preferential treatment

sohappytobe

I am in the processing of opening a hospital. Some of the physicians want particular nurses to come on board and are insisting that they get preferential treatment regarding PTO hours, that is, more accumulation than everyone else. What would be the repercussion of such action?

dchr9203

Not good. If its just a matter of cold hiring nurses just becuase docs like them, I would stick with consistency on all hiring. However, in my previous life in healthcare when the hospital took on a physician's practice, we did grandfather service for vacation accrual. Otherwise, you're just priming the pump for complaints and disatisfaction down the road.

AJ SPHR

We have negotiated higher vacation benefit levels for new hires in hard-to-fill jobs or management positions. We recognize that we want to entice employees who may be in the middle of their careers and don't want to start over with zero vacation balance.

sohappytobe

Wouldn't it have to be done across the board though? For instance, shouldn't policy state that if an employee has worked as a surgical nurse for five years, they get x amount of PTO accrual and if they've worked as a surgical nurse for ten years, they get another accrual rate so that fairness and consistency can be measured? If it's not done that way, doesn't that open the door for someone to cry discrimination?

AJ SPHR

We are a small employer and therefore don't have many employees in each job classification. Since you have many nurses, you certainly can develop a policy (and some employers have) that gives credit to prior years of service related to the position you're hiring for when giving the new hire their vacation balance. So yes, you can do that and may make sense to do so and be creative to staff nursing positions since it's such a competitive field!

Rockie

SoHappy: I feel your pain. I work with 28 docs. We have a scale for PTO accrual depending on the position you hold....docs get so much, directors/sr.managers get so much, and then on down the line.

We have never made any special deals with new employees coming on board to give preferential treatment in regards to PTO time. This would create an uproar in our workplace if we did this. Employees who have been here a while feel a distinct entitlement to benefits they have earned and would really be put out if a new hire came in accruing more than they did.

We have, in the past, acquired other practices and have simply carried over what their PTO balances were, years of experience, etc.

We have never done this with new hires,though. Instead of doing this, I would suggest maybe a signon bonus of some type.

We, too, have a problem with recruitment of nurses. We offer a five day workweek with no nights or weekends which is attractive to the people who want "a life". If a candidate simply is looking for money, they can work nights, weekends, second and third shift (12 hours) at a hospital and make a lot more money.

Good luck.

sohappytobe

Rockie, thanks for your words of wisdom ... well taken : )