Holidays versus PTO

I think it all depends on the amount of PTO that you accrue per pay period.  Some companies allow you to accrue more, but then you are expected to use your PTO for holidays.  Some may pay for holidays separately, but then you don't accrue as much PTO; it basically all balances out in the end.

• Holiday? What a joke...sm - Amphion bargain-basement MT
  • TransHealth has 6 paid holidays in addition to PTO and sick pay for fulltimers. nm - THMT
    • Correction - TH has 5 PTO days 1st year/10 days 2nd yr - nother THer - NM
      • going back to get my glasses rechecked - disregard my *&! correction! NM
  • Holidays and amphion - amphionite
    • yeah, but wouldn't you really like your holidays paid in addition to PTO? sheeeesh - nm
      • Holidays versus PTO - Depends
      • holidays--major ones. sm - amphionite
        • nm - I totally agree with you
  • Webmedx has 6 paid holidays a year, separate from PTO, for full time employees. - Webmedx
    • Just curious though...how many hrs PTO - Gatrans
    • Wow...now that sounds great. I hate using my PTO for holidays ...not fair/nm - Amphion bargain-basement MT
  • that should read...slowly accruing PTO time - Amphion bargain-basement MT

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I'm getting ready to start applying and these are the companies that I'm looking at.  So give me the low-down.  Good, bad, India?

Here are my criteria:

9 cpl or better

Does NOT send work to India

Good accounts with at least 50/50 of ESL versus American dictators

Consistent work flow - no downtime or time spent waiting for work

Upper management should be professional, positive, and encouraging.

Pay for lines WITH spaces.

Is there such a job out there or am I just dreaming?  If there are other companies other than the ones I listed that would fit the bill, please feel free to let me know. I tested with TransHealth and I felt like I tanked.  It was a hard test and I had to use the mouse to stop and start the dictation as it was online test and you couldn't download the voice files.  So that made it a lot more difficult.  One of the dictators was cutting himself off through the report and I had to leave some blanks.  I'm very frustrated with this whole process of looking and testing.  Are all the tests like that?  Or are there companies that allow you download the test files and transcribe them using your pedal and software?  Ugh!  I am just so frustrated and discouraged.

Thanks for any helpf.

Sorry.  What I mean is, to be paid for holidays, even if you dont work. Major holidays.

Are there companies (like in the old days) who pay you for Christmas, NY, Thanksgiving, etc., MAJOR HOLIDAYS?

Start training with Webmedx in a few weeks and wondered how they were with taking holidays off, namely Thanksgiving/Christmas.  I was told to make sure to put in a request for those days, which I will do.  Don't have my equipment yet.

Thanks!! Really excited to start, will be part time.

I do know that you are expected to work every other Christmas and every other Thanksgiving.  I don't think they give you time and a half for holidays either. 

From what I got from the paperwork and conference calls is that holidays are not paid, you have to use your PTO if you want the holiday off.  Then again, you do get paid a good bit more per line for working a holiday.  With only 10 days PTO per year, I would rather work the holiday and save my PTO for an actual vacation or when I'm sick.

I did get a raise with the merger, since they do not pay incentives or shift differentials (they merged them together to give us a higher line rate than we were originally getting).  And, I like that the quota is a dollar amount averaged over three pay periods instead of a line amount.  The line/time reporting site makes it easy to see if you are on track too...that is one thing I really, really like.

I would not mind being given another tertiary account for those slow days (which are usually major holidays...like it was on New Year's Day -- twiddled my thumbs most of the day).  I also like that they are a lot closer to where I live than DeVenture was (just in case another hurricane decides to hit and knock out power for a week or more...I hope to be allowed to go there and get my work done...still waiting to get an answer on that).

I've worked at places where we had to work holidays if it was our regularly scheduled day (we did get double time for it), and if we wanted it off, had to arrange to have it off (would get holiday pay).

But most places I've worked, we had to choose to work 1 holiday out of T-giving, Christmas, or New Years to work and also had to choose 2 holidays out of July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and I forget the other one.  (We had to decide this in January, though, which makes it tough to try to coordinate with when other family would be available to get together for the holidays.  We have other medical workers in the family, so they go through the same thing in January as well.)

