On-call duty in labor law

Since 01.01.2004, on-call duty has officially been part of working time within the meaning of § 2 I ArbZG. Thus, the basic working time limits also apply here, which is why the statutory rest breaks must also be observed in this case. It is often problematic that within an employment relationship between the employer and the Employees on-call duty is agreed upon, but the requirements for this are not met in the first place. 

Even if it is in the name although an on-call duty, then an on-call duty was agreed upon, because the place of residence because of a too short period of time is not free of the Employees can be chosen. Often, a time of 20 to 8 minutes applies, which an employee may then take to work. This time is therefore too short to assume that the employee is free to determine where he or she is. Employee  to be able to speak, so that this can be considered as on-call duty.

The possibility to Obligation of the on-call service is not ruled out in principle. However, this requires a contractual or collectively agreed basis. However, the maximum working time limit, which may not be exceeded, must also be observed here. Nevertheless, the employer still has the opportunity to choose whether the on-call duty of the employee is to be treated as such or as overtime or on-call duty after the actual working hours and before the start of the next day. 

It is important to note that the compensation for working time is still applicable if the working time is extended to 10 hours in one day. However, it is still important that the employee's activity differs even if the terms above are concretely compared. Accordingly, the employer must make clear when it is on-call duty, on-call duty, overtime or his normal working hours. 

If a difference is not exceedingly clear, then the agreement on on-call duty is invalid. As an example, one can mention that an employee has a shift of 10 hours. During this time, however, he is supposed to perform an hour of on-call duty in between, which would stretch the working time to more than ten hours. However, since in the specific case it is not expected that his activity will change during the on-call time (he remains at the same place and continues to work normally), this agreement on on-call time is invalid. For general effectiveness, however, as before, an employment contract agreement or at least the consent of the employee per se.

The employee also does not necessarily have a claim to on-call duty. If, however, an employer proceeds in such a way in his company practice that on-call duty is not unusual, an entitlement could arise from this. Then the employer must make use of its option to distribute the on-call duty to all employees and may not from the outset select a specific group or Employees Exclude from on-call duty.

In principle, the employee is also entitled to remuneration for the time he spends on standby duty due to this special type of work performance. Thus, the remuneration is governed by the application of the § 611 a I BGB. Not has the employee but a right to his normal Remuneration. Thus, in the normal case, the employer and the employee always reach a separate agreement on the remuneration during on-call duty. Thus, either the agreement that there may be more money or even less money for the employee compared to his other remuneration. Usually, however, a lower remuneration is agreed, which in turn must be reasonable. 

However, the minimum wage must not be undercut. At least this must be paid to the employee, because this does not differentiate according to the type of activity of the employee. However, if such an agreement has not been reached, the Employees an entitlement to his usual wage in the amount assessed. It is often the case that the employee is also classified in a certain wage group on the basis of their working hours. In this case, since on-call time is considered normal working time, it must also be included in its scope.

In principle, it is also possible for the employer to allow the employee to take time off in lieu. In this way, the working time does not have to be compensated in money but by a paid time off in a fair way. The compensatory time off then takes place during the statutory rest period. Should the Employees However, if the employee is deployed in violation of the EU Working Time Directive, he or she is not entitled to compensation for any disadvantages. 

According to current case law, however, the Federal Labor Court will at least not be able to uphold this in the case of a public employment relationship. In this regard, a ruling was already made in 2011, whereby a firefighter was awarded a claim for damages because he worked 54 hours a week instead of the normal 48. The claim for damages was asserted through compensatory time off. This is because on-call time must be fully taken into account in the normal working hours.

The employee may normally organize and use his time within the on-call time as well as during the on-call time in which he is not active freely and according to his personal will. However, he must adhere to the rules that have been imposed on him for the possible commencement of work. For example, he must adhere to a general ban on alcohol during on-call time. 

It should be noted, however, that the Employees is insured against any occupational accidents during on-call duty as long as he is not pursuing his own economic interest. It does not matter whether he is in his home or elsewhere. It is important that the place of on-call duty coincides with the place determined by the employer. The insurance coverage does not expire at that moment. For accidents at work, which occur on the way between the place of stay and the place of work, the general principles about the commuting accident apply.