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Doctors or nurses in hospitals are by no means the only professional groups who regularly provide on-call duty.

Even if the name already gives an indication of what it is about, every on-call service looks different.

"There is no uniform definition," says Nathalie Oberthür, lawyer and chairwoman of the labor law committee of the German Bar Association (DAV).

But what employees should know:

1. What counts as on-call service?

"On-call duty means: I am ready to do work within a short period of time," Oberthür puts it.

The design is individual.

For one, a fixed location is required to be ready, the other only has to be able to start work within a certain period of time.

This is called on-call duty and is a form of on-call service.

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On the other hand, this must be distinguished from the willingness to work, where the employee must be on site and always have an eye on the work requirements himself.

2. Is on-call duty counted as working time?

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"In terms of working time law, this is working time," explains Till Bender, spokesman for the legal protection department of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB).

In the past, the phases of the on-call duty when you had nothing to do were considered as rest periods.

Thanks to a judgment (Az. C-518/15) of the European Court of Justice, things are different today.

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Another question, however, is how the on-call service is remunerated.

“It is sometimes difficult for outsiders to understand,” admits Bender.

"Just because it is working hours doesn't mean that it is remunerated in the same way as real work."

3. How are on-call services remunerated?

This results from the employment contract or the collective agreement.

Usually, on-call services are rewarded less than “real” working hours.

"It is clear that the willingness to perform is usually less," says Bender.

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"It is always good if an on-call service is paid at all," says lawyer Oberthür.

The bottom line is that at least the statutory minimum wage must come out for the entire working time, which can also include on-call duty.

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“In my opinion, how fair the remuneration for the on-call duty is depends on two aspects,” explains Oberthür.

“On the one hand, there are the restrictions: How limited am I in my leisure time during this time?

On the other hand, there is the question: How much do I have to expect to be called upon during the service? "

4. What can and cannot do during standby time?

"Of course, that depends on whether there are any guidelines as to where you have to be," says Oberthür.

Some employees have to do the on-call time in a relaxation room in the clinic, for example.

Others just need to be somewhere where they can get to work within a certain amount of time.

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“In terms of content, there are no specifications, you just have to keep yourself ready and able to work,” explains the lawyer.

"So it is better not to drink alcohol."

Listening to the radio, watching TV, reading, playing on the cell phone, talking - according to DGB expert Bender, all of this is conceivable within the specifications.

You can also sleep if you wake up relatively quickly.

5. Are employees obliged to take on standby duty?

Here, too, the employment contract is decisive.

If on-call services are provided there, employees are obliged to do so.

The Working Hours Act sets a maximum working time of ten hours, whereby the extra hours must be offset.

"Since on-call duty is working time, this limit applies," says Bender.

“However, the law provides for exceptions.

The limit can be expanded by means of a collective agreement. "

In practice, the times can thus be adapted to requirements.

The range of individual solutions is correspondingly large.

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This article was first published in February 2021.