MTs required to cover for a set number of holidays (2 or 3 per year) one of which must be Thxgiving or Xmas, even though it may not be one of his/her regular weekly work days.  Last holiday, Memorial, were told who was committed to that particular day, but they wisely (to legally cover their behinds) added that we were not required to stay at PC if there was no work.  Well, that's the same as being engaged to work even though there may not be any work crap.

But that holiday is REQUIRED ... when that M.Day, Thanksgiving, or Xmas could be spent with family, away from computer, which cannot be done, i.e., no travel possible ... but MT still REQUIRED to work the holiday.  Go figure. 

I know the SS differences between the 2 but can anyone tell me is there any real advantage of being an SE versus an IC?  Why did MQ do away with SE?  Do you think this will be growing trend with companies?

I was just offered a QA position.  If I accept the position, it will be my first QA job.  According to my calculations, I would only make about a dollar more an hour on average by staying a production MT than I would as QA with this particular company, who pays their QA staff by the hour.  I am wondering, is being offered QA anything like a promotion in the industry, or is it more of a lateral move/matter of preference?  Would love to hear opinions on pros and cons of QA  Thanks!

Doesn't matter to me--with all the overtime available at Amphion, it's pretty easy to whittle down using PTO to a couple of hours instead of 7 or 8.  But more importantly to me is that as long as I don't have to work the major holidays that are most important to my family--Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year's--I'm a very happy camper.  I was an IC for a long time before Amphion and was able to take my very first vacation in 5 years last year.

It just depends on what is most important to each individual.   

Not expecting to have to work ANY holidays or weekends is out of the question in our business.  However, I decided to educate myself and put myself through college to have a career.  I paid a lot of money for my education and I worked really hard to get it so that I could find a better job than what I did before, cleaning hotel rooms, waitressing, etc.  As a waitress, it would be easier than this to find somewhere to work making more money and having a better chance of having holidays off.  My point is having to work every holiday and every weekend with no reward; no extra pay, no floating day off, nothing.  That is what isn't fair.  Trust me, I've worked my share of holidays.  In 14 years, I've maybe had a total of 6-10 off; that's 6-10 over a period of 14 years.  It is possible there are some companies who simply don't care and don't make it worth your while. 

Maybe when Medical Transcription education started becoming advertised on TV by Sally Struthers the quality of the Transcriptionist has declined.  Everyone thinks that they are able to do this.  In my experience, most are SHOCKED when they find out they can't walk in off the street and do this.  They cannot believe they have to have an education.

A lot of you who have been doing this longer than me, got taught the old way.  Right on site.  Those are great MTs.  I came in between that and the learn-at-home MTs.  In my time, we actually had to go to some college and get an education.

Then came the learn-at-home programs (a lot cheaper than what I paid and a lot faster).  Now in my own experience, some of these MTs are okay.  Most are not.  I'm sure with time, they would be better, but I've seen a slow decline in the last 5 years of how the MTSOs treat the employees and how poor quality a lot of the learn-at-home MTs produce. 

So....holidays?  You know, I work them all.  But gees it would be nice to get a small token of appreciation just once for doing it.  As far as some of the other advice, absolutely.  Look locally.  I'm so fed up with the MTSOs, that I am looking locally.

If I was an MTSO and come to this board, I would have no respect for any MTs myself.  We cannot even unite together on anything.  One person brings up an opinion and 100 follow with their outrage and nasty comments! 

We all have a lot in common with each other, yet we can't even get alone.  How can we expect respect from employer and yet we don't even respect our peers?

Since OSi has taken away holiday pay unless we turn into dancing bears -- all the MT's I know are planning to leave ASAP.  Don't most MTSO's with employee status offer paid holidays?

Are there any other MTSO's with employee status that DON'T pay for holidays so we will know where not to apply? 

TIA

I work for one and if I do work that holiday, I get my holiday pay, plus the lines that I type.

...usually there is no work at all.  I was told that this depends on the account though.  And your rate is x1-1/2 is paid for work done on the 6 major holidays.