- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
November 2011 Moms
Urgently need work advice!!!
Ok, here's the back story. I do the billing for an orthopedic surgeon. I am 1 of 4 employees in this office and I am the only one that knows how to do the billing. Long story short, neither the doctor or the office manager (who happens to be my MIL) have done anything about finding someone to cover my maternity leave. I mentioned a temp service, but the doctor apparently doesn't want to do that. He (from what I can understand) wants to have somebody that he knows personally come in, but he hasn't done anything yet.
With only 9 weeks left, I'm starting to stress out. My MIL told me this morning that he talked to her yesterday and he wants "Claire" to come in, but she has a full time job, so he wants me to come in on Saturdays to train her. There's no way I'm coming in on Saturdays for free. He mentioned something to her about me taking off a different day of the week but in my opinion, Saturdays are not equal to weekdays. I thought I would tell him I would only come in if he gave me X amount of money. Any advice???? I'm afraid he's going to talk to me about it today, so I'm trying to avoid him for now. Should I ask for a lump sum, or paid time and a half or what??? HELP!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Urgently need work advice!!!
I'd ask for either time and a half for the weekends or to have her come in the evenings for a regular rate and you'll just come in later those days.
Personally, I don't mind a few Saturdays in exchange for a weekday off here and there. Its much easier to get things done on the weekdays - less people in the stores and on the roads.
i know it'll suck to come in on Saturdays.. but Saturdays are a pretty normal work day for most. no offense, but i don't think a pay increase is justified in this situation. It isn't a holiday and you'd be getting the extra day off during the week, so you'd still be working 5 days a week.
Maybe in exchange you could ask for a week or two longer on maternity leave.
Please don't stress yourself out over this - Take care! As far as I know, you have every right to decline a change in work conditions based on anti-discrimination clauses related to pregnancy and maternity leave. If you have given the required notice for Maternity Leave, and don't want to work on Saturdays or take a day off that differs from your usual schedule, you have every right to refuse it. Sounds like you would like some extra $$ though but my guess is your boss is 'offering' a different day off to avoid a change in your current compensation. In that case, perhaps someone else here can advise you on that... I'm not sure how to deal with that. Personally, my weekends with DH are too important right now to give up a weekend day if I can help it. I'd be telling the boss to make it work during my regular hours of work. Good Luck with today!
To be quite honest, I do feel like I shouldn't have to work weekends. Like snowkiwi, time with my family is too important. I understand that this may be the only way, but that is why I'm planning on asking for some sort of extra compensation. I've been pregnant for 30 weeks now, and personally feel that maybe the doc shouldn't have waited so long to do this.
A similar situation happened last year when I had to take time off for student teaching. I took 4 months off and they were basically in denial of me leaving until the time came. They never got somebody to cover for me and I ended up working on Saturdays to cover their a$$es so he would still be pulling money in. It totally sucked. I ended up working almost every Saturday for 10+ hours and missed out all that time with my family. And at that time, I did not get extra pay, just my normal pay. I will not do that again.
I am in a similar situation. 9ish weeks left and nobody yet to cover me while I am gone. There is talk of a temp but I will believe it when I see it.
As for your situation. I would go to the surgeon directly tell him what your MIL told you and let him know that taking a day off during the week to make up for Saturday is not going to work for you this late in your pregnancy. If he would like this other person to be trained then she needs to be there when you are there. If he really pushes the issue, then ask for time and half for Saturdays or ask for additional paid maternity leave to cover the Saturdays. Surgeons can be brutal trust me I know, I work for 10 of them...
I agree. But from what I know (which is only hear-say), she can't come in during normal business hours. That would be ideal, and this whole problem could be avoided. In addition to teaching her how to bill/'code, I have to teach her the entire computer program we use.
Just trying to understand your feelings here. So you're stressed out about them finding a temporary replacement for you while you're on leave, but you're not willing to come in on a Saturday to train the temp therefore relieving your stress? But if they were to pay you overtime and gas money, that would make your stress go away?
My advice is to figure out what's really important to you. You know that your workplace has a habit of waiting till the last minute. This probably is not going to change. Is it better to take the time now to train the temp, or wait till after LO arrives and then have them constantly calling you asking you questions or worse, asking you to come in to help?
Think about your relationship with the Dr. before you make your request. You can always ask for money for mileage and overtime, but what if he says no? What will you do then? Refuse to come in thereby creating a bad relationship. I would think that if you make the request reasonable and explain it calmly then he would be more apt to give you what you want. Try to leave emotions out of it and be realistic.
