Do you get "sleep pay?"

looker said:
Simple question , with unemployment being so high where will you go?
Once economy will start recovering and others jobs are becoming more available, it will be easier to pick and choose where you want to work for and how much.
Click to expand...

That is the sad state of letting anyone open a company! I built one from the ground up. Started with one truck and had 10, when I sold out due to health reasons. I had a very good reputation in the area and never had a problem getting Pt's. I was turning away more then I could take. This was done by going against the business concept of every crappy ambulance company out there.

First, the employees are number one. Above the Pt's and the profits. When you have a qualified staff that is skilled, caring and enjoy their jobs, that reflects to the Pt's and providers. You pay an honest wage. You treat employees with respect. You require excellence. That is what draws the companies to you and why the Pt's request your company.

Second, you treat your Pt's like people. You are on time and friendly. This means not over booking every truck, trying to squeeze every dime you can out of a work day. Greed is what kills every company that runs a profit minded business plan. I have seen the ups and downs of the economy. Guess what, when the economy rebounds and the employees have other options, they will leave you hanging. You will have built the bad reputation in the area and there is no way of fixing it then. You will fold up shop and hope you don't lose your butt.

If you are in this for the long haul, you better look to the future and not to making millions in a year. Trust me, it will come back to haunt you in the end.

Don't hire for a pulse. Hire for competency and compassion. A good employee will bring you ten fold in, from what you paid out.
 
reaper said:
That is the sad state of letting anyone open a company! I built one from the ground up. Started with one truck and had 10, when I sold out due to health reasons. I had a very good reputation in the area and never had a problem getting Pt's. I was turning away more then I could take. This was done by going against the business concept of every crappy ambulance company out there.

First, the employees are number one. Above the Pt's and the profits. When you have a qualified staff that is skilled, caring and enjoy their jobs, that reflects to the Pt's and providers. You pay an honest wage. You treat employees with respect. You require excellence. That is what draws the companies to you and why the Pt's request your company.

Second, you treat your Pt's like people. You are on time and friendly. This means not over booking every truck, trying to squeeze every dime you can out of a work day. Greed is what kills every company that runs a profit minded business plan. I have seen the ups and downs of the economy. Guess what, when the economy rebounds and the employees have other options, they will leave you hanging. You will have built the bad reputation in the area and there is no way of fixing it then. You will fold up shop and hope you don't lose your butt.

If you are in this for the long haul, you better look to the future and not to making millions in a year. Trust me, it will come back to haunt you in the end.

Don't hire for a pulse. Hire for competency and compassion. A good employee will bring you ten fold in, from what you paid out.
Click to expand...


Thank you for that reply. My concept is very simple,bad employees get fired as California is at will state. With being said, before getting in to EMS business, i had/have an nemt company which i have owned for the last 10 years. While what i pay is less comapre to what other companys are paying the condition are also much better. Yes i agree that reputation of the company is a must and i have been able to do that with nemt and using that to build my EMS. I might sounds like a jerk sometimes but i am usually a nice person :lol:
 
Trayos said:
Are you planning on working as both a paramedic and an MD?
Click to expand...

No.

My continued involvement with EMS is currently in a state of flux. I like being involved with it when i am interacting with motivated providers, but I am quite sick and tired of the system and the stagnation.

At one point I had hoped to expand more intensive medicine to the EMS realm and help it be more capable and useful in large scale responses. But I would rather spend time teaching more advanced providers or doing research on the types of medicine I am interested in over listening to another argument about what EMS is/should be/does or trying to enact better practice in spite of traditions that persist when there is all kinds of evidence against most of it.

I will keep both my home state and PA paramedic certs more to demonstrate my history of seeing medicine outside the confines of a hospital and working my way up the ranks than for any academic or medical purpose.
 
When I've worked 24s or 48s I get paid full pay for every hour I'm clocked in.
 
Our night shifts are from 6.30pm until 6.30am, after 10pm we can sleep and yes ... we are paid for it :D

My last night shift we did 8 jobs between 6.30pm and 4am, got 20 minutes sleep then did another two jobs.
 
Mine is from 17:00-05:00.

I can sleep the minute I get to work!! :P

Our service doesnt do stupid stuff, like mandate when you can sleep or watch tv.
 
looker said:
My concept is very simple, bad employees get fired as California is at will state.
Click to expand...

