other hand, if we had a time clock, maybe the chronic latecomers would be identified and dealt with because there's a paper trail.

"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody is going to know if you did it or not." Oprah Winfrey

Getting caught doing the wrong thing is always inconvenient, but never undeserved.

[BroadwayRN, ASN, RN]

This person blew me off and said that the boss is in very good with higher levels of management and that would never happen. I told this person they are making a big mistake and next time they should tell the boss they would prefer they not do that. They said it would sound as if they were critizing their manager and they would not feel comfortable telling their manager to stop. Am I wrong maybe, is it OK if the manager swipes you in if they need you to go and do something else at the moment which means you have to leave the clockside?

It's never ok to not follow policy. It would be better to keep your opinion to yourself and not say anything to anyone and knowing about it and not saying anything literally makes you an accessory.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you've done anything wrong but from this minute on put it out of your head and just look the other way.

[Riseupandnurse]

I don't think you should ever work off the clock. If you're too early to clock in, you should not be doing patient care. I am afraid that if you injured someone or yourself and you were technically not at work, insurance would have grounds to refuse any payment or protection to you.

[barefootlady, ADN, RN]

I never punch in someone else nor ask them to do this for me. It is illegal, unethical, and just plain wrong. If I am late, then I take the heat. Here, with snow, ice, and narrow roads many times the big bosses are so happy someone shows up ready to work they do not penalize a tardy. It depends on what is happening weatherwise.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I think I would just "forget" to punch in if I was a minute or two late. I've seen people swipe others in and apparantly it was a problem at my new job because you now have to swipe and scan your index finger. I was floored, I'm a lpn in ltc!

[kmoonshine, RN]

Just popped on the website and noticed the thread and how close it hit home. See I have been working at this hospital for almost five years now, a year and a half in my current position as an ICU nurse. A relative of my also works on the same floor as me, and in the first few months I had noticed that he had been punching in this other girl on our floor and vice versa. I confronted him once because I thought it was wrong and feared that he would get caught one day, and lose his job. Well it continued and I turned my cheek, but there was one day when I was running late and I desperately needed someone to help me out. Knowing that this girl has been doing it for quite some time now I called into the unit and asked for her, she obliged and every once in awhile I return the favor. If you are one minute late you are considered tardy and your reputation takes a hit after so many. The point is that after I had done this for her and her I, we became closer and there was trust formed. Not saying that it is the right way to do it because I know that it is wrong, but sometimes you need that one thing that develops trust between two people. Take it for what it's worth

And this behavior makes all those employees with a few tardies look bad. "Nurse Jane has a perfect attendance record, even during those blizzards we had in December...but you, Nurse Mary, were tardy twice."

What if you called and asked someone to punch you in because you were running a minute late. However, 20 seconds later you get into a car accident. Work calls you, but no one answers. They check your timecard and it reads that you punched in at 7:00am. So, they think you are somewhere on the floor. Meanwhile, no one is out looking for you because they think you are at work. And when they do find out that you never came to work, both you and your friend will be terminated for your behavior.

[Mr Ian]

I can't believe so many of you have to clock in to work.

Is this for every employee or just the 'workers'? Do managers clock in and out?

I suppose it goes both ways and means that nurses don't have to go unnoticed for their good-will staying on late sometimes.

Do your bosses acknowledge this before you get a tardy warning?

I used to regularly call in saying - "I'll be in a little late. I overslept/I have to get petrol on the way/I'm on the toilet" - but we all covered for each other - management included - in the sense that the work got done and we were flexible to "life needs" without defrauding the employer.

[rngolfer53]

The phrase, "in to good with upper levels of management to get fired", sounds like famous last words to me.

Yes, I believe some guy named Custer was the first to use the phrase.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I can't believe so many of you have to clock in to work.

Is this for every employee or just the 'workers'? Do managers clock in and out?

I suppose it goes both ways and means that nurses don't have to go unnoticed for their good-will staying on late sometimes.

Do your bosses acknowledge this before you get a tardy warning?

I used to regularly call in saying - "I'll be in a little late. I overslept/I have to get petrol on the way/I'm on the toilet" - but we all covered for each other - management included - in the sense that the work got done and we were flexible to "life needs" without defrauding the employer.

Time clocks are also connected to payroll and they simply have to run a program and make your checks now rather than hand enter your hours. So economically it makes sense and saves a ton of money for an organization that has hourly paid employees.

Our managers punch in and out mainly for attendence purposes, to just show they did show up for work that day, although they are salaried and get the same pay every week.

I think it's petty to ding someone tardy for being a minute late, but a time clock will catch those people who are chronically tardly.

I must say that I like being on a time clock for the reason you state...that I'm getting paid for my time there. I used to write in 11-7, 11-7, 11-7......etc. Now on those days when I'm there an hour late finishing up from a rough shift, I'm getting paid for it.