What is an on-call assignment?
An on-call assignment refers to a form of work in which employees do not have to be active in the workplace, but remain available, to start work immediately if necessary.
On-call duty differs from the normal start of working hours: employees must be available, but can sometimes be outside the company.
In Austria, this form is particularly relevant in sectors such as healthcare, IT support or technical emergency services.
Background: Standby duty in Austria
On-call duty is regulated by the Working Hours Act (AZG) and can be supplemented by collective agreements or company agreements. The aim is to, ensure constant availability, without employees having to be constantly present at the workplace.
Typical questions about on-call assignments are:
When does an on-call assignment begin and end?
How is on-call time remunerated?
What counts as actual working time during an assignment?
How does an on-call assignment work?
During an on-call assignment, different regulations apply for Availability and Actual work:
Availability: Employees must be available and ready to respond on call within a defined response time.
Working hours: Only the time actually worked is generally counted as full working time.
Remuneration: Many collective agreements provide for a flat-rate on-call allowance; this can be in addition to the normal hourly wage or salary.
When is an on-call deployment used?
Standby operations are used wherever Fast response times required are.
Typical examples:
- Hospitals and care facilities for emergencies
- IT and technical emergency services in the event of faults
- Security services, alarm or maintenance services
What should employees look out for?
Employees should:
- Clearly know the start and end of the standby duty
- Check rules on remuneration and compensation for working hours
- Precisely document response times and operating conditions
- Check whether the time on site or off site is permitted
What should companies & HR departments look out for?
Companies should:
- Plan and communicate on-call duties transparently
- Organize working and rest times in accordance with the law
- Ensuring correct remuneration
- Digital time recording systems such as Time personnel cloud to reliably record on-call times, assignments and remuneration
- Regularly check whether the number and duration of on-call shifts match the actual operational necessity
Why are on-call assignments important?
For employees:
→ Clearly defined deployment times and transparent remuneration create security and predictability for companies:
→ Provision of services, rapid responsiveness, legal protection and fair remuneration.
