How to plan on-call duty in a veterinary practice
On-call duty is an obligation under the professional code of the state veterinary chamber and is rostered externally. What matters most for planning is what comes afterwards: eleven hours of rest that shift the next working day, and the question whether the time counts as on-call duty or as stand-by duty.
As of:September 2026
Step 1: enter the rota as it comes
Veterinarians in private practice are obliged under the professional codes of the state veterinary chambers to take part in on-call duty, unless it is covered voluntarily. The specific times differ by chamber district.
Enter the rota as a recurring shift as soon as it is settled. For part-time work the obligation is pro rata to the regular weekly hours, which many professional codes set out as a scale.
Step 2: keep on-call duty and stand-by duty apart
The distinction is not a formality. Anyone who has to stay at a place determined by the employer is performing stand-by duty, and that counts as working time in full. Anyone who only has to be reachable and can choose where to be is performing on-call duty.
Record both as types of their own, not as ordinary working time. Otherwise neither the maximum working time nor the basis for pay is right.
- Stand-by duty counts towards working time in full.
- For on-call duty, the actual call-outs count.
- Both are reported separately, so that the evaluation answers both questions.
Step 3: check the rest period before the following day
Eleven uninterrupted hours of rest lie between two working days under section 5 ArbZG. An on-call duty ending at two in the morning shifts the possible start on the following day to one in the afternoon.
This is exactly where the most common planning error arises, because the duty is in one list and the consultation in another. If both sit in the same plan, the conflict check reports the contradiction before the plan is published.
Knowing the rules is one thing, keeping to them day to day another. MetronHR checks breaks, rest periods and maximum working time automatically as time is recorded.
Step 4: settle cover in advance
On application, the chamber can exempt somebody from taking part for serious reasons, for instance particularly demanding family obligations. Independently of that, every rota needs a cover rule for cases of illness.
In MetronHR the open shift goes out as a request to the pool of people allowed to take the duty on, rather than to the practice manager.
Step 5: report premium hours separately
On-call duties fall at night, on Sundays and on public holidays. For the premiums to be quantifiable at all, the hours in those positions have to be reported separately.
MetronHR determines them and presents them per person in the monthly Excel overview. Calculating the premium amounts themselves is part of payroll and stays with the tax adviser.
Further reading:Professional codes of the state veterinary chambers (on-call duty obligation, part-time scale) · Section 5 of the Working Hours Act (rest period), section 7 ArbZG (deviating rules) · Section 6 of the Working Hours Act (night and shift work)
This is not legal advice; for a specific case at your workplace you are better off asking someone qualified to give it.
Published by: AMNAU GmbH
Editorial responsibility: Ugur Aydogan, Product development.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Frequently asked questions
What we are asked about this most often.
That depends on how it is arranged. Stand-by duty with a requirement to be present at the practice counts as working time in full. For on-call duty, where the place can be chosen freely, the actual call-outs count. That is why the two are recorded separately.
Pro rata to the regular weekly working hours. Many professional codes use a scale for this, for instance 0.5 at more than 10 up to 20 weekly hours and 1.0 from more than 30 hours. What counts is the professional code of the state veterinary chamber responsible for your practice.
Only if the eleven hours of rest under section 5 ArbZG lie in between. For certain areas, section 5(2) ArbZG allows a shortening to ten hours with compensation, and section 7 ArbZG opens up deviations by collective agreement. The conflict check shows the case; deciding it is up to you.
By hand. There is no automation for the rotation between several practices in a district, because the rota arises outside. It is entered as a recurring shift, and from then on the system checks along.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
Knowing the rules is one thing. Keeping to them is another.
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