Arnhem Rijnstate hospital nurses who want to work longer hours can expect a bonus. With this, the hospital wants to combat shortages and shortages of staff.
In recent years, the hospital has often solved shortcomings in the workplace by hiring self-employed workers. This is relatively expensive. That’s why Rijnstate prefers its staff to work harder in exchange for a bonus.
Rijnstate spokesman Maurice Velthuis does not want to say how high the bonus is. “This is something between the employee and the manager. However, it is a one-time bonus, for which you will work for an extra period. You agree with your manager for how long.”
According to Velthuis, working more hours is not an obligation. The number of extra hours also depends on what the employee’s private situation allows.
With the bonus, Rijnstate is ahead of the full-time bonus that politicians in The Hague are talking about. The House of Representatives believes that this will address shortcomings in areas such as education, health and childcare.
The unions have previously reacted critically to this plan. According to them, health workers already work more hours than they pay. Furthermore, such a bonus poses the problem of labor pressure and shortage of staff on the employee, the unions say.
At the beginning of November, Minister Dennis Wiersma (Education) has already presented a pilot project. Schools can register to see if a bonus for more working teachers is a solution to the teacher shortage. Schools have to pay that bonus themselves.
