...to think that a day nursery are exploiting my friend...?

[lunarmooner]

A young friend of mine has just qualified as a registered children's nurse. Jobs in this area are limited at the moment and she applied for a post in a day nursery, which advertised for a 'registered paediatric nurse', and which ensured she showed her NMC PIN number before being allowed to apply. She got the job, and since starting has found that she is literally working as a nursery nurse, on £6 an hour. Qualified nurses start on over £21,000 per annum. The nursery advertise that they have a registered nurse working there, introduce her to new parents as the nurse, and yet pay her the same as the rest of the staff. And on top of it, she is not using any of her nursing skills, which she has gained throughout her 3-year degree! Is this exploitation or what?! And what can be done about it, without her getting a bad name which might affect future 'proper' nurse jobs??! She is applying for nursing jobs at the moment, and the managers of the nursery are proving difficult about her going for interviews! She is such a lovely young girl, and I am disgusted by this! AIBU?! Is there anything that can be done about it?! Thanks all!

There's not a lot she can do about this other then to leave. It is disgusting but it happens. Did she not know about the pay before she started? They have used her qualifications as a sales gymic.

Why didn't she ask about the wage before she started? At the interview for example.

TBH if she isn't using her nursing skills then the job probably isn't benefitting her long term career. If she cannot get time off for interviews then she would be better off handing her notice in. She needs to discuss this with her manager. When you apply for a job they always ask the reason that you left your last employment, and this is a valid reason.

Next time she needs to ask for a written copy of her duties, if it is outside of a clinical setting.

I agree - it seems very odd that she agreed to take the job without knowing what she would be paid. Didn't she have to sign a contract?

Just to add, has she contacted the agencies, they will have work for her and this will lead to a permanent post.

Also, didn't she see any sort of job description before she applied?

She should have checked how much the pay was and what her job description was before anything else. A nursery isn't a clinical setting, they wouldn't be insured to care for sick children on the premises and they wouldn't have the equipment.

Id like to add shes doing a disservice to the title 'nursery nurse' Im a qualified NNEB nursery nurse I worked hard for my qualification and it took 2 years of intense study,a paediatric nurse wouldnt have the same level of extensive knowledge in my foeld just as I wouldnt have in hers.

She needs to address this before it becomes a huge flaw or gap in her C.V.

If she has a contract, she needs to check the required notice period. If she has one it's probably a month. She should sign up with agencies now, giving them the date she'll be available from, so she'll have work waiting for her. Once she's left she can apply for full time jobs more easily, whilst earning through the agencies. All she needs to say is that she wants to use her degree. They can't reasonably badmouth her for that.

Agency here gives pay rates for a registered paediatric nurse of £28-£38 per hour.

It sounds like your friend has been a bit daft tbh. She should have asked for a job description + salary breakdown in writing prior to taking the job on. I'm a bit surprised she's managed to go through 3 years of nurse training and remain so naive, but then, the job market is pretty tough now.

If they are not letting her take the time to look for other jobs, she should leave asap, as it's not going to do her nursing career much good. Aside from that, there are newly qualified nurses working in supermarkets looking for work, so in comparison, it's not the worst stop gap in the world and she can use it to her advantage, hands on experience with children, get involved with health promotion etc.

Tell her to make connections with her local PICU/NICU or Neonatal Unit, they tend to have higher staff turnovers and take on staff regularly. If that's not her thing, local children's hospices often are looking for staff either permenantly, or for bank work. All these areas are very keen to take on newly qualified staff and would look good on her cv if she leaves.

Once she leaves, I'd write to whichever company manages the nursery and complain about them wanting to employ a nurse while paying far below the going rate. And yes, NicksChicks is right, NNEB and RNC are two very different qualifications.

To add, for a newly qualified nurse, I would recommend a permanent job over agency work, even if it's not in her favourite speciality. Preceptorship is v importment when you are making the big step from student to nurse and agency nurses are often expected to get in and get on with it.

I would second gothannegeddes advice, a newly qualified nurse really needs six months post registration experience before feeling confident to 'go it alone' agency nurses are expected to slot in to a ward, know what they are doing and often get little support.

Graduates are finding it very hard to get work now as employers want the degree and the experience. As has been said she should have checked it out before taking the job but she is where she is.

I would not be using this to drop from my CV but to enhance my CV and show that she has experience in the workplace and the qualifications. She should think of it as an investment and a stepping stone, in 6-12 months then start looking around and she will find employers will find her more employable for this experience.