# Concerning scheduling, overtime, and break for emergency services



## Treemoss (2 May 2015)

These questions are more geared toward heavier call-volume locations. 

With call volumes growing every year, and budgets stretching already stretched resources to the limit, I'm wondering how high-volume services manage scheduling when public servants are out past their standard 12hrs. In regards to overtime I know in Ontario there's a cap on how much you're "allowed" to work, but it's modified for essential services. Same goes with breaks I'm assuming. I believe heavier call volumes would call for more personnel on the road to help alleviate some of the stress but often times it's replaced with "more efficient" resource management.  

If anyone one has any insight to the inner workings feel free to share. Perhaps I should watch Nerve Center some time hah.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (3 May 2015)

We almost had a dilemma last night in regards to 'lesser evils' of being short-staffed.
I had already done my 12 regular hours plus 4 hours OT to reach the max of 16 hours.  As hard as Management tried, they could not fill one spot for the 23-07 period.
Myself and the shift I/C were debating the lesser evil............running short a position that was put in place by a Health and Safety ruling or if I just work the 24 hour period and have today off instead.  The big debate was, is that 16 hour cap "law' or just what you can't be "forced" to work longer then?

A last minute returned call managed to avoid the whole dilemma but with the summer of discontent rapidly coming upon us I'm sure I'll need to start brushing up on what can and can't be done......


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## mariomike (3 May 2015)

Treemoss said:
			
		

> These questions are more geared toward heavier call-volume locations.



These are the platoons ( An unofficial, but reliable, site. )
http://www.toemsnews.com/Paramedic_Calendars-15-New.htm

I retired six years ago. But, I try to keep up to date with the Department. We have regular luncheons where senior staff brief us on what's new. 

We serve 650 square kilometres ( that has remained unchanged since 1967 ) with a daytime population of 3.5 million people. We respond to approximately 265,000 9-1-1 calls per year. Only NYC and LA are bigger and busier. 

Funding of Toronto Paramedic Services is based upon Toronto's residential population, not its business and visitor population. As a result, there are always more people requiring Paramedic services than the system has been funded for.

We only respond to 9-1-1 calls. Non-emergency calls are handled by private operators.

Since 1975, all Toronto Paramedics work 20 twelve-hour shifts every six weeks. 
Your platoon ( schedule ), station and partner are permanent. They are not subject to involuntary change. 

When a permanent vacancy ( a change of schedule/station/partner or a special squad or program etc. ) occurs, you can bid for it. Bumping is not allowed.  All postings are via the  Senior Qualified Process. ie: Seniority. 
The Relative Ability Process only applies to Critical Care Paramedic. 

Because the system is seniority driven, it's best to join at a young age. This will also build your pension. The average age of our recruits is lower than the Toronto Police or Fire services.
AEMCA is required to apply.

The Meal Break S.O.P is seven pages long. In a nutshell, you get a 45 minute paid lunch ( always referred to as "10-90" ). You remain in-service and available during that time.
The variance payment is $40.00 ( that's what it was in 2008, not sure how much it is now ) for each shift. 

In the event you are assigned a late call that results in not returning to the station until ninety minutes or more have elapsed beyond the scheduled end of the shift, the City provides an additional thirty- minute Meal Break at time-and-a-half. This 10-90 is taken after wash-up and lock-up. You are not required to remain at the station during this time, as you are now officially off-duty.

End-of-Shift ( EOS ) OT:

All our regular shifts were 12-hours. You could be assigned another four hours of mandated or voluntary OT. If a call came in at 15 hours and 59 minutes of that 16-hour shift, you must do it.  
After clearing the receiving hospital, which could be anywhere in the city, you still had to try to make it back to your station to book off.

The only sure thing was eight hours rest prior to the start your next shift. If they decided to change your next shift ( from 0700-1900 to 1000-2200 Hrs. for example) , to accommodate the mandatory eight-hour rest period, that next 12 hours was paid at time and a half. 

The End-of-Shift Overtime ( EOS-OT ) SOP was amended shortly before I retired:
"Prior to returning to their station or being booked out-of-service, ambulance crews will be consulted as to whether or not they wish to remain available for response to an emergency call while en-route to their station.
Otherwise, a crew that is out-of-service as a result of being past the end of their normal shift will service a call only if they physically witness or come across an emergency situation while returning to their station. If this occurs, the crew will remain on-scene and render care until relieved by an appropriate transport unit. A crew who act as first responders in this circumstance may choose, based on the critical nature of the patient’s condition, to complete the call themselves."

Because of this SOP, EOS OT has been greatly reduced from when I was on the job. Also, mandated OT ( ordering a crew to remain on-duty after their 12-hour shift ) is now almost unheard of. 
The last time I heard of it happening was when a State of Emergency was declared during the Danzig St. shootings in July 2012.



			
				Treemoss said:
			
		

> I believe heavier call volumes would call for more personnel on the road to help alleviate some of the stress but often times it's replaced with "more efficient" resource management.



Toronto has forty-five permanent paramedic stations located across the city. One of those 45 stations will become your "forever home". 

The stations are much bigger now ( to accommodate more crews ) than they used to be. We typically only ran one car on nights and weekends. 

As far as being busy is concerned, in my opinion, the busiest "houses" often seemed to have the highest morale. I guess it made the time pass more quickly.


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## Treemoss (15 May 2015)

Just wondering, I've heard a couple different things lately in regards to TPS switching from a full-time model to a part-time casual style for new employees to build up seniority. Anyword on how that works with everyone being on as full-time?


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## mariomike (15 May 2015)

Treemoss said:
			
		

> Just wondering, I've heard a couple different things lately in regards to TPS switching from a full-time model to a part-time casual style for new employees to build up seniority. Anyword on how that works with everyone being on as full-time?



