The Contract

Be sure to ask how many hours you are expected to work, and how many hours you are actually guaranteed. We will not take any assignment that guarantees less than 34 hours/week. If your pay package is quoted on a 40-hour work week, ensure that you are guaranteed 40 hours to be paid that amount. 

*Note* a contract that boasts a guaranteed 40 hours is not necessarily worth accepting without caution. The site will obviously want you to work to your maximum capacity to make it worth the bill rate. A guarantee of 32-38 hours may indicate a more manageable caseload. 

We are fortunate to have never had a cancelled contract. In our contracts, we prefer to have at least a 30-day cancellation notice in writing. This way, we won't find ourselves scrambling for a new contract if the employer hires a permanent employee to replace you as a traveler. 

Try to ensure that these are maxed-out. This can't always happen, because sometimes the facility is not paying a high enough bill rate to the travel company to maximize stipends and still profit. However, use https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates to help determine if your contract is giving you the highest untaxed rate available in your region of employment. Feel free to reach out if you have questions about using the website listed above.

In some settings, you may have to travel to multiple sites (home health, school-based, and others). Make sure that the required sites are documented in your contract. If you are required to travel to more than one site, consider pushing for mileage reimbursement as well.