When low patient census hits a hospital unit, travel nurses are frequently the first clinicians called off shift. Whether you still get paid for that cancelled shift depends entirely on the guaranteed hours clause in your travel contract.
Understanding the difference between full guaranteed hours, partial guarantees, and hospital cancellation allowances ensures your weekly earnings and tax-free stipends remain protected.
How guaranteed hours clauses operate
A guaranteed hours clause is a contractual commitment by your staffing agency that you will be paid for your agreed baseline hours, typically 36 or 48 hours per week, regardless of whether the hospital actually utilizes you for those shifts.
If you are scheduled for three 12-hour shifts and the hospital calls you off on Thursday due to low census, a contract with guaranteed hours requires the agency to pay you your full hourly wages and full weekly travel stipends.
However, many agencies include hospital cancellation exceptions in the contract fine print. These clauses allow the facility to cancel one shift every two or four weeks without paying the nurse.
Check how shift cancellations alter your weekly net pay using our Contract Analyzer.
Impact of cancelled shifts on non-taxable stipends
When a contract lacks guaranteed hours and you are called off, the agency does not receive billing revenue from the hospital. In response, many agencies prorate your weekly housing and meal stipends.
Under IRS Publication 463, if you are away from your tax home on a temporary assignment, your duplicate lodging expenses do not decrease simply because the hospital cancelled your shift. You still owe rent for your temporary apartment or hotel room for that day.
If an agency cuts your housing stipend because of a hospital call-off, you bear the financial loss of duplicated living costs while on travel status.
Compare your contract stipends against federal maximums with our Per Diem Checker.
Floating to other units to protect guaranteed pay
Most hospital agreements require travel nurses to float to other clinical units or sister facilities within the health system to maintain guaranteed hours.
If the charge nurse informs you that your home unit has low census, but asks you to float to another unit for which you are clinically qualified, refusing the float assignment typically voids your guaranteed hours for that shift.
Review your contract carefully, maintain thorough shift logs, and assess your overall tax home standing with our Tax Home Quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What is a guaranteed hours clause in a travel nurse contract?
A guaranteed hours clause obligates the agency to pay your contracted baseline hours (typically 36 or 48 hours) even if the hospital cancels shifts due to low census.
Can an agency cut my housing stipend if the hospital cancels my shift?
If your contract lacks guaranteed hours, agencies often prorate stipends when shifts are cut, leaving you with duplicate living expenses you must pay out of pocket.
Do I have to float to another unit to keep my guaranteed hours?
Yes. Most travel agreements specify that refusing a float assignment to a unit within your clinical competencies voids guaranteed hours for that shift.