AMS Q&A – Paid Time Off
American Medical Staffing’s mission is to unite quality talent with opportunity, providing the optimal employment and partnership experience in healthcare. Freedom. Flexibility. And a company that really cares about YOU! We implemented our Paid Time Off packages in January 2021 and wanted to take a look at some of our most Frequently Asked Questions with our Manager of People & Culture, Andrew Sepehri! How do I sign up for PTO? Talk to your Recruiting Manager about getting PTO added to your pay package. The best time to get signed up for PTO is at the beginning of a new contract or extension You can elect to build 36 or 72 hours of PTO into your pay package. Requested dates off must be outlined and approved prior to finalizing your staffing agreement. PTO cannot be taken during an assignment outside of the requested time off that was submitted in your staffing agreement. Please note all requests are subject to facility approval. There is a PTO request form that is sent to the benefits team to process Are all clinicians eligible for PTO? All Full-Time clinicians are eligible for PTO. To be considered Full-time you must be on a long-term assignment that is for 30 or more hours Do I get paid the same pay rate when I am on PTO? PTO is paid out at your year-to-date average hourly rate When I sign up for PTO do I get the hours I elected up front? No, hours are accrued. If you sign up for the 72-hour plan, you get one hour for every 26 hours worked. If you work 36 hours over the course of one year, you will have accrued the full 72 hours. Is there a cap on PTO accrual? There is not. If you work extra hours, you can accrue PTO hours quicker and can even earn more than your elected amount in a year Why is the carryover limit only 12 hours? The Wellness PTO Policy was put into place to encourage wellness. We want are clinicians to use PTO to get a break from their work-life to focus on themselves. When can I start using my PTO after I sign up for it? You can use hours as soon as your hours have been accrued. The more PTO hours you elect, the quicker they accrue. If you have an upcoming day, we recommend you sign up for the 72-hour plan because hours are accrued quicker What if I don’t use all my PTO at the end of my contract? The only time PTO is forfeited is at the end of the year (any hours above 12) or when an employee goes inactive for 30+ days. This is easy to avoid by using hours throughout the year or at the end of an assignment What if I decide in the middle of my contract that I am no longer interested in the PTO I signed up for? You can work with your recruiting manager to get PTO removed from your pay package at any time. The recruiting manager reserves the right to update mid-assignment or wait until the end of the assignment. What are the most asked questions about PTO? “How do I check my PTO balance” – PTO balance will show on your weekly paystub each week. What is the most common misconceived notion about PTO? When employees don’t sign up for PTO, it is because they feel that they “are paying for their own PTO” due to the small rate drop when PTO is elected. The reality is, that every person pays for their own PTO. Whether you are working a staff job or at another agency, PTO is accounted for in your “total compensation,” this is why you see this on offer letters. As a nurse-founded agency, we want our clinicians to have the control of building a pay package that suits their needs. If you want to maximize earnings, we will support you. If you want to take time off in between assignments and be compensated, we will support you. Why should someone sign up for PTO? Everyone deserves to take time off to focus on themselves and not have to worry about the money you are missing out for not working. Additionally, as an hourly employee, you only get paid for the time you work. This means that any holidays or “sick days” are unpaid. It is nice to have PTO hours set aside for any emergencies that may arise. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your Recruiting Manager if you have any further questions about our Wellness PTO! Our Employee Engagement team is always looking for new ways where we can expand our wellness resources and perks, if you have an idea, suggestion, or story that you would like to share, please send an email to marketing@americanmedicalstaffing.com.