What do you make sure to put in your travel contract?

Argo · Jun 28, 2016

If i want a specific shift, no call/weekends, specific time off requests....

This current contract i just started i would have been screwed without my requests and signed initial contract. I got moved to another San Francisco campaus of the same hospital that was in need of me more than the other. I was specifically contracted by my request for that facility with day shifys, 4 days, no call or weekends. I got pulled from orientation and told I would have to move to the other hospital or there wasn't a contract to fullfill anymore. I could have walked and made it clear to them that i would if my contract wasnt honored plua get a higher rate for the "crisis" need. The staff where i just started, the different campus, isnt thrilled about me having set day shift and no call/weekends but the managers are happy I'm here to work. They have been looking for travelers for this facility for a while with no takers. They kinda bait/switched me but i came out in favor because of the initial wording in my contract.

I dont worry much about what the rest of the staff have concerns about.

Another thing to make sure you do is save an extra cache of money incase you have to walk away because of something like that. I try to have a couple months extra, aside of savings.

NorCalKid · Jun 28, 2016

Disclaimer, I have never traveled, just starting to look at it but grew up in that area. At Stanford my biggest concern would be housing. It's super expensive around there. However, there are lots of in-law units/ guest houses in Atherton/Woodside/PV, etc(these aren't the young happening areasâ€, just really nice areas, even at the high bay area RN salaries nurses are totally priced out of these areas. Great areas but super expensive with owners who don't bother renting half of the time (don't need the money). I think I would place my own CL add and look for someone with a nice place that's willing to rent to a responsible nurse from out of the area(money not their #1 concern).

NedRN · Jun 28, 2016

Specific contract concerns are often personal to you. You may have little idea now what is important to specify but will learn with travel experience. Reading many threads here will reveal issues other travelers have had and those may prove relevant to you. Even more importantly, you may learn how to avoid or reduce the risk of gotchas even with a change in contract terms. Primary avoidance of issues is far better than any legal remedy provided by a contract.

Onward is not a subcontracting agency, they are fully owned by American Mobile. All of their agency brands have full access to available assignments.

Lisa.fnp · Jun 28, 2016

I worked for American mobile network as a travel Nurse in state for years and while I was a Student back in at the University for my FNP. I requested night shifts and consecutive nights. I worked F,S,S night. The hospitals loved it and it worked with my classes and clinicals. I was given no cancellation guarantee but could be moved to step down. Overtime was time and a half. With a $100.00 bonus paid monthly for every overtime shift worked if no call in. Absolutely get electronic deposit and weekly pay. They tried to pay by-weekly to save some money in electronic deposit fees but that is one of the reasons I became a TN.

icuRNallie · Jun 29, 2016

Specific contract concerns are often personal to you. You may have little idea now what is important to specify but will learn with travel experience. Reading many threads here will reveal issues other travelers have had and those may prove relevant to you. Even more importantly, you may learn how to avoid or reduce the risk of gotchas even with a change in contract terms. Primary avoidance of issues is far better than any legal remedy provided by a contract.
Onward is not a subcontracting agency, they are fully owned by American Mobile. All of their agency brands have full access to available assignments.

Ahh I did not realize that. Does it make a difference regardless?

NedRN · Jun 29, 2016

American Mobile has had a practice of maintaining different agency brands for 20 years, each aimed at a specific subset of travel nurses and allied health. They paid differently, had different marketing strategies, and service. I have no idea of what they do currently about differentiating brands and what difference it might make to an individual traveler. Be worth asking your recruiter and seeing what the response is - I would think they would have a canned answer on this question.

Julius Seizure · Jul 1, 2016

I make sure to clarify the call off policy - how many times can you call in sick and what is the penalty? If there is a bonus, will you lose it for calling in sick?

Lisa.fnp · Jul 2, 2016

I make sure to clarify the call off policy - how many times can you call in sick and what is the penalty? If there is a bonus, will you lose it for calling in sick?

Your signing a contract for 13 weeks, 36 hours a week for a total of 468 hours. They want the 468 hours, period. Now they will work with you if calling in sick but they want you to make it up. If at the end of the 13 weeks you didn't fulfill the total 468 hour required. The travel company has violated the contract they have with the hospital. Are they going to be penalize and have monetary penalties and fines applied. Are they going to hold you responsible? We know the answer.

