On-call and on-call services; how does that work?

By Mr. Tjeerd Hoekstra, CMS Companies that supply and install installations or machines for their customers often also provide service and maintenance. Regular maintenance can take place during normal working hours, but a supplier of installations or machines may need to be reachable and available 24/7 to immediately resolve malfunctions and defects on location to ensure the continuity of your customer's work. In order to meet this obligation, the availability of one or more employees is necessary to respond to the unforeseen demand and needs of the customer. Dutch labor legislation contains rules regarding availability and accessibility services of employees. After all, simply calling the first employee when there is a need for support in the middle of the night does not work. In the Working Hours Act, the concept of “on-call” is defined as a period between two consecutive shifts or during a break, during which the employee is solely obliged to be available to perform the agreed work as quickly as possible when called upon in the event of unforeseen circumstances. An on-call service is different from an on-call service or an on-call service. With on-call duty, the basic principle is that work occurs as soon as the employee has to make an effort to stay at the workplace - as is usually the case in hospitals, fire brigades and ambulances. In the case of on-call services, there are no unforeseen circumstances. In the case of on-call duty, the employee may stay at a place of his own choosing. However, he does not have unlimited options to exercise his freedom, because he must be able to perform work as quickly as possible when called upon to do so. The Working Hours Act sets a number of requirements for an on-call service. The main requirements are listed below. The employee who performs an on-call service must be at least 18 years old. In addition, the duration of the work performed in an on-call service is added to the usual working hours. The Working Hours Act stipulates that a maximum of 13 hours of work may be performed in a 24-hour period. If an employee has worked 8 hours a day, there are still 5 hours of work left to perform in an on-call service. In addition, the Working Hours Act determines how much rest time applies in the event of a combination of night and on-call shifts. In addition, the average permitted working hours per week will be adjusted downwards from 60 hours to 45 hours if on-call services are carried out between 00:00 and 06:00. If this is the case, you should take into account that compensatory rest time is offered after work in an on-call service. If on-call services are part of a fixed work schedule, that schedule must be submitted to the works council for approval. Dutch legislation does not impose specific requirements on the remuneration of work performed during an on-call service. This does not alter the fact that additional remuneration or compensation is customary. The exact extent of this depends on what the employer is willing to offer, what has been agreed in the context of consultation with a works council or what has been agreed in any applicable collective labor agreement.