Hi all,

I received an e-mail from HR lady who suggested;

Does this mean that in addition to pay my seniority will also influence leave and other personal allowances? I will be working for a health authority.

I don't work in the health care industry. However, in every situation in which I have worked in which seniority has mattered, my seniority has affected everything (amount of annual vacation, etc.).

Thanks for that Judy, thats good news

I work in the healthcare system in calgary.This can also mean negociating shift pattern and annual leave.The less senoir you are the less choice you have.In other words more unsocial shifts and having to take annual leave when those more senior have taken their's!!!
Good Luck Sarah

With the health authority the seniority seems to work like this:

those that have been there longer get put on a higher pay level from the start rather than having to start from the bottom and working up.
those that been there longer get the first pick of the shifts.
those that have been there longer get the first pick of vacation time.
those that have been there longer get parking at the hospital.

you as the last in (with the lowest seniority- if you cannot prove it) get all the grotty shifts and can only book vacation time after every one else has chosen theirs and you get "off lot parking" which can add 20-40 mins onto your days traveling.

As you can see from the above it is quite important to get some sort of seniority.

Hope that helps
Jacqui

Hi
Just started as a nurse in the Rockyview in April. I got proof of employment from the NHS and sent it to a contact at Telus who I was dealing with, this means that you can start at the right year and get a good rate of pay. I have found that my seniority seems to be zero as I am brand new to the department and the region. Also before I moved to being a RN, from a temp permit I have had to send in a Canadian work reference with 225 hours work over here. However even with those issues (and they are a pain) I am really enjoying my job in the emergency department.
Note for all you men moving here kidney stones are a big problem and one of the commonest things I seem to deal with, must be something about the water, altitude, weather; not really sure!!
Sarah

Everything Jacqui says is absolutely correct. I was however given a line so my schedule is already planned and I know what shifts I am doing for the next 3 + years.
Sarah

I'm happy now, deffo going to chase round and get those forms completed.

How is seniority worked out in Canada, is it based on years worked or experience? In the UK I've got 8 years post qualified experience, specialised in child and adolescent mental health and was G grade (Band 6, under review for band 7), with a degree in PSI in psychosis.

Sharon

My sister-in-law is a nurse in Montreal. She only works part time. This year is the first time she has been able to take vacation in the Summer, at the same time as her daughter (now eleven).

I might be popular then, with having no kids and working with them I avoid taking leave in school holidays like the plague. Much prefer to go away when there are no kids and holidays are cheaper.

Must admit it's a fairer way of doing it rather than parents automatically getting preffered hols as they have kids, or the managers favourites getting first choice:curse:.

I agree with that, mainly i prefer to avoid the school hols but when you are asked to join firiends for their hols and cant because all the parents get first choice in the holiday dates it rankles!

Trouble with the seniority thing is that nobody leaves so it can take years to move up the list

Ahh seniority. The process whereby time served is more important to success than how good you are at your job. Or to put it another way, strive for mediocrity in all things. It's the Canadian way.

If there was one thing that bothered me about my previous job it would be that.

Seniority has it's place but when one can be the best at what one does and have to work with someone who can barely hold it together yet you both earn the same pay it rankles.

Well in the NHS it's the managers that can barely stop it from falling apart, sorry contribute to it falling apart and they get paid a dam site more.

Get your point though, it sucks either way.

Good point - seniority stinks. I have to employ the person with the highest seniority even if they are not the best person for the job just like Britain in the 80's.