If this is a job you want to come back to, then I would try to do everything I could to make it easy on them. Just my opinion. Good luck and let us know how it went.
It's their responsibility to have someone come in to be trained for your maternity leave. If you don't want to work over the weekends, I would just say, I'm sorry, weekends aren't an option for me. I wouldn't get into details because then they can make you feel as though your reasons are invalid.
If it's just one Saturday, I would play nice, go in and train the temp replacement, and take advantage of a day off during the week to run errands and do last minute baby stuff when the stores are less crowded.
This
I'm not necesarily stressed about what they will do when I'm gone. If they don't find someone to cover, then that is their problem. I will just pick up where I left off when I get back. And as far as Saturdays go, I would come in, but not unless he paid me extra. It's their fault that this is coming down to the wire and they are running out of options. Being paid would not make my stress go away, but it would help me rationalize losing one day of my weekend, working overtime, and losing time I could spend with my husband and step-daughter. Just trading a Saturday for a weekday off is not enough for me, as I still lose the family time.
Well then tell him that you need overtime to work on a Saturday, otherwise you're available Monday through Friday.
I get your point here, but neither should she be a doormat either. I get the feeling that that is what the doctor is expecting and that is not ok either.
There is no way I would go in to work regularly on Saturdays. If it was just a one-time thing, then sure, I'd do it. But not regularly when I'm so close to giving birth and have a million things that need to get done around the house. I would explain to the doctor, if he brings it up, that you and your husband have a lot to get done before the baby comes and that your weekends are pretty much booked.
Of course be nice about it all, and reiterate that you're happy to train someone during normal M-F business hours. My personal opinion is that it's rude and unrealistic to ask someone to work extra and inconvenient hours this late in their pregnancy.
I would not go out of my way to help train her mainly because if this chick can your full time job in one day a week, you're screwed.
It's hard for me to advise you because I have no idea what the terms of your employment are or what the laws are in your state. It may be possible for your boss to say, "these are the hours we need you to work, report at these times or tender your resignation." It really depends upon a lot of things.
If it were me, I would just say, "no." I'd tell him that weekends are the only time you and your husband have together to get ready for the baby and a weekday off doesn't help you to that end. Or, just say, "I'm sorry I am not available on Saturdays."
While a shift differential is not uncommon in the medical field, I think it makes you look a little petty and not like a team player to say, "family time is SO important to me but, I'd be willing to trade it for an extra 4 hours pay." Personally for 1 or 2 Saturdays, I wouldn't make a fuss. I don't think it leaves you looking very good. I would either be willing to work Saturday instead of a weekday or I wouldn't be willing to do it. Decide and go with it. To me this extra money thing sounds like you are just trying to punish him for waiting so long. Really, why should you care how long he chose to wait? It's his problem not yours.
I have been in almost the identical situation where I was working doing billing for a doctor's office (among a million other things) and was leaving my position there and the doctor waited until the last moment to find my replacement. While I understand that Saturday is a normal working day for most people (I work Sundays now, I'm now a massage therapist) I think what would bug me most is that you are working weekends because your upcoming maternity leave was not properly prepared for, and now they are scrambling to replace you. I would not come in on Saturdays in exchange for a weekday off- I would agree to a few Saturdays- i.e.- maybe two- with compensation for the mileage that you mentioned, and offer to stay a few evening hours to train this person. It is not fair for you to have to make a significant adjustment to your schedule because of their poor planning, ESPECIALLY if they have done it before as you mentioned.
I keep going back in my head to the fact that they let you do your 4 months of student teaching and you still had a job to come back to after that. You won't want to hear this, but I'll say it anyway:
I think you need to just suck it up for one Saturday. It's one day. Sorry.
As for missing the family time, I do get that- DH travels out of state M-F right now, and I've had to drive the 35 miles to work a few times on Saturdays when I would much rather be seeing my husband- but I do it because it provides us as a family with better job security once I go back to work. That, to ME, is worth a loss of family time once in a while- even though it sucks while I'm doing it.
Yes, your boss dropped the ball by waiting too long- but he's the boss, so you are left to pick up the pieces. Again, sorry, but suck it up.
As far as my student teaching goes, I informed them of this WAY in advance, pretty much as soon as I went back to school. So they knew about it for about 2 years in advance. Additionally, I banked my vacation time for 2 years to help cover for some of that time. So 6 weeks of that was considered "vacation".
In regards to "sucking it up for one Saturday", that is not the case. There is much more training to be done than can be done in one Saturday. My boss is expecting SEVERAL Saturdays between now and my due date.