A duty roster that knows the special rules of care
Shortened rest periods, on-call availability, night duty and replacement rest days follow their own rules in care. MetronHR calculates them for you instead of leaving them to you.
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- Shortened rest periods are counted and compensated
- Standby duty counts in full, on-call availability is kept separate
- Qualification per shift instead of just free heads
In shortIn care, the rest period may drop to ten hours if every shortening is made up with twelve hours within a month (section 5(2) ArbZG). Stand-by duty counts in full as working time, on-call duty only with the calls actually worked. In the Professional plan, MetronHR counts shortened rest periods, keeps both duty types apart and checks every assignment before the plan is published.
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The rules that apply only to care and hospitals
The Working Time Act names facilities for treating, nursing and caring for people explicitly in four places. Three of those are relaxations with a condition attached, one is a pure obligation.
- Rest period reducible to
- 10 hours
- Compensation within
- 1 month or 4 weeks
- On-call availability: reducible by up to
- half the rest period
- Night work: examination from 50
- annually
Rest period down to ten hours, compensated with twelve
In facilities for treating, nursing and caring for people, the rest period may be shortened by one hour if every reduction is compensated by another rest period of at least twelve hours.
That is what section 5 (2) ArbZG says. The compensation must happen within one calendar month or four weeks. Anyone shortening without counting has no way left at the end of the month to schedule the compensation.
The second special route: on-call availability
If the rest period is interrupted by a call-out during on-call availability, reductions of up to half the rest period may be compensated at other times.
This rule in section 5 (3) ArbZG exists only for hospitals and care facilities. It is the answer to the fact that a night call-out cannot be planned. It does not replace the compensation, it moves it.
Standby duty is working time, on-call availability is not
Standby duty on the premises counts in full as working time, including the inactive hours. On-call availability at home does not count in principle, but the actual call-outs do.
The European Court of Justice decided this in SIMAP (C-303/98) and Jaeger (C-151/02) for hospital doctors, and the same reasoning applies to nursing staff. Whether on-call availability does count as working time depends on how heavily the free use of that time is restricted (ECJ of 9 March 2021, C-580/19 and C-344/19).
Night duty brings entitlements of its own
Anyone doing night work on at least 48 days a year is entitled to an occupational health examination, annually from the age of 50, and under certain conditions to a transfer to a daytime post.
This is governed by section 6 (3) and (4) ArbZG. The right to a transfer applies where a doctor certifies a risk, where a child under twelve lives in the household and cannot be cared for otherwise, or where a relative in need of care lives there. That last point affects nursing staff disproportionately often.
Sunday work allowed, replacement rest day mandatory
Care may take place on Sundays. For every Sunday worked a replacement rest day must be granted within two weeks, and 15 Sundays a year must remain work-free.
The exemption is in section 10 (1) no. 3 ArbZG, the quid pro quo in section 11 (1) and (3) ArbZG. In three-shift operation, counting the work-free Sundays across twelve months is where inspections tend to get stuck.
The key duties and how they are met day to day
| Duty | Source | With paper or Excel | With MetronHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rest of 10 hours, made up to 12 | Section 5(2) ArbZG | open compensation is written down nowhere | every shortening counted, compensation tracked with its deadline |
| Stand-by duty counts in full as working time | ECJ C-303/98 (SIMAP), C-151/02 (Jaeger) | stand-by and on-call in the same pot | separate time types with their own rules |
| 15 free Sundays, a substitute rest day within 2 weeks | Section 11(1) and (3) ArbZG | twelve-month count by hand | count runs across the calendar year |
Shift and duty planning, the day plan and client hour packages are part of the Professional plan.
Rest of 10 hours, made up to 12
- Source
- Section 5(2) ArbZG
- With paper or Excel
- open compensation is written down nowhere
- With MetronHR
- every shortening counted, compensation tracked with its deadline
Stand-by duty counts in full as working time
- Source
- ECJ C-303/98 (SIMAP), C-151/02 (Jaeger)
- With paper or Excel
- stand-by and on-call in the same pot
- With MetronHR
- separate time types with their own rules
15 free Sundays, a substitute rest day within 2 weeks
- Source
- Section 11(1) and (3) ArbZG
- With paper or Excel
- twelve-month count by hand
- With MetronHR
- count runs across the calendar year
Shift and duty planning, the day plan and client hour packages are part of the Professional plan.
Further reading: Section 5 (2) and (3) ArbZG, section 6 (3) and (4) ArbZG · Section 10 (1) no. 3 ArbZG, section 11 (1) and (3) ArbZG · ECJ, judgment of 3 October 2000, C-303/98 (SIMAP) · ECJ, judgment of 9 September 2003, C-151/02 (Jaeger) · ECJ, judgments of 9 March 2021, C-580/19 and C-344/19
In detail, with examples: Working hours in care: what applies to home care services and care homes
As at: November 2026. This is not legal advice; for a specific case in your business it is better to ask someone with a licence to practise.
