hey all, i posted this subject on another forum, was wondering what you guys think. what are the legalities between the two, i.e. verbal vs. written contract. what if one agrees to a travel contract and an emergency happens?, what if a traveler just changes his/her mind?... what do you guys say? thx.
In my experience with contract law, it depends on all of the circumstances. Contract law can differ from state to state as well. Always, Always create a contract and have all parties sign it. Even written contracts can be disputed, but it will never hurt you, unless you are the one breaching contract.
The key factor to any contract is going to be a judges interpretation on how it was set up. One person may see a contract written or verbal one way, and another person may see it a different way.
That's just how our system is set up. I would always recommend talking to an attorney if you are in question of being in breach of a contract.
Again, this is just my insight from my studies of contract law.
I have been traveling for a long time and actually broke a written contract a few years back. The company screams and hollers but in the end did nothing. I did know of a friend that was made to pay the housing because of a contract signed by the company with the apartment complex. You will hear the company state you have a verbal contract if nothing is yet signed but in reality its your word against theirs. I have backed out of contracts that were verbal when finding out that info given to me by the hospital was bogus. Again screaming and hollering from the company but nothing was done. Remember, the travel company has a contract with the hospitals and the bond between these two is alot stronger than any committment to you. They want to keep a good standing with the hospital to enable them to continue sending travlers there and for you to break a contract doesn't shed a good light on them. There are hundreds of travel companies now days. If one doesn't serve your purpose and needs then move on to the next. "Do your Research before committing"
hey all, thx for your input, i appreciate it.
Hi, my mom is a traveler, so I know what kind of stuff you guys run into. I've seen several posts about needing legal advice or getting ripped off by agencies, etc. This post is just another example and I encourage all of you to go to my website and check it out. My mom has this service now and she says that she wishes she would have known about it sooner and now won't be without it. I think it could be very beneficial to nurses in general, but especially to traveling nurses. If any of you are interested, just go to my website and then email me from there and I will get ahold of you with more info.
I am so sorry! I forgot to post my website, so here it is:
www.prepaidlegal.com/amberphillips What happened with this? One of the posts from a traveler I think said it correctly. When breaking a contract, usually at worst you will have to pay housing costs or something, and hear about it for a few days, but that's all. Did everything work out for you? Keep us posted.
Paying for 3 months of housing can be expensive when you don't have a job?????
WR,,, three commas for Becca
On the subject of verbal vs written contracts...
I'd highly recommend always making a contract in writing versus going on verbal agreement only. As long as it's a legal contract a written contract is a lot better if you have to get a court judgement than relying on "he said she said".
I have actually had to breach my contract this past week due to family emergency. My company is telling me that I have to pay for housing and furniture bc they say they cannot get out of lease on neither. I am very upset bc I do not have another job. I told them if I have to pay then I should get to keep the apt and furniture for the 3 months. They said that technically the lease is not mine, so they cannot do that. They told me today that I should try to find someone to fill contract and my worries would be gone. They were being nice until today when I told them that I definetly could not go back. I have been a traveler for a while but has never had to brake contract, so I am really lost about this. Do I really have to pay for the housing since it is not my lease to begin with? What can they do to me?
I have actually had to breach my contract this past week due to family emergency. My company is telling me that I have to pay for housing and furniture bc they say they cannot get out of lease on neither. I am very upset bc I do not have another job and I only worked one week of pay for them to keep. I told them if I have to pay then I should get to keep the apt and furniture for the 3 months. They said that technically the lease is not mine, so they cannot do that. They told me today that I should try to find someone to fill contract and my worries would be gone. They were being nice until today when I told them that I definetly could not go back. I have been a traveler for a while but has never had to brake contract, so I am really lost about this. Do I really have to pay for the housing since it is not my lease to begin with? What can they do to me?
I have only been traveling for a little while, but what a friend told me is this: If you like the company you work with and they always seem to have assignments for you....if you back out of a contract, the next time you return for another assignment they will mysteriously have no openings for you...so my advice..if you like your agency and recruiter I would not back out...unless you give them notice and wait for them to bring in a replacement.
I never make a verbal contract because I want to see the written contract and negotiate any changes if neccessary. You can alaways tell the Nurse Manger or Hiring Manager it looks good and you just have to iron out a few details with the company or something along those lines.I remember one recruiter that had her boss breathing down her neck to get me to committ verbally and I kept saying my agreement will be when you have a signed written contract by me which I believe is more than fair. You may even want to take notes on the interview and other agreements on housing and such to attach to your contract saying your are signing with the condition that this information is true. Always make sure the recruiter and hiring manager are on the same page because there is a seperate contract between the company and the facility. Watch out for those phrases in the contract that are one sided such as saying you are responsible for all cost if the contract is terminated for any reason. You won't reduce the risks entirely that's why you get paid more for traveling but you can contain things. Travel Companies by the way can not withhold your paycheck for work performed. If they want to sue you they still need to pay you. Some companies will try this and you can go to the labor board if neccesary but stay tuned to this forum and others to learn what companies to avoid. If a company has a bad record in this you will here more than one story.
CJ
TravelNurseToolbox.comAlways go for written contract. Advice enroll in prepaid leagal plan such as
www.prepaidlegal.com (For the record I am an independent associate for this pre paid legal plan as well as a customer I am not seeking commissions so I ask you enter the
www.prepaidlegal.com which will bring you to the companies web site not an associate.) it cost about $26 a month for a family and you can have your contract reviewed by an attorney within 24-48 hours. Which is a good feature of the plan to use and with on average a traveler doing 4 contracts a year the cost is well worth it.
My advice leagal matters including contracts should be handled by Attornies. Would you go to Jiffy Lube for a tooth ache