If I had to call out I always signed up to make up the time. Many times in the first couple of weeks of my contract I signed up for overtime after having a few days banked. I was good and those overtime days would be used to offset any call-in. In the end of a 13 week assignment I had the 468 hours. On the bonus payment the travel company I worked for paid time and a half for overtime and I had in my contract overtime started after working three, twelves. They would pay twice a contract the additional $100.00 per extra shift on top of the time and a half. This would be paid out on the sixth and 13th week. This would not be paid out if if my call-ins put me in the minus. I also many times negotiated a 13 week assignment to be worked in 12 weeks. This means I had to work 3 extra shift and did this my first few weeks and I would get time and a half. I would use the 4 day extra shift as my sick call in if needed. I would receive the overtime rate, time and a half on top of that. The seventh week I would take my week vacation and now I would still get my stipend (because the 468 hours would be fulfilled) and incidentals tax free money on my vacation week which meant I received about a thousand dollars tax free and go on vacation. Then the second half of my contract I would repeat the same thing working 4 extra shift. When I finished the contact I would take another week off and the bonus 4 hundred dollars would be paid out for the four days of overtime extra bonus. I would resign and stay at the same hospital if the sign on bonus was greater then $1,500.00 and many times it was, I once re-signed the maximum 4 times at once place because the sign on bonus was over $2,000.00. I worked for American Mobile Network the largest travel company in the US. Great company, rotten communicators. I would NEVER get my recruiter on the phone when calling. I would get her answering machine and she would call back but I never held my breath. I found it better to email everything. It's something about having a electronic trail you get results.

8-ball, BSN · Jul 8, 2016

1) guaranteed hours

2) any schedule request shifts/or time off

3) If the hospital strikes contract is void and/or up for renegotiation.

4) since I don't take the insurance I save them money...I get that money put into my contract.

5) If there is a bonus I want to know what the bonus is being paid to the company not just my portion that they are paying me. (I just found out on this contract that my bonus is for $2100 but the company is actually getting $2700 so they took $600 from me.

You learn as you go.

NedRN · Jul 8, 2016

1) guaranteed hours
5) If there is a bonus I want to know what the bonus is being paid to the company not just my portion that they are paying me. (I just found out on this contract that my bonus is for $2100 but the company is actually getting $2700 so they took $600 from me.

1) If getting the words guaranteed hours makes you feel secure, by all means go through the trouble of asking for that language. It makes no difference in a court of law though, your hours are already specified by the contract. If there is language in the contract negating your specified hours, adding "guaranteed hours" to the contract will not change that. You need to remove the offending language (not easy admittedly).

5) Your agency over deducted, presumably to earn some profit from the hospital pass through bonus. They have to pay about 10 percent payroll taxes (normally completely hidden from your paycheck) on your gross taxable pay for workers comp, unemployment, and the employer's share of FICA. Thus if the passed through the entire completion bonus, they would be out of pocket.

Clarifying where the completion bonus is coming from, and how it will be taxed, should be included in the contract but seldom is. I (and agencies) understand the emotional appeal of a completion bonus and the greater likelihood the assignment will be completed, but travelers should work hard and negotiate to add it to hourly instead. If your assignment ends early for any reason, you have just worked for a lower total hourly pay than apparently promised. Most smaller completion bonuses are just an agency restructuring your compensation package, so most agencies are agreeable to upping the hourly and nixing the completion bonus. That has been done with hospital pass through bonuses as well, but agencies are loath to take the risk that they are left holding the bag, paying you a higher hourly pay based on a completion bonus never collected.

8-ball, BSN · Jul 9, 2016

1) If getting the words guaranteed hours makes you feel secure, by all means go through the trouble of asking for that language. It makes no difference in a court of law though, your hours are already specified by the contract. If there is language in the contract negating your specified hours, adding "guaranteed hours" to the contract will not change that. You need to remove the offending language (not easy admittedly).
5) Your agency over deducted, presumably to earn some profit from the hospital pass through bonus. They have to pay about 10 percent payroll taxes (normally completely hidden from your paycheck) on your gross taxable pay for workers comp, unemployment, and the employer's share of FICA. Thus if the passed through the entire completion bonus, they would be out of pocket.
Clarifying where the completion bonus is coming from, and how it will be taxed, should be included in the contract but seldom is. I (and agencies) understand the emotional appeal of a completion bonus and the greater likelihood the assignment will be completed, but travelers should work hard and negotiate to add it to hourly instead. If your assignment ends early for any reason, you have just worked for a lower total hourly pay than apparently promised. Most smaller completion bonuses are just an agency restructuring your compensation package, so most agencies are agreeable to upping the hourly and nixing the completion bonus. That has been done with hospital pass through bonuses as well, but agencies are loath to take the risk that they are left holding the bag, paying you a higher hourly pay based on a completion bonus never collected.

1) I do get that wording in the contract but I understand what you are saying as well. Unfortunately we can be cancelled at any time but so far (knock on wood) hasn't happened to me. Although from reading over my contracts so far it seems they have to pay for 36 hours unless I call out. If they cancel me a day they still owe me which might be why it has never happened. Although if they cancel the contract all together I am owed nothing more than the hours worked...Again this is my understanding based on reading over my contracts.

5) Haven't ever used this wording yet but I do know a traveler who got the entire completion bonus in her contract. We found out the full amount on accident when the facility had us sign papers stating the call out policy in order to receive X amount of stipend.

Thanks