That is a flawed statement. Define "Bad" and from who's perspective? Good Providers get fired all the time for not towing the company line in many comanies that hold money above their employees and their patients (whom they refer to as customers). Horrible Providers can stay with a company for years w/o giving a damn about patients and commiting every sin in the book because they make the company as much money as possible and stay in line from a business stadpoint. Is this true everywhere? No... but in my little section of California it tends to be (minus 1 or 2 agencies that are hard to get on with).

Reaper... I want to work for you... :D

OP... It could be worse. I worked an EMT gig once (for a very short time) where you lived on site at a Correctional Facility for 3 days straight one week and 4 straight the next week. As medical staff you had to live on site. You only got paid for the time you worked (0600 to 2200) minus 2 hours midday if you got your break (big if). So, you would be on site for an average of 84 hours a week and get paid for 49-56 of those hours. However, without a contract, we were paid standard overtime and doubletime. This was a great thing becasue starting pay was $0.25 above minimum wage. However, like you, I was an employee for 24 hours and not paid for over a third of the shift. Sucks... but it is what I/you signed up for. Personally, that pay system was not the reason I left there ASAP because the pay with overtime and doubletime tended to even things out... but not enough in the end to make up for my loss of sanity... :blink:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mountain Res-Q said:
That is a flawed statement. Define "Bad" and from who's perspective? Good Providers get fired all the time for not towing the company line in many comanies that hold money above their employees and their patients (whom they refer to as customers). Horrible Providers can stay with a company for years w/o giving a damn about patients and commiting every sin in the book because they make the company as much money as possible and stay in line from a business stadpoint. Is this true everywhere? No... but in my little section of California it tends to be (minus 1 or 2 agencies that are hard to get on with).
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the way the industry is, good/bad employee is prospective of who gave you the patient. Generally it's not the patient who makes the decision who they will use as such you got no choice but to please the facility that gave you the patient or next time it will be someone else that is doing transport. With that said, any employee that are rude, not on time, comes with wrinkle cloth etc gets fired.
 
looker said:
Unfortunately the way the industry is, good/bad employee is prospective of who gave you the patient. Generally it's not the patient who makes the decision who they will use as such you got no choice but to please the facility that gave you the patient or next time it will be someone else that is doing transport. With that said, any employee that are rude, not on time, comes with wrinkle cloth etc gets fired.
Click to expand...

Define "rude" as well. In one of the other threads here, we were discussing what should be put on a PCR. If an EMT goes to transport a patient, and the patient does not fulfill the requirements to be transported by ambulance, and the EMT makes an issue of that - or refuses to document a fictitious reason on their PCR - and you then fire them as a result, then the lawsuit will be coming. And they'll likely win, or at least drag things out in a very protracted litigation. And remember, plaintiff's counsel is "free" in that they work on contingency fee (or, in many employment cases, bring suits under fee-shifting statutes), whereas you'll be paying your lawyer by the hour. Win or lose, the process is the punishment.

"At will employment" means that you can terminate for any reason - or no reason at all - but that does not extend to an improper reason. The employee still has the protections of various laws that say you get to object when you're told to do something illegal.

I'm sure you're doing your best to run an honest, profitable business. But if you really fire people because their shirt was wrinkled one day, then you'll likely be seen as a martinet, and your employees will be just that much more disgruntled. Which makes the aforementioned litigation liability just that much larger. But what do I know?
 
adamjh3 said:
Yes, we would get paid if we were actually working (i.e. we get calls during our "rest period"). However, we get about 8 calls a day dispersed among two to three trucks. Not very busy.

The schedule usually comes out to 1x24hr shift and 2x12hr shifts per week, with some variations depending upon availability etc. I'm liking the schedule, and I don't mind the 24's.
Click to expand...

What company did you get hired on with?
 
EMSLaw said:
Define "rude" as well. In one of the other threads here, we were discussing what should be put on a PCR. If an EMT goes to transport a patient, and the patient does not fulfill the requirements to be transported by ambulance, and the EMT makes an issue of that - or refuses to document a fictitious reason on their PCR - and you then fire them as a result, then the lawsuit will be coming. And they'll likely win, or at least drag things out in a very protracted litigation. And remember, plaintiff's counsel is "free" in that they work on contingency fee (or, in many employment cases, bring suits under fee-shifting statutes), whereas you'll be paying your lawyer by the hour. Win or lose, the process is the punishment.

"At will employment" means that you can terminate for any reason - or no reason at all - but that does not extend to an improper reason. The employee still has the protections of various laws that say you get to object when you're told to do something illegal.

