Why have 2 20-hour positions rather than one 40?

Inquisitive one · Jul 21, 2007

One possible reason may be that by having 2 nurses work 20 hours covers 2 weekend spots. One nurse working 40 hours covers only one weekend requirement.

wjf00 · Jul 22, 2007

I know precisely why to have 2 20 hour positions. When you are short who the heck are you going to call to work extra? The 40 hour nurses? Per diems? (they tend to have other benefited jobs). It makes it much easier to fill holes in the schedule when you have a good mix of full and part time nurses along with some per diems.

Rizpah · Jul 22, 2007

I know precisely why to have 2 20 hour positions. When you are short who the heck are you going to call to work extra? The 40 hour nurses? Per diems? (they tend to have other benefited jobs). It makes it much easier to fill holes in the schedule when you have a good mix of full and part time nurses along with some per diems.

Yup - totally agree. We do the same with our CNAs - a mix of full and part time.

morte, LPN, LVN · Jul 22, 2007

perhaps i am more cynical than most....but what i see is that you have staff getting part time bennies.....working full time because they need the money......ie pcking up "extra time".....but accruing1/2 the vaca time etc

suzanne4, RN · Jul 22, 2007

perhaps i am more cynical than most....but what i see is that you have staff getting part time bennies.....working full time because they need the money......ie pcking up "extra time".....but accruing1/2 the vaca time etc

But they have the choice of doing that. And many times a hospotal firnds that they can get a better mix of staff if two people split a position, just like they happen to do in the real business world. If a nurse has small children at home, the 1/2 time position works out better for them, plus they are covered usually under their husband's benefits. With Per Diem, they have a larger chance of getting cancelled in some facilities, with part-time much less.

And the contracts in many areas stipulate that the nurse qualifies for premium pay at times if they work more than their required hours, so the nurse usually comes out ahead. Not the case in all areas, but quite a few.

everthesame, LPN, LVN · Jul 22, 2007

Where I work, part time employees pay more for their medical and dental insurance benefits. Also, a part time nurse can pick up extra hours and be less likely to get into overtime (time and a half) pay. In many facilities, the department manager has to justify to administration why they had to approve overtime hours. With two part timers they can get the hours covered without having to get into any OT.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 22, 2007

perhaps i am more cynical than most....but what i see is that you have staff getting part time bennies.....working full time because they need the money......ie pcking up "extra time".....but accruing1/2 the vaca time etc

At a lot of hospitals, vacation time and sick time accrue with the number of hours actually worked, not with the number of FTE's for which the person is hired. It works perfectly for the married people and also for anyone else who wants to work part time (graduate students, etc.).

1. They earn as much paid time off as anyone based on the number of hours worked.

2 They can get group health insurance if they want it (though they have to pay more for it). They may not need it if they are covered through their husband's work.

3. They can usually find a way to increase their hours and earn more money if they want to by filling in the holes in the schedule, covering for other people's vacations, etc.

4. They are not obligated to work more than 20 hours/week when they don't want to -- when their kids are out of school for the summer or on Spring Break ... over the Christmas holidays ... etc.

The employer gets the a pool of people who are probably saving them some money on health insurance and some other benefits. They don't have to pay them overtime when they pick up extra hours as long as they stay under 40 hrs/week. They have people available to work a little extra as needed. They have more people "bodies" who are committed to working a certain number of weekend shifts, holiday shifts, and other unpopulat shifts. etc. etc. etc.

It can be a win-win situation ----- but it can be a problem if a person is looking for full time work and can't find it because those part time positions are all that are available... or if there are so many part time people wanting to pick up extra hours that there aren't enough extra hours available to be picked up. It can also cause problems for the employer with too many part time employees all decide to work their minimal required hours at the same time (e.g. in December) Too much of a good thing can cause problems on both sides of the equation. A good mix of full time and part time is usually the best.

allnurses Guide · Jul 22, 2007

Because some of us want to work part-time. I will never work a full-time position again.

My goal is staying home with my kids . . . but that won't happen unless I start playing the lottery.

steph

lizzyberry · Jul 22, 2007

Because some of us want to work part-time. I will never work a full-time position again.
My goal is staying home with my kids . . . but that won't happen unless I start playing the lottery.
steph

How many hours is part time for you because I want to be able to stay with my kids more?

allnurses Guide · Jul 22, 2007

How many hours is part time for you because I want to be able to stay with my kids more?

2 days a week, 48 hours a pay period. With medical benefits.

steph

ZippyGBR, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2007

how aobut ask the 20 hour nurses to work extra hours if they can - at plain time rates where your 40 hour nurses would want overtime?

even during the frequent 'overtime bans' employed by management i nthe NHS there are nearly always ex tra hours available for part timers becasue it doesn't coast any extra unless they did more than 37.5