– I don’t have figures on how many extra shifts I take, but there are more than before. The bonus is nice, says nurse Lena Fang at the kidney department at SUS. The nurse usually works in the kidney department at Stavanger University Hospital (SUS). But this summer she is also taking extra shifts on the ward that admits patients who need immediate help (OBA). For this summer, the hospital needs to fill 2,500 empty shifts. This is done with the help of hired temporary workers or a bonus scheme. The purpose is to entice important staff to work more than the rotation dictates. And the arrangement is lucrative. On top of regular salary and overtime, the nurses are paid: NOK 1,500 for extra evening and night duty on weekdays NOK 2,200 for extra day and evening duty on weekends NOK 2,700 for night duty on weekends Nurse Lena Fang is taking a holiday later this year, and instead works a lot this summer with extra good pay. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news It provides an extra income for many, and at the same time ensures proper operation during the summer holidays. – It means a little extra money for the holiday, which I will take later, and a little extra money in everyday life. The bonus makes you feel seen, says Fang. – Would you have taken extra shifts without the bonus? – The bonus is a motivation, but with many people on holiday, I would like to contribute with the expertise I have. This provides security for both the substitutes and the patients. Norwegian hospitals use “summer contracts” Many healthcare organizations have different forms of “summer contracts”, and the amounts can vary, according to information news has received from the various hospitals. Both midwives, social workers, childminders, healthcare workers, radiographers and bioengineers can get a bonus, according to information news has obtained. Some hospitals give bonuses – others manage without Nordlandssykehuset has a “summer agreement” on the possibility of extended working hours for nurses, specialist nurses, midwives, health professionals, auxiliary nurses and child nurses at clinical units with 24-hour operation. Vestre Viken health company states that they do not have a bonus scheme linked to the completion of the summer holidays, but they have the option of using financial instruments to ensure sound operations. This means that they can compensate employees for moving working hours from weekdays to weekends, extra shifts or moving holidays. The University Hospital of Northern Norway has various summer measures. They state that most of the schemes only apply to critical personnel such as specialist nurses or employees at the birth or maternity ward. Examples of bonuses are: extra remuneration for filling critical shifts in emergency cases or when extended working hours are planned. Sykehuset Inlandet says that they have established a scheme with extra compensation for extra work this summer. In this way, they can ensure sufficient staffing, as it is difficult to recruit sufficient staffing. Helse Møre and Romsdal HF say that, as a general rule, they do not provide additional compensation, but that it can be done after specific assessments and under special conditions to ensure, among other things, sound operations throughout the summer. Helse Fonna does not have a scheme with summer compensation this summer. Finnmark Hospital has extra payment for extended working hours for nurses, midwives, radiographers, bioengineers, health professionals and resource coordinators at AMK. The summer agreement gives employees, who take shifts beyond 100 per cent work, an hourly payment of between NOK 640 and 870, the hospital states. Telemark Hospital has a summer bonus of between NOK 850 and NOK 2,000 per extra shift. Helse Nord-Trøndelag has a remuneration regulation to ensure good competence and operation throughout the summer. Helgelandssykehuset provides, among other things, financial compensation for employees who move all or part of their holiday away from the summer period. The trade unions also have a special agreement with the nurses regarding agreed extended working hours in the summer. Sykehuset Østfold has established a scheme with extra payment beyond the ordinary collective bargaining rates to cover unoccupied shifts. They apply to nurses, special care nurses, special care nurses, special care nurses and midwives. The rates vary from 500 to 1500 per shift. For midwives, the rates are somewhat higher. They can get between NOK 1,000 and NOK 3,500 extra per shift. St. Olav’s hospital has stimulation measures to ensure the recruitment of critical competence in the summer. This means that the employees can receive a lump sum per extra shift. Sørlandet hospital HF also has a summer agreement to ensure proper operation. This means, among other things, extra remuneration for extra work, change of shift from weekday to weekend, change of holiday and unexpected shifts. Ahus also has summer compensation. They pay higher wages to employees who are willing to take on extra shifts. The hospital in Vestfold has agreements on extra pay for employees who take on extra shifts during the summer period. This applies to midwives, nurses, specialist nurses and healthcare professionals. In Stavanger, it is mainly the nurses who receive a bonus, but other occupational groups can also be included in the scheme. – Impossible without a bonus Nevertheless, the scheme becomes expensive. Last year, 2,800 posts were vacant. The Stavanger hospital then ended up spending over NOK 4.2 million in summer compensation. This year, the reception clinic at the hospital can report several hundred gaps in the duty schedule at the reception clinic alone. Acting clinic manager Inger Johanne Fatnes Bø says the bonus is one of several measures that ensure safe operations in the summer. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news – We operate with immediate help. The patients come regardless of whether it is summer or winter, and then we have to make sure that we have the expertise to treat those who come in, says Inger Johanne Fatnes Bø, who is acting clinic manager at the reception clinic. A lack of qualified substitutes meant that this year it was also not possible to wind up the summer holidays without the financial carrot of those who already work at the hospital. – We cannot get hold of qualified substitutes from outside, and then the bonus scheme is the way to do it, says Fatnes Bø. The patients do not take summer holidays, and the hospitals report that it has also been a challenge to fill the duty schedules this year. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news Critical trade union But the nurses’ own trade union is critical of the bonus scheme, which each individual voluntarily agrees with their manager. – I would rather have higher basic staffing and more predictability over a year, so that you worked evenly and had enough people at work at all times, says Tone Wang-Nilsen, chief shop steward for the Norwegian Nurses’ Association in Helse Stavanger. Tone Wang-Nilsen is the main shop steward for the Norwegian Nurses’ Association in Helse Stavanger/Stavanger University Hospital. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news – But do you realize that many of your members say yes to the bonus? – I understand that some people are in a phase of life where they can work a little more, and would like to earn a little more. Salary does mobilize, but it is a short-term measure. According to Wang-Nilsen, it has become more difficult to motivate tired nurses to take extra shifts. The head of the reception clinic also believes the bonus is a “necessary evil”. – I wish we could do without it, but now we don’t. At the same time, it looks like it will become even more difficult in the future to get hold of enough health personnel, says Fatnes Bø.
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Stavanger University Hospital spends millions on a bonus scheme to fill empty shifts – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
