FAQs

FAQs Staffing Agencies​

What are the different types of staffing agencies?​

​Recruiters work for staffing agencies. The two major types of staffing companies are those run by investors and those run by therapists. There are pros and cons to each, and we recommend you look into those differences to decide which will work the best for you. Our circumstances called for a staffing agency with opportunities to employ both a PT and SLP, so we have had the most success with investor based companies as they are larger with more employment options.​ However, smaller, therapist run companies usually pay more as they have fewer overhead costs. 

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What is a "direct" job versus a "vendor" job?

A direct job/client is a client (facility) that has an agreement in place and works directly with the staffing agency, so the opening is posted and expected to be filled by your specific staffing agency. Usually a recruiter can give more information about this type of job as they may have had therapists work for that facility in the past.

A vendor job/client is a client that has used a staffing agency to post the job opening to all other staffing agencies. In this instance, many people are likely to be applying for the job and less may be known about the job. Additionally, your staffing agency will communicate with the client's staffing agency, which acts kind of like a messenger between your staffing agency and the client; of course, this usually leads to a slower process and less pay for you as the treating therapist as there are now two staffing agencies to pay. However, if you're hoping to go to a specific location, there's nothing wrong with taking a job from a vendor posting; a direct job is just preferred.

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Where can I find postings for a contract travel therapy job?

The whole reason of having a recruiter is for them to find jobs that would be a good fit, based on preferences for setting, location, pay, etc. This is why we recommend working with 2-3 recruiters; working with multiple recruiters gives greater access to the pool of contract jobs. However, if you're curious, just starting out, or wanting to see if there are any vendor jobs your recruiter hasn't had the chance to see yet, you can do your own digging. The usual sites like Indeed have postings, but Vivian is specifically for travel therapy jobs and allows for various search filters to be applied. Usually jobs that are posted multiple times on Vivian are vendor jobs, but there are direct jobs as well. If you mark "interested" in a posting, you will be getting lots of messages from the recruiters, and you will get lots of email updates from Vivian about various jobs by using the site.

Note: On these postings, it's important to consider net pay versus gross pay. Always make sure to inquire which has been posted if you express interest and wish to move forward in the process.

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Can I work as my own staffing agency?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is I'm not sure how this would look as a traveler. Independent school-based contractors are gaining in popularity so that the typical lower school pay rate and extraneous supervision duties can be avoided; however, with traveling, you would need to make sure you are giving yourself appropriate hourly rates/reimbursements/stipends without violating tax laws. Additionally, you would want to protect yourself legally in a written contract. If you're interested in learning more about this, you can read more from Therapist Support Network or listen to this FixSLP podcast. After engaging with these resources, you'll know all that I know about this topic right now!

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FAQs Pay​

How can I check if my per diem, tax-exempt stipends are accurate?

A good recruiter will check into this for you. A great recruiter will check into this even if you aren't working for them. But YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF by looking on the U.S. General Services Administration Page. You'll need to input the information for the facility, not where you're thinking of living. A reputable staffing agency should change the rates to match the GSA rate, if they are not already identical, since the company isn't paying you more; rather, more of your total pay will be tax-exempt per GSA guidelines. If they're not willing to change to match the GSA rate or give you a greater tax exemption, this is a huge red flag.

Note: Food and housing stipends are sometimes called "meals and incidentals" and "lodging" stipends

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What can be categorized as "tax-exempt" reimbursements or costs?

• housing and food stipends​

• continuing education programs or courses

• travel reimbursements (mileage between jobs or between wherever you are and the job to which you're traveling)

• clothes specifically for work (business casual, shoes, scrubs, etc.)

• student loan reimbursement

• licensing reimbursement

Note: Provisions for these reimbursements will need to be made in your contract; not every contract will allow for reimbursing all of these items, so check with your recruiter. Additionally, just because these items can be tax-exempt, does not mean they necessarily always should be as tax rules vary by contract and by state. Refer to your staffing agency or a reputable tax accountant for these concerns.

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What does it mean to have guaranteed hours?

"Guaranteed hours" means that if you are available and on-site at the facility, you will be paid a minimum of those guaranteed hours. Sometimes managers are lenient with requiring you to remain on-site, but that's not the standard practice. Usually, the guarantee (and goal) is 40 hours although we've also taken contracts with 32- and 35-hour guarantees. This eliminates any of the "pay-per-visit" nonsense and is different from a traditional salaried job because you will still get paid overtime for any hours you work beyond 40 hours. (Overtime pay still only kicks in after 40 hours even if your guarantee is for fewer hours.) However, with a 35-hour guarantee, and especially a 32-hour guarantee, your housing and food stipends will likely be less than if you had a 40-hour guarantee.

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