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On call / standby payments 1

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biglebowski

Technical User
Jan 29, 2004
3,117
GB
Are there any legal guidelines as to employees working on-call? We are trying to build a case with the bosses for a better on-call agreement. At the moment we get paid £275 per week (£35 mon-fri, £50 sat&sun) for being on call 24/7. If we get called out we do not get paid overtime or get time in lieu, Example friday night get called out and worked 16 hrs on site and go home sat afternoon, did not get paid anything for this and did not get time in lieu. Have checked the dti website and the only guidelines are for doctors on call does anyone know of anything legal we can use as moral reasoning is not working? We now provide 24/7 support for over 300 sites, have 2 engineers on call (1 north & 1 south) and will on average work over 70 hours during an on-call week.

When I was born I was so suprised I didn't talk for 18 months
 
275 for 30 hours of overtime sounds low.
You are getting paid as an insurance payment not actual.

In the US I think you would have a good case for violation of the labor laws.

What ramifications if somebody doesn't want to play the game?

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
 
Big,

you've just touched a sore nerve with me.
I once contracted with a 'professional working day' clause in my terms and conditions. I ended up working until 1 a.m. and racking up ridiculous hours. I'll never sign up to such a contract again.

Your employers are taking the mickey. As a contractor, i always say, pay me for the hours worked, and suddenly, as if by magic, the need for unlimited overtime evaporates.

You should have a clause covering these hours. A callout fee is just that, a fee to be on call and turn in, out of normal hours. It's not an unlimited work contract. You should get agreement that after 2 hours extra in any one day, and after more than 4 hours in any one week, you're on overtime.

Being on call means that you can't go and visit friends for the weekend, go out late and have some beers etc. The callout fee covers this loss of convenience. It doesn't cover silly hours worked. I hope you see the difference.

Regards

Tharg

Grinding away at things Oracular
 
As you are very likely to be working on the UK the Working Time Directive applies to you. look for Directive 2003/88/EC on your searches.

The following link contains some information, but most importantly contains some links specific to UK law.

The above should give you some starting points to help you.

Also speak with your local CAB or with your union (if you have one).


An finally look at your contract and see what it says about on-call/overtime payments, along with whether or not you have a "opt-out clause " of the 48 hours max working per week.

Apart from the above, all time worked after you are called, including travel time, is to be considered work time and MUST be paid in addition to the on-call allowance you are being paid.

Regards

Frederico Fonseca
SysSoft Integrated Ltd
 
While not a legal guru, here's my thoughts.

An on-call stipend is a "guarantee" that you will be available. That $275/wk makes sure that you're not going out of town, taking a vacation, out of cell service, etc.

You should either be paid for actual time worked, or given "flex" time.

And flex time sucks, IMHO.... because, technically, if an employer isn't going to pay me for overtime, then I should get 1 1/2 hours of time off for each hour of overtime that I work (because I would normally be paid 1.5x my normal hourly rate for overtime).

I guess it's all a moot point in my case; I'm on salary, I'm always on call, and I don't get *any* additional payment for it. Bleck.



Just my 2¢

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg
 
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