Being asked to work for nothing...

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

So I work in private healthcare as an employee. One of my colleagues phoned in sick so a receptionist had to call all of his patients to reschedule them. Some how she took one off the diary but didn't call him, so this chap then turns up and obviously pissed off (and rightly so).

My boss offered to see him if he wouldn't mind waiting 20mins, the chap said he didn't want to wait but would come another day. My boss had the receptionist book him in with me and said to him it would be no charge. Because I get paid on a "clinic income" basis rather than by time I asked my boss this morning whether it was OK for the receptionist to put it as a "paid" appointment on the spreadsheet so I would still get paid for my time at the end of the month.

He simply replied "so you want me to pay you for seeing a patient who isn't paying?" and then went on to say that we should do it as a no charge to keep him happy, which I 100% agree with, but what I don't agree with is that one of his employees made a fk up and it comes out of my wages and free time?

It's not a huge sum of money in the grand scheme of things but I can't be the only one who thinks that's not right!?

Mod edit. Please do not bypass the swear filter

[E63eeeeee...]

Join a union!

[bmwmike]

"so you want me to pay you for seeing a patient who isn't paying?"

Err, yes boss - it was your call to give the freebie.

[Sheepshanks]

If you were on a fixed salary then I guess there'd be some give and take, but if you only get paid based on work done then it seems absurd to expect you to do it for nothing.

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

bmwmike said:

"so you want me to pay you for seeing a patient who isn't paying?"

Err, yes boss - it was your call to give the freebie.

Kind of what I said, he just said something about he'd like to think it's something we'd do as we're a team etc etc

[Evoluzione]

Phone in sick.

[Alex Z]

Ask to be paid for a patient you didn’t see, and base your answer on the reaction you get.

Edited by Alex Z on Sunday 9th January 07:44

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

Evoluzione said:

Phone in sick.

Unfortunately they were booked in in the middle of my shift (during my tea break....so I had a 5 hour shift with back-to-back patients without a break....) plus, if I don't go into work (i.e. I phone sick) I don't get paid for those I would treat and usually earn money!

[Sheepshanks]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

If I make a mistake or whatever I'd happily CHOOSE to no-charge the patient, but that's under MY decision.

That's a can of worms - do you pay the clinic's normal share back to them?

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

Sheepshanks said:

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

If I make a mistake or whatever I'd happily CHOOSE to no-charge the patient, but that's under MY decision.

That's a can of worms - do you pay the clinic's normal share back to them?

Yes, in the sense I will always do this as overtime (i.e. time I wouldn't otherwise be there - providing I get otherwise fully booked).

[E63eeeeee...]

Alex Z said:

Ask to be paid for a patient you didn’t see, and base your answer on fbe reaction you get.

I actually think this is a very fair point. Certainly, I've always based my willingness to sometimes work more than I'm being paid for on my employer's attitude to paying me when I'm not working (or at least not doing anything very useful).

[Sheepshanks]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

Yes, in the sense I will always do this as overtime (i.e. time I wouldn't otherwise be there - providing I get otherwise fully booked).

Yes, but you're still using the clinic's facilities and they're not being paid for them.

[deeen]

E63eeeeee... said:

Alex Z said:

Ask to be paid for a patient you didn’t see, and base your answer on fbe reaction you get.

I actually think this is a very fair point. Certainly, I've always based my willingness to sometimes work more than I'm being paid for on my employer's attitude to paying me when I'm not working (or at least not doing anything very useful).

Ask your boss for your regular hourly rate out of his/her own pocket, if he/she really believes in "the team"? Or suggest he/she sees the patient instead? You're protecting the company... what would happen if it were to become general knowledge that staff were being pressured to work for less than the minimum wage?

Edited by deeen on Saturday 8th January 22:28

[CarCrazyDad]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

bmwmike said:

"so you want me to pay you for seeing a patient who isn't paying?"

Err, yes boss - it was your call to give the freebie.

Kind of what I said, he just said something about he'd like to think it's something we'd do as we're a team etc etc

Nope.

Not your fk up
Your clinic time should be paid for.

[thebraketester]

That's no bueno!!

[ruggedscotty]

I can remember an interview where they talked about on call.....

I asked about that 1 in 5 weekends id be on call - what was the oncall payment......

what ?

what was the on call payment....

we dont pay an on call payment, but we pay if your called out...

so if Im on call whats the expectations...

You stay within an hour of the site...

An hour ?

yes

What payment do you make ?

we dont but we will pay you if your called out....

ok so if im not

we dont pay an on call rate

so im not on call then

what ?

If your not paying an on call then im not on call am i ?

not exactly.... we need to beable to have someone in if needed... and we split it up across the team and its one in six... friday pm to monday am..

thats quite a few hours ?

yes ?

Hmmmm let me think on that one eh...

what is there to think on... ?

Your expecting me to be at your call for a weekend and your not wanting to pay for it... think you need to find someone else.

[GliderRider]

If the patient isn't paying and you're not being paid, how, if you were to screw up, would that fit with a medical negligence claim?

[ymwoods]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

bmwmike said:

"so you want me to pay you for seeing a patient who isn't paying?"

Err, yes boss - it was your call to give the freebie.

Kind of what I said, he just said something about he'd like to think it's something we'd do as we're a team etc etc

Loath bosses like that. Not a team when it comes to other areas though.

[GC8]

I get paid for what I do and not what you get paid for. I am not here to subsidise your incompetence.

[drmike37]

I’m fast learning that in most situations you should do your own work, not someone else’s. It’s always the “one quick extra” tgat causes problems.
If admin create a problem, i leave them to deal with it.