Standby shifts

Stand-by shifts according to the VR and SA agreement

Stand-by shift duty may be imposed, according to which employees are obliged to be contactable by telephone and to respond to call-outs. Stand-by shift can lead to a required response from the employee. In most cases, it will require an outcall. The employee in question will, in this case, stop receiving stand-by payments and receive an outcall payment.

• For each hour on stand-by duty during which the employee is confined to home, he shall receive payment equivalent to the rate for 33% of the hourly rate for daytime work. On public holidays and major public holidays, the proportion shall be 50%, in accordance with Articles 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 of the collective agreement.
• For stand-by duty in which the employee is not required to respond without delay, but where he is prepared to go to work as soon as he is contacted, he shall receive 16.5% of the hourly rate for daytime work for each hour he spent on stand-by. On public holidays and major public holidays, the proportion shall be 25%, in accordance with Articles 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 of the collective agreement.
• For a call-out while on standby duty, the employee shall be paid overtime for the time worked, for a minimum of 4 hours, unless regular working hours begin within two hours. During the call-out, standby pay is discontinued and overtime is paid instead.
• When an employee is on a stand-by shift, they are available for the employer, and stand-by shift is therefore considered as working hours when it comes to a weekly day-off, irrespective of whether the employee was called out, or not. For more information on a weekly day-off, see here.
• If an employee is called out, daily rest must also be considered. Daily rest shall be 11 hours minimum per 24 hours. For more information on a weekly day-off, see here.
• If employees are called out to perform work while on standby duty but do not need to attend the workplace to resolve the task, e.g. because the work is remote or can be carried out by computer or phone, the employee is no longer considered to be on standby during the time spent resolving the task. For the time spent on the task, the employee shall receive the applicable hourly wage with daytime, evening, night-time, or overtime pay, as appropriate. After that, standby payments resume if the employee is still on standby duty. Employees must keep careful track of these hours and record them so that they are paid for the work they perform while on standby duty. In these cases, it is important to point out that employees’ right to rest periods must be observed. It should be kept in mind that, under the collective agreement, the minimum working time at weekends is 4 hours. Therefore, if an employee is called out for a task at the weekend, a minimum of 4 hours must be recorded for that work, even if it takes less time.

Stand-by shifts according to the VR and FA agreement

Stand-by shifts may be negotiated where an employee is obliged to be contactable by telephone and to respond to call-outs, in which case 1/3 of daytime wages must be paid for every hour of stand-by unless otherwise negotiated in the employment contract.

If the employee undertakes stand-by shifts on public holidays and major public holidays, he is to receive the abovementioned proportion at overtime rates.