Contract Employment
As COTAs, many of us are probably employed by a contracting company. These are companies that hire therapists, then market and sign contracts with LTC facilities or other rehab providers to provide the therapy needs of a building. Most contracts are written for one year increments, and are often re-negotiated yearly.
There are many contracts that have endured several years in one facility. On the other hand, there are some facilities that seem to change contractors yearly. In either scenario here, as an employee we are at the mercy of the powers that be for our job. If contract negotiations don't suit both the facility and the contractor, the therapists working there may be joining the unemployment line soon. If you are employed for a contractor that places you in a facility, this could be a situation you face at some time.
This contract is also not the only thing that could jeopardize your employment here. The facility has to maintain their part too. If their marketing staff becomes stagnant, so will the therapy caseload. If the administrator isn't doing a good job, he/she may be replaced, and the new administrator can change contracts. Of course, since many facilities are under a larger corporation, changes from upper level management can affect the terms of the contract.
When we have so many factors that can affect our employment status, sometimes it seems like we're just stuck riding out a storm. Hiring into one facility, I was told by the contractor that they had been there for seven years, had a great relationship with the facility and didn't expect to leave any time soon. However shortly after I hired, the facility marketing person resigned and his replacement was everything but efficient. It didn't take long before the therapy caseload dropped to the point that most of us were working only 20-30 hours per week. Of course this decreased profits which reflected on to the administrator, and before long the corporation replaced him. The new administrator just happened to have a friend that owned a therapy contracting company, so you can guess what transpired here.
Other factors to include here are that since the contracting company has no financial stake in the building, the contract is designed for their profit only. If the contract is ended, they simply pack up and move to another location to do business. Further, as the therapists are not facility employees, there are no thoughts about job losses when things do change. They are simply worried about providing therapy as required, and could care less who is doing it as long as they make a profit.
So, my thoughts here go many ways. When seeking employment, if at all possible try to find a facility that hires in-house. This way you are an employee of that company, and should enjoy more security in your position. If employment has to be with a contract company, ask questions first. Besides all the routine questions, I suggest these; When was the contract negotiated? What is the length of the contract? I would avoid hiring in if the contract is due for re-negotiation soon. (Another dumb move I made years ago; worked for three months and when the contract was not renewed, I got laid off. The worst part here is that I had already been paid a sign-on bonus, and there was not another facility close enough to transfer to) Which is another question I now add, does the company have other contracts nearby? If they do, is it possible to work there to get your hours in if caseload drops in your building?
Just like the facility and contractor negotiate a contract, we need to negotiate before hiring to secure our future employment.
Until next time, hope all your thoughts are good,
Tim