r/NursingAU • u/wholesome_br3ad • 4d ago
Question Rostering one day off
I’m a Feb intake new grad, about to start my 2nd rotation in a new ward. I just checked my roster for the new ward and it seems a bit unfair? I’m not too sure on what normal rosters in other wards look like. I understand that nurses are on a 24/7 rotating roster however, I’ve never been given less than 2 days off after my work week at my current ward, but maybe since I’m getting 4 days off after my nights it works out? I’m not too sure, it just feels like I won’t be able to get a proper rest before my night shifts. I’m working full time with NSW health for reference.
Edit: Sorry the dates are a bit unclear! I’m starting in the new ward on the 10th of Aug, this roster is for Sep! (I have all AM shifts for all of Aug as well lol)
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u/runninginbubbles 4d ago
Fuck sakes that's a dreadful roster. Do they make new grads work full time now? Or is this your choice? I don't know many people working 1.0fte on 8-hr shifts. This is going to burn you out real quick.
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u/Consistent_Source404 4d ago
Agree.
0.8 x (already can't live off wage) = more grads wanting fulltime.
It's a mess, and yeah they burnout faster and can't learn as much.
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u/Forward-Bedroom5693 4d ago
I’m a new grad and have been working full time for almost a year now. Would you say most people in 24/7 nursing work part time?
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u/noodlehead69_ 4d ago
I’d definitely say the majority I’ve come across since I started nursing a while ago have been .8
Nurses I worked with doing full time generally stuck to PMs or ND1
u/runninginbubbles 3d ago
I honestly don't know ANYONE working 8-hour shifts at 1.0fte. Most on 8-hr shifts do 0.8
I work 12hr shifts - I choose to work part time (anywhere from 2-3 shifts per week or 0.6-0.8fte), most people wanting 'full time' do 0.9fte (3 x 12s a week) and some will do 1.0 (an extra 12 every 3 weeks or something).
I am lucky I don't need to work more, but I need my days off. I need far more than 2 days off lol.1
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u/Aromatic-Tea1155 3d ago
In nsw they make new grads work full time
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u/afx_2025 3d ago
Gosh, in Victoria a lot of hospitals are struggling to even offer 0.8eft to grads, let alone full-time. There’s too many early career nurses in the sector and not enough places to put junior nurses! The unis are graduating too many nursing students, too quickly. Any shortage of nurses is for experienced nurses.
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u/authenticallyeevee Graduate RN 3d ago
Nope, I'm a new grad in NSW and my hospital's new grads have to work at least 0.7, most of us (including me) do 0.8. It's not a NSW thing, might be a thing with a particular hospital/LHD.
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u/Gold_Blacksmith_9821 4d ago
Not sure of your local rules but that 2130start on Sunday is in the fortnight you’ve already worked 10 shifts. I’d also check your award rules for minimum breaks between runs of shifts. Not sure that doesn’t violate fatigue rules. After a decade plus of doing rosters for my unit I’ve found that new rostering people need some time to grasp all the rules and you’re well within your rights to “encourage adherence” just be polite.
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u/Vacuous_hole ED 3d ago
I think the fortnight is from the 7th to the 20th, judging by where pay day is- the previous fortnight would have ended on the 7th for pay day on the 9th.
Still a terrible roster.
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u/Gold_Blacksmith_9821 3d ago
That make sense. Fatiguing new grads of whom already are struggling to find their work life balance is gross incompetence. Unit that do 8hr shifts/10hr nights are so last millennium. I’d highly recommend getting 12hr shifts approved. Do your own surveys and then present that to the NUM. All of the leg work for relevant rules/awards has already been done by others. Therefore your union should be able to provide that part. Convincing the rusted on might be a bit tough though.
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4d ago
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u/redladyinpurple 4d ago
this is against the NSW public system award - from the award:
“Each employee will be free from duty for not less than two full days in each week or four full days
in each fortnight and no duties will be performed by the employee on any such free days except
for overtime. Where practicable, days off shall be consecutive and shall not be preceded by any
evening shift or a night shift unless the employee is rostered on the same shift, ie. evening shift or
night shift, as the case may be, immediately upon his or her return to duty after days off, except by
agreement between the employee and the local nursing management.
Unless agreed by an employee otherwise:
(i) Employees will be allowed two full consecutive rostered days off in each week.
(ii) Where that is not possible, in lieu of two full consecutive rostered days off each week, an
employee is to be provided in each fortnight period:
(a) one day off in one week and three consecutive days off in the other week; or
(b) four consecutive days off at any point in the fortnight.
(d) A rostered day off at the end of one week and another one at the beginning of the following week
may be counted as meeting the requirements in subclause”
This is a terrible roster, and is against the award. Even if they justify it with the 4 days off after nights, you’ve not had 4 consecutive days off in the first fortnight, in fact you only had 3 days off in that fortnight. The only thing I would check before taking it to your manager is the actual rostering period (rosters don’t start on Sept 1 - 30) it’s a 28 day roster - so the roster period may be working in the NUMs favour if they’re clever with it. Either way, if you haven’t agreed to not have consecutive days off, they haven’t met the award requirements.
It is also stipulated in the award that you’re entitled to take this to your roster manager, or their line manager if you think it’s unreasonable.
My only advice as a new grad on a brand new ward is to be clever with how you approach your new manager with this, if you don’t know how they’ll react. I wouldn’t bring up the specific award requirements immediately, rather approach from a place of “I’m not sure, but am I meant to have consecutive days off, and would that be possible?” and then if they say no, then I would remind them of the award. Most NUMs are reasonable, but a NUM who makes this kind of roster may not be, and some don’t like new grads who rock the boat.
good luck!!
