3 Year Contract Normal?

[JohnFerguson]

When I accepted my current position, my contract was a 3 year term. With negotiations quickly approaching, what is the norm when it comes to terms of the contract? 3 years? 1 year? No time period specified? I work as a surgical PA with a hospital system.

 

Pros/cons of different terms?

 

Thank you.

[gbrothers98]

I have signed a 3 year contract in the past. Had structured salary increases over the next 3 years, 5% per annum along with increases in CME funding of a few hundred per annum. Fees & dues paid. Malpractice paid. Included usual and customary employee benefits.

I had to abide by a 90 day termination for either party unless substantial medical staff or legal violation occurred on my part.

They wanted a no compete clause but that would have been a deal breaker so they threw it out. Helped that none of the other hospital employee medical staff had one.....and neither did any of the administration people.

If you like where you are and can get some things outlined that you want and have a way out if needed, then there is nothing wrong with more than a one year contract. One year contract allows you to respond to stuff that comes up such as a sudden salary spike regionally or an increase in fees, etc. But longer term can give you peace of mind. 

Current group I belong to revisits everything on a yearly basis. Allows negotiation on different points. Able to respond to changes in PA compensation along with local issues in a more timely manner.

Beware bonuses attached to longer term contracts. I had a colleague that was promised a 10k signing bonus for a 3 year contract. Fine print was that it was paid out over over next 3 years of pay periods. If he left early, had to pay back prorated amount. So if he left at 9 months, he owed 9 months of bonus, taken out of his last check and any leftover eto. Blah.

Good luck.

G Brothers PA-C

[JohnFerguson]

gbrothers98---thank you for your response. You provided some great insight. The 5% increase annually seems ideal. Have you ever had to sign a 3 year or multiple year contract without annual increases or opportunity for negotiation? Do you think a 5% annual increase is "customary" or "reasonable" in the eyes or an employer?

[gbrothers98]

gbrothers98---thank you for your response. You provided some great insight. The 5% increase annually seems ideal. Have you ever had to sign a 3 year or multiple year contract without annual increases or opportunity for negotiation? Do you think a 5% annual increase is "customary" or "reasonable" in the eyes or an employer?

That happened back in the early 2000s.

I am thinking that in today's economic climate getting 3 yrs of 5% increases would be quite an accomplishment. Likely an unattainable accomplishment given most raises workforce wide have not exceeded 3% yearly since the recession.

I would look at the AAPA salary survey for your specialty and region, shoot for a number higher than 75%.

Revisit this yearly. 

But I dont know your exact situation. Many hospital systems have a predetermined range. Find out what this is and realize you will have a difficult time moving past the high end of the range without some explicit support from your section head.

Good luck.

G Brothers PA-C

[HospitalExec]

Three years is pretty standard. It is long enough that you don't need to immediately think of renewing it, but not so long that you feel trapped.

 

G Brother is right, a deal like his seems unlikely today. Instead of a fixed increase, the move is to reward production / quality.

 

You might want to check into the termination clause. A no cause termination section can allow you to terminate with intent to renegotiate if you feel things aren't going right for you. You're basically banking on it being more difficult to replace you than it is to pay you more.

 

 

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