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%.
• 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%.
• For a call-out when on stand-by, employee shall receive payment for the time they work, though never for less than 4 hours except when their daytime work begins within two hours of the time when they turn up for work. However, payment for stand-by work and for after-hours/overtime work shall never be combined.
• 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 an employee works remotely, is on a stand-by shift and is therefore not required to show up at their workstation to complete projects, the person in question stops the stand-by shift during the time the tasks are completed and receives an hourly rate (overtime if the employee is full-time) for the time it takes to complete the project. After which the stand-by shift payments recommence. Employees need to keep good track of these hours and keep a record to make sure they are paid for the work they do during stand-by shifts. It should be noted that rest hours rights of employees need to be considered in these cases. It is important to consider that according the Collective Wage Agreement the minimum amount of working hours is 4 hours, which means that if an employee is called out for a task during the weekend, a minimum of 4 hours are paid, irrespective of the time the task took.

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.