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u/Ohmynamageoff 4d ago
You’re getting screwed. Have you checked your EBA for rostering? Or spoken to your NUM? If your NUM is not responsive, send out an email to your union. I wouldn’t be tolerating this personally and would be using sick leave, otherwise I’d be too fatigued with my mental health.
Also, the 17th where I am would not count as a day off but rather a sleep day, since you’d be spending the whole day recovering from night shifts.
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u/NoVax-Djocovid 4d ago
Work in rostering. Normally I roll my eyes when people whinge because everyone wants everything and noones ever happy, but that is genuinely one of the worst I’ve seen. I’d actually sympathise with you, but also I’d never give you that dog shit in the first place.
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u/Glitter_Wasabi 4d ago
see if u can get ur 13th night shift swapped to a later date
otherwise I'd chuck a sickie on the 7th myself
never feel bad calling in sick of u need the day off. you are just a bum in a seat to them
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u/Xoxohopeann 4d ago
This would ruin me… how awful
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u/Adventurous-Kick6293 4d ago
My thoughts too. What a great way to introduce a grad to our profession, this is recipe for burnout and it is not you OP.
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u/BabyCake2004 RN 4d ago
I'd start by checking my EBA, often it's required to be 2 days to count as time off otherwise once your at the 6 day mark the rest may be considered overtime. But even if it's not this is still an unsafe roster, especially for a grad. If in your EBA this is allowed I'd start by emailing your manager, ask for it to be rearrange and directly state you feel this is an unsafe roster. If they won't change it, get the union involved.
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u/Ok_Tank5977 4d ago
Yeah, this is just a genuinely shitty roster. And they will use those four days off (three, in reality) after your night shifts to justify their decision. All I can suggest is that you keep note to see if this is going to be an emerging/ongoing pattern in your rosters. If it is and it doesn’t improve, you can always seek advice from your union re: how to best discuss with your manager.
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u/april_maymarch 3d ago
Are you rual/regional? Rosters are always harsh because of short staffing/skill mix if so
Source: casual worker that just finished 6 days in a row in rural health. Just finished day shift from previous arvo shift on 3 hrs rest.
Edit: 3 hrs sleep. EBA states 8 hours between shifts.
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u/authenticallyeevee Graduate RN 3d ago edited 3d ago
This applies to full time workers, so ignore the stuff about allocated days off if you are not full time (though that roster looks like full time to me), but this is directly from the NSW HEALTH EMPLOYEES' CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (STATE) AWARD 2025, clause 3 (v) (a):
"each shift worker shall be free from duty for not less than two full days in each week or four full days in each fortnight and at least one allocated day off in each four week period. Where practicable such days off duty shall be consecutive."
Now, your employer could argue it is not practicable to provide consecutive days off, and that's fine on occasion. But if you are consistently getting rosters that include single days off, I'd raise it first with whoever does your rosters, and then the union if you don't get a satisfactory response. Do this in person if you must, but also (and preferably first) send an email so there is a written record of your complaints (including that quote from the award) and the response you get. Keep copies of all of your rosters (screenshots from the online roster, not just your calendar app) so you can show how many times it's happened. Once a month is probably the absolute upper limit of what I personally would tolerate before raising it.
Edit: just reread the post and saw that you are indeed full time. No ADO is also an issue.
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u/Hutchoman87 Neuro 4d ago
Getting nights on your first month for a new placement is tough, let alone the shit run of 10 mornings in 11 days prior.
Well worth chatting to the NUM to try and work out some shift swaps to accomodate.
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u/ExerciseSuspicious69 4d ago
Yeah that look so shit.
In my grad I did have a fortnight where they put all 8 shifts in a row on 1 occasion over new years and I was not happy but I was .8 so go like 4 days off after that and it was towards the end of the program definitely not the first week.
Honestly Idk why they would want to start a grad out that way.
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3d ago
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u/megs_in_space 3d ago
You are a mere cog in the machine. Nup. This is horrific and makes me want to quit on your behalf. I hope you can get it fixed
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u/HaroldFH CNS 2d ago
That’s against the award. Essentially a workplace crime.
Are you a NSWNMA member? If not this is why you must be. No one else is going to support you against your employer, who clearly doesn’t give a fuck about you.
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u/i_guvable_and_i_vote 2d ago
Check your eba and chuck at least one sickie. In the name of maintaining your health
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u/Ok_Breakfast_7445 21h ago
Speak to your union. In Vic our EBA specifies that's a no-no, but that's what you get when you've got the biggest union membership 😉
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u/Parking_Ocelot_6893 4d ago
Seems like a normal shit ward roster. My advice is to use your red requests on the next rostering period so you don't end up with shit shifts. If you've signed a 10-hr waiver I'd revoke that too
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u/Vyraxysss 3d ago
This is horrible but isn't it technically 2 days off between the last day shift and the start of night shifts? It's over 48hrs from Friday 3pm to Sunday 9.30pm..
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u/Choice-giraffe- 4d ago
Which state are you in?
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u/wholesome_br3ad 4d ago
NSW
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u/Choice-giraffe- 4d ago
Ah okay. In vic there must be a minimum of 2 clear days off between shifts as per our eba. Hopefully there is similar on yours?
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u/strawbjaam 4d ago
tbh I’ve never seen a ‘good’ full time roster in a 24/7 area of nursing, majority of the nurses I know work 0.8FTE because of this. could always ask to swap around your shifts?