Per Diem/Night Pay

[HMtoPA]

I am full-time military and have never worked in civilian practice before, so want to make sure I'm not getting screwed.

 

Tentatively being offered per diem work with a company that staffs hazardous occupational sites with 24/7 urgent care type clinics. I am located in western Washington State (North Sound area). Promises to be low acuity, soft-tissue/MSK type stuff with low census as well. When asked about hourly salary requirements, I started with $70-$75 (bear in mind, there are no benefits with this gig), HR lady came back with $60-$65. In a subsequent interview, owner mentioned $55-$60. I found it odd that in my first and only two phone interviews with these people, the subject of pay came up at all, to be honest. But I guess $55/hour is not bad if the job ends up being as easy as they say.

 

Besides the possibility of being ripped off at $55/hour, this is what really gets me - they kept hinting at night shifts (6AM-6PM), and there was no talk of any kind of night differential. It could be that we simply didn't go into very much detail (we didn't), or it could be that this guy is is trying to lowball me on hourly wage AND no night differential. I mean, I might pick up a shift on an odd Saturday for $55/hour, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to work overnight for that pay and disrupt my sleep schedule (and possibly affect my full-time, regular hours job).

 

So I guess my questions are, first of all, is $55/hour reasonable? And, secondly, am I right in assuming that a night differential is standard practice? If so, how much should I be asking - something like an extra $10/hour, or more like time-and-a-half?

 

Thanks!

[CAdamsPAC]

I am full-time military and have never worked in civilian practice before, so want to make sure I'm not getting screwed.

 

Tentatively being offered per diem work with a company that staffs hazardous occupational sites with 24/7 urgent care type clinics. I am located in western Washington State (North Sound area). Promises to be low acuity, soft-tissue/MSK type stuff with low census as well. When asked about hourly salary requirements, I started with $70-$75 (bear in mind, there are no benefits with this gig), HR lady came back with $60-$65. In a subsequent interview, owner mentioned $55-$60. I found it odd that in my first and only two phone interviews with these people, the subject of pay came up at all, to be honest. But I guess $55/hour is not bad if the job ends up being as easy as they say.

 

Besides the possibility of being ripped off at $55/hour, this is what really gets me - they kept hinting at night shifts (6AM-6PM), and there was no talk of any kind of night differential. It could be that we simply didn't go into very much detail (we didn't), or it could be that this guy is is trying to lowball me on hourly wage AND no night differential. I mean, I might pick up a shift on an odd Saturday for $55/hour, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to work overnight for that pay and disrupt my sleep schedule (and possibly affect my full-time, regular hours job).

 

So I guess my questions are, first of all, is $55/hour reasonable? And, secondly, am I right in assuming that a night differential is standard practice? If so, how much should I be asking - something like an extra $10/hour, or more like time-and-a-half?

 

Thanks!

$75.00/Hr minimum add in nights week ends or holidays, $85.00 minimum. Good luck don't let them nickle an dime you, you are worth more than their offering.

[MediMike]

I completely agree with above.  In my opinion you would be screwing yourself to take less than $75/hr as an unbenefited employee.  Going rate for UC in the Puget Sound region is around $125k-130k as a new grad for 144hrs/month...so about $75/hr. (And that's for new grads w/ bennies)

[HMtoPA]

I completely agree with above.  In my opinion you would be screwing yourself to take less than $75/hr as an unbenefited employee.  Going rate for UC in the Puget Sound region is around $125k-130k as a new grad for 144hrs/month...so about $75/hr. (And that's for new grads w/ bennies)

 

 

Thanks for the info. You don't think the low census should be taken into account? I mean, this shouldn't be like a typical UC where you're seeing 30+ patients per shift. But I agree, the pay seems ludicrously low when you factor in the lack of benefits - the owner even tried to tell me something about "you don't need benefits" (due to being military) but IMO that should translate to a higher hourly rate, if anything.

 

What do you think is typical for a night differential?

[camoman1234]

I thought HR offered $60-65 so why you saying $55?  I would settle with $70/HR with $10 per hour extra for nights. Good luck. 

[HMtoPA]

I thought HR offered $60-65 so why you saying $55?  I would settle with $70/HR with $10 per hour extra for nights. Good luck. 

 

 

Ha, good question. It wasn't so much an offer - she asked me what I hoped to get, and then replied that "usually" the pay was around $60-$65. A few days later I talked to the owner of the company, and he said $55-$60.

 

Honestly, this whole situation just feels kind of sketchy, but I might entertain them for a while and see where it goes. I mean, I don't need the job (at all), so ultimately if I can't get decent terms I'll just walk. Thanks all for the advice.

 

t's crazy, though - I'm having a heck of a time finding part-time work, I thought it'd be easy. I guess my limited availability (weekends) is a no-go for a lot of jobs. I'd like to think if I was looking for a one full-time job, it wouldn't be a problem.

[MediMike]

Yeah the census should be taken into account, but the lack of bennies is big.  I mean, if you don't need them then that's fantastic but they should still have to account for it.  If you really are seeing 2-3 people a shift then that does change things a little bit.

 

And yeah, PT gigs are way hard to track down these days.  My fiancee has been on a major job search for the past 3 months and we haven't had any luck finding PT or even per diem job opps (Although we are limited a bit by geography and the kid, you may want to look at Overlake if you're close to Bellevue at all, want to say they have a PT/PD opening for UC/ED)

 

Good luck!