Travel contracts are written by the agency, for the agency. Most of the terms are fine. A few can cost you thousands of dollars, and they're usually in the middle of page three in plain-looking sentences. Read every contract all the way through before you sign. If something isn't clear, ask your recruiter to explain it in an email. This guide isn't legal advice.
The wording below is typical of what you'll see. Every agency writes it a little differently.
Have a contract in hand? Upload it to our free contract checker and get these red flags pointed out with the exact wording, plus questions to send your recruiter.
Hours that aren't guaranteed
“Hours are not guaranteed” or no mention of guaranteed hours at all
Why it hurts: The hospital can send you home for low census and you're paid nothing for the shift. Some contracts also take back that day's stipends.
Ask for: 36 guaranteed hours a week, paid whether or not the hospital cancels the shift.
“Facility may cancel up to one shift per pay period without pay”
Why it hurts: That's one 12-hour shift every two weeks you can lose, which over 13 weeks can be six shifts, or a whole extra week and a half of pay.
Ask for: No unpaid cancellations, or a cap of one or two for the whole contract.
“On-call hours count toward guaranteed hours”
Why it hurts: You can be stuck at home on call, paid a few dollars an hour, and the agency counts it as meeting your guarantee.
Ask for: On-call hours don't count toward your guarantee.
Penalties that only go one way
“Nurse will pay $___ for each missed shift”
Why it hurts: On top of losing the shift's pay and stipends, you pay a fine, even if you're sick.
Ask for: No penalty for a missed shift with notice, or an exception for illness with a doctor's note.
“If nurse ends the assignment early, nurse repays travel, bonuses, and housing costs” … while the hospital can end it with two weeks' notice
Why it hurts: You're locked in, they aren't. If the hospital cancels, you can be stuck with a lease and no income.
Ask for: The same notice for both sides, and the agency's help finding a new contract or covering housing if the hospital ends it.
“Sign-on bonus will be repaid in full if the assignment is not completed”
Why it hurts: You lose the whole bonus even if the hospital cancels the contract in week 12.
Ask for: The bonus is only repaid if you leave by choice, and only in proportion to the weeks you didn't work.
Float and shift clauses
“Nurse may be floated to any unit as needed”
Why it hurts: You were hired for tele and end up in the ICU or on a peds floor you've never worked.
Ask for: Floating only to units with similar patients, within your competency, with a unit orientation first.
“Shift: days/nights as needed” or “rotating”
Why it hurts: You can be switched between days and nights from week to week, which wrecks your sleep and your plans.
Ask for: Your shift spelled out: days only, nights only, or a set rotation.
“Schedule per facility” with no time-off dates listed
Why it hurts: Days off you agreed on the phone aren't protected.
Ask for: Your time-off dates written into the contract.
Clauses that quietly cost you money
“Stipends are paid per shift worked”
Why it hurts: Any cancelled or missed shift also cuts your housing and meal money, even though your rent doesn't go down.
Ask for: Weekly stipends that aren't reduced when the hospital cancels a shift.
“Overtime is paid only for hours over 40 per week and must be pre-approved”
Why it hurts: Staying late to finish charting may not count unless someone signs off. If no one does, you're working for free.
Ask for: Overtime paid for all hours worked over 40, with a clear way to get approval on the unit.
“Nurse is responsible for compliance costs”
Why it hurts: Physicals, titers, drug screens, and fit tests can add up to hundreds of dollars before you earn anything.
Ask for: The agency pays for everything the hospital requires for credentialing.
“Health insurance ends on the last day of the assignment”
Why it hurts: A two-week gap between contracts can leave you uninsured.
Ask for: Coverage through the end of the month, or a set grace period between contracts with the same agency.
Also watch for travel money that's only paid at the end of the contract. If the contract doesn't finish, you usually don't get the trip home.
Non-compete clauses
Some contracts say you can't work at that hospital through another agency, or as hospital staff, for a set time after the contract ends, often 6 to 12 months. Some add a fee if you do.
- It can block you from returning to a hospital you liked with an agency that pays more.
- It can block you from taking a staff job there.
- How enforceable these are varies by state, but you don't want to find out the hard way.
Ask for: the clause removed, or limited to a short period, such as 90 days.
What's missing matters too
Some of the worst problems come from what the contract doesn't say. If it isn't written down, you can't hold anyone to it.
- No guaranteed hours
- No shift listed
- No time-off dates you agreed to
- No cancellation terms for the hospital
- No overtime, holiday, or on-call rates
- No mention of the bonus or travel money your recruiter promised
A recruiter who says "don't worry, that's standard" or "we'll take care of it" should have no problem putting it in writing.
Before you sign
- Read the whole contract, including the small print and any addendum
- Guaranteed hours are listed, with what happens when the hospital cancels a shift
- Your shift and time-off dates are written in
- Float terms limit you to units you're competent on
- Early-end penalties apply the same way to both sides
- Bonus repayment only applies if you leave by choice
- Stipends aren't cut when the hospital cancels
- Overtime, holiday, and on-call rates are listed
- Travel money, and whether you lose it if the contract ends early
- No non-compete, or a short one
- Everything your recruiter promised is in the contract or an email
If you can't get a red flag changed, you may decide the job is still worth it. Just decide knowing what it could cost you. For how to ask for changes, see Negotiating with agency and facility.