The plan is set, and then the phone rings
Care can be planned, illness and emergencies cannot. The difference between a sound roster and a risky one lies in what gets checked when you replan.
- Problem
Shortened rest periods pile up unnoticed
Ten hours instead of eleven is allowed, but every reduction needs its compensation to twelve hours in the same month. Without counting, nobody knows how many are outstanding.
- Problem
Standby duty and on-call availability end up in the same pot
One is working time in full, the other in principle is not. Booking both the same way means either paying too much or breaching maximum working time.
- Problem
Covering a shift costs you the overview
Anyone stepping in from a day off shifts the rest period, the replacement rest day and the night duty count all at once. On paper the consequences are invisible.
Checked when assigning, not when recalculating
Every assignment is checked against rest periods, maximum working time, qualification and outstanding compensation entitlements. Standby duty and on-call availability are separate time types with their own rules.
Conflicts before publicationThe plan only goes out once rest periods, qualifications and compensation all add up.
Features for care services and facilities
Built for shift operation, qualification requirements and standby.
- On-call duty
On-call availability and standby duty kept separate
Who is on call and who is on standby duty is in the plan, not in the manager's head.
The assignment goes out with a notification, and so does its withdrawal. If someone is called out from standby, the call-out is a separate event rather than an ordinary entry. That is the precondition for treating the two differently under working time law, see section 5 (2) and (3) ArbZG.
- Planning
Qualification per shift
No shift without a registered nurse
Every shift records which qualification it requires. Anyone without it cannot be assigned, not even accidentally during a quick replan.
- Employee protection
Rest period account under section 5 ArbZG
Outstanding compensation is a number, not a feeling
Every reduction to ten hours is counted and the compensation due to twelve hours tracked, with a deadline of the month or the four weeks.
- Time
Standby and on-call availability kept separate
The right time type, the right calculation
Standby duty counts in full towards working time, on-call availability only through the actual call-outs, which come from the call-out log.
- Overview
Night duty days and work-free Sundays
The 48-day threshold and the 15 Sundays in view
Both counts run across the calendar year and show early enough where compensation can still be scheduled.
- Mobile
Covering and swapping in the app
Fewer phone calls during handover
Open shifts are offered to the team, whoever takes one does so in the app, and the checks run along with it.
For management and nursing staff
Two views of the same plan, with different questions behind them.
- Nursing management
Replan without creating a breach
- In a last-minute swap you cannot see whether the rest period holds and whether the qualification fits.
- Every assignment is checked, outstanding compensation and night duty days sit alongside, and the plan only goes out once it holds up.
- Registered nurses
Your own plan and your own account
- How many hours do I have, when is my replacement rest day, and when is my next night shift?
- Plan, hours account and absences in one app, including covering and swapping.
Related
Where to go from here, and what waits for you there.
Frequently asked questions from care
What care services and facilities ask about working time and duty rosters.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
Send us a messageMay the rest period in care be less than eleven hours?
Yes, by up to one hour to ten (section 5 (2) ArbZG). Every reduction must be compensated within one calendar month or four weeks by another rest period of at least twelve hours.
What applies if a call-out during on-call availability interrupts the rest period?
For hospitals and care facilities, section 5 (3) ArbZG allows reductions of up to half the rest period to be compensated at other times. The compensation is not cancelled, only made more flexible in timing.
Does standby duty count in full as working time?
Yes. The European Court of Justice decided this in SIMAP (C-303/98) and Jaeger (C-151/02); the inactive hours count too. On-call availability at home does not count in principle, but the actual call-outs do.
When does someone count as a night worker?
From night work on at least 48 days in the calendar year, or where night work is normal in rotating shifts (section 2 (5) ArbZG). The occupational health examination and the right to a transfer under section 6 (3) and (4) ArbZG hang on that.
How many Sundays have to remain work-free in care?
At least 15 in the calendar year (section 11 (1) ArbZG), in addition to a replacement rest day within two weeks for every Sunday worked (section 11 (3) ArbZG).
Other industries
Hotels
Reception around the clock, housekeeping in the morning, breakfast from five. Three rhythms in one house, and accommodation falls under section 2a SchwarzArbG.
ViewSecurity services
Every post is tied to a qualification, every security officer to a reliability check, and the security industry is named in section 2a SchwarzArbG.
ViewBuilding cleaning
A generally binding industry minimum wage under the AEntG, recording under section 17 MiLoG and travel time between sites that nobody counts as working time but which is exactly that.
View
A duty roster that calculates the special rules for you
Rest period compensation, standby, night duty days and work-free Sundays run along automatically instead of in a second Excel file. Try it free for 14 days.
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