Thankfully, we didn't have part-timers when I was on the job. Recruits were assigned a permanent partner/station/schedule the day we graduated from the academy. ( At that time, there were no community college paramedic programs. )

The advantage was that it allowed us to bond with our new partners. The first words of advice from mine was, "Forget everything you learned at the academy." 
He was pretty cool towards me at first. After all, I was just a "probie". There were no Field Training Officers ( FTO's ) back then. 
But, eventually he said, "My wife has invited you to dinner." That's when I knew he had decided to keep me.  

As you know from experience, Treemoss, your partner is all you've got out there.

That was then, this is now ( if I understand the new system correctly ):

 Part-time > Temporary Full-time > Probationary Permanent Primary Care Paramedic Level 1. 

You receive your Seniority Date when made Permanent. Until then, candidates are ranked by aggregate of hours worked, not seniority. Those who work the most shifts move up the ladder fastest.

I suspect there are also going to be "Two-Hatters" ( Full-time Paramedics in other municipalities looking to work P/T - our OT - in Metro ) who will take advantage of the new situation. As you can imagine, I hear this has had a negative impact on morale.

Apparently, the part-time issue is under arbitration. Hopefully, TPS will return to hiring full-time only. It's a career, not a hobby. 

At any rate, good luck!


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## Treemoss (15 May 2015)

Yes that's the thing I dislike, I noticed it a lot when I was in school a few years ago. There would be PT PCPs getting 24-32hours per week while working FT at fire. They made a huge stink and not too long ago when management decided instead of going back to the top to look at people who wanted to cover shifts everytime, they'd continuely go down the list of part-timers. I remember they tried to get the union involved to fight it but honestly it seems fair to seem to rotate day a pool of people rather than keep going back the top... that way true parttimers looking to be FT one day can build their seniority.


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## mariomike (15 May 2015)

Treemoss said:
			
		

> Yes that's the thing I dislike, I noticed it a lot when I was in school a few years ago. There would be PT PCPs getting 24-32hours per week while working FT at fire. They made a huge stink and not too long ago when management decided instead of going back to the top to look at people who wanted to cover shifts everytime, they'd continuely go down the list of part-timers. I remember they tried to get the union involved to fight it but honestly it seems fair to seem to rotate day a pool of people rather than keep going back the top... that way true parttimers looking to be FT one day can build their seniority.



I see your point. Two-Hatters are something I have heard about for years. Fortunately, we never had them in Toronto. But, I know some of our guys were doing it out-of-town. It was bad Karma! 

Hopefully, the arbitration will put an end to it. It's all about cutting down on the Gravy train OT. If they want to do that, they should hire more FT Paramedics and assign them to Swing ( what we call the Spare-board ). I believe they must assign P/T hours in order of ranking, so that would move them up the ladder faster for a F/T job. What a mess!

I saw the list of 92 P/T Paramedics. As of 14 Jan, 2015 the #1 had 1250.22 hours, and was Temporary. Which means 40-hours per week guaranteed, and next in line for whenever they re-open the books for a Permanent spot. Also, "All Temporary employees shall be entitled to all benefits accorded to Permanent employees upon the completion of six (6) months actually worked with the City."

At any rate, there's the arbitration, and the current collective agreement expires the end of this year. So, maybe they will drop the P/T issue. Which I heard York ( and others ) did because they found P/T was not cost effective.

It seems a shame that Paramedics and Firefighters working F/T and receiving full benefits in one municipality are also working P/T in another while young people are just trying to get a F/T job.


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## mariomike (6 Aug 2015)

Treemoss said:
			
		

> These questions are more geared toward heavier call-volume locations.



In spite of the Call Volume ( or perhaps because of it? ), two-thirds of Toronto's police, fire and paramedic candidates are from are out-of-town. 
We all hope to retire one day. So, I am adding Retirement Benefits to this discussion. 

Toronto police officers, firefighters and paramedics are on this pension plan:
http://www.omers.com/pdf/Supplemental_Plan_handbook.pdf

Upon retirement, you receive a Sick Pay Gratuity of six months salary. ( Police receive nine months. ) Your Gratuity, along with vacation days owed and your final pay cheque are paid to you immediately. 
Pension is deposited into your bank account monthly, starting on the first business day of the month following your retirement.
ie: There is no delay in receiving your final cheques from the City and starting your OMERS pension.

You and your eligible dependants are provided with the following benefits until the *end of the month in which you turn age 65*.

Extended Health Care and Dental:
Your coverage continues at the same level as the active benefit plan in place as of the date of your retirement, with the City paying 100% of the premium. 
This coverage will terminate at the end of the month in which you turn age 65. At that time, you have 60 days  to enroll in the optional Health and Dental plan, at your own expense, if you wish to do so. During those 60 days, you will not be asked to take a medical, and your application cannot be refused. 
( At age 65, the Ontario Drug Benefit - ODB - covers the cost of most prescriptions dispensed in Ontario. ) 

Life Insurance:
Your coverage continues at two (2) times your annual salary with the City paying 100% of the premium. This is supplemented by an “accidental death and dismemberment” policy in an amount equal to two times your annual salary.
This coverage will terminate at the end of the month in which you turn age 65. At that time, you will be provided with a $5,000 life insurance policy with the City paying 100% of the premium. This $5,000 policy will be maintained for life. 
In addition, you will be given 30 days to continue your original policies ( if you wish to do so ) but, you will now pay 100% of the premium. If application is made during this time, coverage cannot be refused. 

Optional Group Life Insurance ($200,000.00) dollars for you and your spouse. You pay one hundred per cent of the premium. You can also insure your dependants, if you wish to do so.

A $3,000/year "health care spending account" ( HSA ) for after age 65 is being negotiated . Police and Fire already have it.


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