Cake, coffee and a 15-minute break in the middle of the night.
That was enough for a written warning and a reduced salary increase for assistant nurse Annelie and six other colleagues at the nursing home.
– We get double punished, then I got irritated, she says.
During a night shift in February, seven assistant nurses at a nursing home in Linköping decided to celebrate a colleague’s birthday. But the break with coffee and long pan cake had unforeseen consequences, something that the newspaper Arbetet and Corren reported on.
– We were told by the manager that it was not okay and that we would receive a written warning because we had left our departments, says Annelie Bondesson.
Worked 40 years – never experienced anything like this
For almost 40 years, assistant nurse Annelie Bondesson has worked in healthcare. But never before has she witnessed something similar to what happened at Åleryd’s nursing home.
– At my other workplaces, we have sat down at night when it has been quiet and had a cup of coffee with colleagues and talked about work and other things. Then you have gone and done what you have to. But just seeing another person during the night does a lot, she says.
A few days after the nightly birthday coffee, the reprimand came.
– It was strange, it felt like a joke. We laughed a little and thought it was childish about such a thing. Then we have had several meetings with the manager in the office together with HR. We realized that they were serious and wanted to set an example, says Annelie.
The concern: Easier to get fired
Annelie Bondesson expresses great irritation but at the same time understands that she and her colleagues made a mistake. They have also apologized and said it will not happen again.
– You don’t have to use a sledgehammer and scare your staff. They could have done it in a better way. They could have told us that it is not okay for us to leave the wards. But to go so far as to give us a written warning and that we were not even allowed to share in the salary pot that everyone gets. We will be punished twice. Then I got irritated. All the work we have done during the year has meant nothing to the manager, this event is what has meant something to them, she says.
Are you worried?
– Now we are afraid of something else going wrong another time that we might not be able to handle. Will this warning be a burden to us then? Will it be easier to get fired? It is clear that one is worried about such things.
Responding to criticism
Lise-Lott Löfgren, head of department responsible for nursing homes at the municipality, gives a written comment to the newspaper Corren where she responds to the criticism regarding the reduced salary increase and the written warning.
“The decision is based on whether an employee deliberately misbehaved, breached patient safety work in a way that risks harming users and the business. It is therefore important that the employer investigates each case and assesses whether the employer has made the employees aware of routines and rules of procedure et cetera. The decision is made by the administrative director based on dialogue with the responsible manager and HR manager,” she writes in an email to the newspaper.