When does less experience= higher pay?

[megan215, LPN]

OK 2 LPNs working for the same agency. LPN#1 (me) has been working for agency since 2015 and been an LPN for 3 years. LPN #2 (friend/coworker from a different facility) has been working for this same agency for 3 weeks and been a nurse for 2 years. I rarely discuss pay but my friend felt comfortable enough to tell me what she is making on her assignments. She still doesn't know what I'm making. But in our discussions she's revealed that she's been making between $2- $10 more per hour than what I've been getting offered!! At first it didn't bother me because she has hospital experience, in the state she got her license from LPNs are still hired in hospitals. In the state we live in now, they don't typically need an LPN in a hospital setting, esp if they don't already have hospital experience. But then she mentioned that her agent (who's also been sending me on assignments) has offered her $2.50/hr more than what he offers me. He's been offering me a flat rate wherever I go... she's just making more and more wherever she's sent it seems. She mentioned getting that extra money over what I was getting to work at a place that I also go to and do the same job she'd be doing. Now I'm upset.

I don't want to say anything to the recruiter or management because I don't want to get either of us in trouble. But I just don't get why she is offered more to do the same work that I'm also qualified to do. I get how she can make more at a hospital. I just don't understand how we can both be scheduled at the same nursing home by the same agency and have one nurse make X amount of dollars per hour and have the other nurse make 2-10 per hour more than that? I kinda wanna call her bluff on it but she never struck me as a dishonest person. I can't help but be jealous, and this is why I don't tell what I make. I was simply telling her about 'perks' they may not mention in the beginning like 'crisis' pay and how they'll add it to OT if you make any etc... I didn't mention numbers. She called me excited one day to tell me about it. So, when would all of this equal she deserves better rates than I'm getting?

If this helps, these are some details:

Me:

-married, 30, 2 kids, a mortgage, and typical bills

-licensed for 3+ years

-working FT for agency for 1year

-starting school for RN in 2017

- no hospital experience.

Her:

-Single, 28, renting, no kids, typical single/childless renter's bills (but no car payment)

-licensed for 2 years

-PT for agency for 3 weeks (?)

-anticipated graduation date from an LPN-BSN program in 2017.

-1 year hospital experience

[Atl-Murse]

Consider that you are FT and may be getting some benefits that a PT may not receive and it shows up in hourly pay. I got news for everybody lies

[megan215, LPN]

You're absolutely right... people lie all the time. I'don't like to think of us as friends though and I have a hard time finding a reason for her to make up such a lie... but then again some people make up lies for no reason at all. The fact that she may be lying all together and probably making the base rate and nothing more is what holds me back from inquiring about it at the level of the recruiter, at this moment. We both are working for an agency right now. They offer a benefits package once you've been working FT and 3 months. Being that it is agency work, you're not always at FT status, they don't take away your eligibility if you can't make 36+ hours each week after you've been working for 3 months. So I consider myself full time because most of my weeks are full time weeks. But I'm not sure how long that will last either. Hopefully, at least till Christmas. But you're not offered more because you're PT. There's the base rate and then they make an offer based on years of experience. I've been working as a nurse for 3 years, declined the benefits package. She's been a nurse for 2 years and she's been working with this agency for about 3 weeks now. Not sure if she's accepting benefits or not but in this area they generally don't offer higher pay in lieu of benefits. At least not where I've worked. I usually decline benefits because my husband carries the whole family and when I've asked about getting more $ it's a 'no'. She's allowed to get FT hours and even over time whenever she wants as well, making her eligible for the same benefits that were eventually offered to me.

But it could be a very real possibility that she's not being 100% honest too. I'm still debating whether to speak up about it though...

[caliotter3]

You are describing something that happens frequently for probably many different reasons or none at all. If you don't speak up, it won't be rectified. We teach people how to treat us.

[megan215, LPN]

How do I speak up about it effectively? I want to say something about it, ask for an increase even if it IS true that she's getting more. I don't want to get her into any trouble and I don't want to out myself in a position where they stop giving me available shifts. Their homecare division s that way in that they'll stop using a nurse for whatever reason and won't even tell them...

[vampiregirl, BSN, RN]

I once worked for a company that ended up hiring new employees at a higher rate than current employees (even those with several years experience) simply because we were short on staff and the market rate had increased. So, to attract quality employees to fill the shifts, they had to offer more. Eventually, those of us who had been there awhile were given appropriate pay adjustments (after we lost several good staff members I might add).

This is a tricky subject to approach. One thing to consider is checking into what other agencies in your area are paying and present it as you've done some market surveying and this is what you've discovered.

I also agree with previous poster who noted that often FT have a lower pay than PT employees as benefit packages are calculated in. Also, unfortunately the expenses/ lifestyle an employee has is typically a consideration in pay rate.