# How does pay for 24 hour sifts work



## bigbaldguy (Feb 3, 2011)

I'm a volunteer but work with paid medics. I overheard a medic saying he made 20 an hour. This service runs 24 on 72 off. So does that mean the medics here only make 480 dollars a week? Or is it 20 for the first 8 hours then a premium for the second 8 and additional premium for the next 8. Just curious how it works.


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## TransportJockey (Feb 3, 2011)

It depends all on how your service does things. I know my service I can work as little as 36 hours a week, but get paid for 86 hours of straight time every two weeks.. And if I go over 86 a pay period, I get OT for everything over 86.


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## bigbaldguy (Feb 3, 2011)

Wow so when someone in ems says they are making 20 an hour under the 24 on 48 off system it actually works out to more like 15 dollars an hour when compared to a 40 hour work week if you don't count any overtime. Does that sound about right?


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## Flight-LP (Feb 3, 2011)

Most hourly employees get paid for 40 straight hours, then any additional hours are at time and a half. There may also be extra pay for hard to fill spots, weekends, or holidays. Just depends on the company.

When I worked a 24/72 in Houston, I was at $21/hour and it was paid out this way.


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## dixie_flatline (Feb 3, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> I'm a volunteer but work with paid medics. I overheard a medic saying he made 20 an hour. This service runs 24 on 72 off. So does that mean the medics here only make 480 dollars a week? Or is it 20 for the first 8 hours then a premium for the second 8 and additional premium for the next 8. Just curious how it works.



Sorry, I fail to see how this is 480 a week?  I'm going to assume your second post is correct and it's 24/48, not 24/72.  Given a typical schedule, that would look something like this:
S M T W R F S S M T W R F S
X------X------X------X------X--

Over 2 weeks, that is 5 shifts, or 120 hours.  120*$20 = $2,400, or an average of $1,200 a week pre-tax.  Even if it was a 24/72 schedule, it would be 4 shifts in 2 weeks, giving you $1,920 every 2.


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## TransportJockey (Feb 3, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> Wow so when someone in ems says they are making 20 an hour under the 24 on 48 off system it actually works out to more like 15 dollars an hour when compared to a 40 hour work week if you don't count any overtime. Does that sound about right?



Not at all. Most services you get paid your hourly wage for every hour you're on the clock. My service is weird because we fall under a municipal exception (although when I only work 72 hours a week and get paid for 86, my hourly pay is actually higher than what is stated on my pay stub.


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## bigbaldguy (Feb 4, 2011)

I double checked and it is 24 on 72 off, but your right my math was way off even so. I think "*24/72 schedule, it would be 4 shifts in 2 weeks, giving you $1,920 every 2*" was the answer I was looking for. Thanks for the answers. Sorry I know this is probably basic info most working EMS folks don't even think about but it's all new to me.

I just saw the little 2 week diagram you made and now it makes perfect sense thanks Dixie.


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## DesertMedic66 (Feb 4, 2011)

the company that my instructor works for only pays for 20 hours out of a 24 hr shift. im not sure on the pay but if they say its 23/hr its actually less because you are basically working 4 hours for free. (it looks better when they say $23/hr opposed to the real pay being like $20/hr)


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## 46Young (Feb 4, 2011)

365 days a yr / 4 (a 24/72 has you working one day out of every four), x 24 (hours), / 52 (weeks in a year)

365/4 = 91.25. 91.25 x 24 = 2190 (your hours worked on the year). 2190/52= 42.11. 

They're working 42 hours a week, on average. If they're FLSA, hours come off some checks, and get added to others. Otherwise, you'll see a small chack, a medium check, and a large one. This is more obvious with a 24/48, or a modified Detroit(?), WOWOWOOOO (W=work, O=off), which is the same as a 24/48 but structured differently. 

A 24/48: 365/3 = 121.6667. 121.6667 x 24= 2920. 2920/52 = 56.15.

If you do a 24/72, you're working an average of 42 hours a week. If you do a 24/48, you're working a scheduled 56 hours a week.

Edit: There are several threads devoted to the discussion of whether it's acceptable to be POC on the overnights, or whether you're entitled to be paid for every hour worked, whether or not you sleep or otherwise have significant downtime.


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## 46Young (Feb 5, 2011)

Here's a link from the Alexandria FD:

http://alexandriava.gov/fire/info/default.aspx?id=5086

It appears that I was dead on - the 24/48 and it's variation is a 56 hour week, and the 24/72 and it's variation (Alex EMS schedule, 24/48/24/96) is a 42 hour week. It's interestng how they point out that when you work a 56 hour week for a 25 year career, you work an additional 8.75 years, based on a 40 hour/week schedule. It's 1.25 years for the 42 hour employee.


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## bigbaldguy (Feb 5, 2011)

Wow, almost 9 extra years of work? No wonder emergency service folks die young. That is pretty impressive though that what seems like a small difference in hours on a month to month basis adds up to such a huge difference over 25 years. I wonder how many people even think about it this way when they start out.


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