I'm sure you're doing your best to run an honest, profitable business. But if you really fire people because their shirt was wrinkled one day, then you'll likely be seen as a martinet, and your employees will be just that much more disgruntled. Which makes the aforementioned litigation liability just that much larger. But what do I know?
Click to expand...

Obviously I will not fire employees for refusing to do something illegal that would just be stupid. No will not fire them for wrinkle shirt that was just an example but that for sure will be a sign to keep an eye on them. If you do not care how cloth looks on you, it's an indication about everything else.
 
I work for a company like this... subtract 1 hour for lunch and dinner... and 5 hours for sleep. I thought it was pretty unfair, some nights i wouldn't get the 5 hours of sleep, but still did not get paid for it.
 
ZVNEMT said:
I work for a company like this... subtract 1 hour for lunch and dinner... and 5 hours for sleep. I thought it was pretty unfair, some nights i wouldn't get the 5 hours of sleep, but still did not get paid for it.
Click to expand...

If I was running calls when they said I was eating and sleeping and not paying me, I'd be pissed
 
ZVNEMT said:
I work for a company like this... subtract 1 hour for lunch and dinner... and 5 hours for sleep. I thought it was pretty unfair, some nights i wouldn't get the 5 hours of sleep, but still did not get paid for it.
Click to expand...

I'm not even sure that's legal. If you're not getting paid, you're not working. That's like saying "Oh, hey, we need you to come in on Sunday, but don't clock in, just hop in your rig."
 
adamjh3 said:
I'm not even sure that's legal. If you're not getting paid, you're not working. That's like saying "Oh, hey, we need you to come in on Sunday, but don't clock in, just hop in your rig."
Click to expand...

It is legal, in several states I have worked in, but it is the mark of a very poor employer.

Like looker said, the market favors the Dewy, Cheatum, and Howe transport companies.

It would be more beneficial for the employee not to work a 24 hours shift.

Some of the companies I have seen do this run IFT but are the primary or backup 911 responder. They know all the new people want that chance at a 911 call or need a job so bad they will accept it.

I know everyone wants to work in EMS, but it is really better economically to workoutside EMS than to accept a deal like this. If you are in college and really need the hours, talk to your FA dept. about work/study or an internship. The hours are less and the pay is usually better.
 
This "unpaid sleep" policy speaks volumes about the company/agency that you're interested in working for. Look elsewhere. You're in the minority, by far.
 
Fox800 said:
This "unpaid sleep" policy speaks volumes about the company/agency that you're interested in working for. Look elsewhere. You're in the minority, by far.
Click to expand...

That is easier said than done. Unemployment in socal is high and with no or little experience you get on anything you can. Right now is employer market and being California is at will state, you either play their rules or you are welcome to stay unemployed.
 
reaper said:
That is the sad state of letting anyone open a company! I built one from the ground up. Started with one truck and had 10, when I sold out due to health reasons. I had a very good reputation in the area and never had a problem getting Pt's. I was turning away more then I could take. This was done by going against the business concept of every crappy ambulance company out there.

First, the employees are number one. Above the Pt's and the profits. When you have a qualified staff that is skilled, caring and enjoy their jobs, that reflects to the Pt's and providers. You pay an honest wage. You treat employees with respect. You require excellence. That is what draws the companies to you and why the Pt's request your company.

Second, you treat your Pt's like people. You are on time and friendly. This means not over booking every truck, trying to squeeze every dime you can out of a work day. Greed is what kills every company that runs a profit minded business plan. I have seen the ups and downs of the economy. Guess what, when the economy rebounds and the employees have other options, they will leave you hanging. You will have built the bad reputation in the area and there is no way of fixing it then. You will fold up shop and hope you don't lose your butt.

If you are in this for the long haul, you better look to the future and not to making millions in a year. Trust me, it will come back to haunt you in the end.

Don't hire for a pulse. Hire for competency and compassion. A good employee will bring you ten fold in, from what you paid out.
Click to expand...

+ 1

As far as requiring someone to be "on the clock" and not paying them seems shady.

Pay someone a fair wage and you will usually be happy with the product.

Lie, cheat and steal from your employees then you deserve what you get.
 
looker said:
That is easier said than done. Unemployment in socal is high and with no or little experience you get on anything you can. Right now is employer market and being California is at will state, you either play their rules or you are welcome to stay unemployed.
Click to expand...

This.

I need to work to get into paramedic school, and I can't afford to pick and choose right now. I don't necesserily agree with their policy. But it's a job that I'm thankful to have.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top