Organize who is on call, when, how to reach them and how call-outs are recorded and paid.
Maintenance, IT, healthcare and security teams often need someone available outside normal hours. A clear rota avoids confusion at 2 am.
Whether on-call time is paid depends on how restricted the employee is, and call-out time worked is generally paid. Check the rules that apply.
13 items. Keep it on a tablet, or print a copy for the clipboard.
A property maintenance company rotates weekend on-call between four technicians with a backup each weekend. A burst pipe call at 11 pm Saturday is logged: 2 hours of work plus travel, paid as hours worked, and on-call pay is added per policy.
Under the FLSA, on-call time may or may not be paid depending on how much the restrictions limit personal time, but time spent actually working on a call is always hours worked. A rota with logged call-outs gives payroll the exact hours and shows who was responsible.
| Company | Summit IT Services, Salt Lake City UT |
|---|---|
| Week | Mon Mar 2, 6 pm to Mon Mar 9, 8 am |
| Primary | Derek, cell 801-555-0142 |
| Backup | Amy |
| Response time | Call back within 30 min |
| Call-out | Thu 11:40 pm, client server down, remote fix 12:05 to 1:20 am |
| Payroll | 1.25 hours worked plus on-call stipend |
The remote fix is logged with start and end times even though no travel was needed, because remote work on a call-out is still hours worked. The 30-minute response time is loose enough that Derek can carry on with personal activities.
It depends on restrictions on the employee. Get advice.
Time worked is generally paid.
Set it in policy.
Use a written swap request.
Require swaps to be approved and written onto the schedule before they take effect, with both people’s names and the new contact number. Tell whoever dispatches calls, such as the answering service, so they reach the right person. An unrecorded swap is the most likely way for a call to go unanswered.
Set it by the type of work: a burst pipe or server outage may need a callback in 15 minutes, while a routine issue can wait for the morning. Very short response times with tight restrictions can make on-call time count as paid working time. State the expected time on the rota so everyone agrees.
More for the same job
Use the on-call schedule template for the record you need today. To see who clocked in, and when, book a demo of EZTime.