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Working time law

Stand-by duty, on-call duty and readiness for work

In shortIn working time law, stand-by duty counts as working time in full, because the person has to stay at a place determined by the employer. On-call duty is in principle rest time, but it can become working time where the requirements substantially restrict how free time can be spent.
As of: September 20263 min readSection 2 ArbZG, section 5 ArbZG, section 7 ArbZG · ECJ, judgment of 03/10/2000, C-303/98 (SIMAP)
Contents
  1. Three terms, three legal consequences
  2. What the European Court of Justice has decided
  3. What that means for planning and recording
  4. Pay is a different question

Readiness for work is alert attention in a state of relaxation: the person is at the workplace and has to intervene of their own accord at any time, for instance staff at a gate. Readiness for work is working time.

Stand-by duty means: the person stays at a place determined by the employer and acts when needed. They may rest or sleep but have to be available. That too is working time in full.

On-call duty means: the person chooses where to be and only has to be reachable. That is in principle rest time; only the actual call-outs are working time.

What the European Court of Justice has decided

That stand-by duty is working time in full was settled by the European Court of Justice in the judgments SIMAP (03/10/2000, C-303/98) and Jaeger (09/09/2003, C-151/02). The German legislature amended the Working Hours Act accordingly in 2004.

For on-call duty the court refined its line in 2021: in the judgments of 9 March 2021 (C-580/19, Stadt Offenbach, and C-344/19, Radiotelevizija Slovenija) it held that on-call duty is working time where the restrictions imposed very substantially affect the ability to make use of free time.

What matters are the circumstances of the individual case: the time within which work has to be taken up, the average frequency of call-outs, and whether a particular place is effectively prescribed. A response time of 20 minutes in operational clothing was reason enough for the court to look closely.

What that means for planning and recording

Stand-by duty counts towards maximum working time under section 3 ArbZG. A twelve-hour shift with eight hours of stand-by duty is twelve hours of working time and therefore impermissible without a deviation by collective agreement.

That is exactly why section 7(1) no. 1(a) ArbZG allows daily working time to be extended beyond ten hours where readiness for work or stand-by duty regularly arises to a substantial extent, but only on the basis of a collective agreement and with compensation.

With on-call duty, every call-out interrupts the rest period under section 5 ArbZG. Anyone called out at 02:00 starts the eleven hours of rest again afterwards, unless a collective agreement allows a shortening.

  • Count stand-by duty towards maximum working time in full.
  • Record call-outs from on-call duty with the time of day, not as a flat rate.
  • After a call-out, check whether the eleven-hour rest period still holds.
  • With frequent call-outs and short response times, check whether the on-call duty is working time as a whole.

Pay is a different question

That stand-by duty is working time within the meaning of the Working Hours Act says nothing about the level of pay. Under the case law of the Federal Labour Court, stand-by duty may be paid at a lower rate than full work, as long as the minimum wage is reached for every hour.

For on-call duty a flat rate is usually paid, with call-outs additionally paid as working time. Here too the basis is a collective agreement or the employment contract, not the law.

Further reading:Section 2 ArbZG, section 5 ArbZG, section 7 ArbZGECJ, judgment of 03/10/2000, C-303/98 (SIMAP)ECJ, judgment of 09/09/2003, C-151/02 (Jaeger)ECJ, judgments of 09/03/2021, C-580/19 and C-344/19

This is not legal advice; for a specific case at your workplace you are better off asking someone qualified to give it.

Ugur Aydogan, product development at AMNAU GmbH

Published by: AMNAU GmbH

Editorial responsibility: Ugur Aydogan, Product development.

Last reviewed: 2 September 2026

Read on

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Eleven hours lie between the end of work and the start of the next day. Who may deviate from that, what applies to on-call duty, and where shift schedules regularly come unstuck.

ReadSunday and public holiday work under the Working Hours Act

Sunday work is in principle prohibited. Section 10 ArbZG names 16 exceptions, section 11 requires 15 free Sundays a year and a substitute day of rest within two weeks.

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Is stand-by duty working time?

Yes, in full. That follows from the ECJ judgments SIMAP (C-303/98) and Jaeger (C-151/02) and has been implemented in the German Working Hours Act since 2004. For pay it does not necessarily follow: stand-by duty may be paid at a lower rate, as long as the minimum wage per hour is reached.

When does on-call duty become working time?

Where the requirements very substantially restrict how free time can be spent. The European Court of Justice names as criteria the time within which work has to be taken up, the average frequency of call-outs and a place that is effectively prescribed (judgments of 09/03/2021, C-580/19 and C-344/19).

Does a call-out interrupt the rest period?

Yes. Under section 5 ArbZG the rest period has to be uninterrupted. A call-out in the middle of the night sets the eleven hours running again. Collective agreements can allow shortenings under section 7 ArbZG, for instance in hospitals and care institutions.

May a shift with stand-by duty be longer than ten hours?

Only on the basis of a collective agreement. Section 7(1) no. 1(a) ArbZG allows an extension beyond ten hours where readiness for work or stand-by duty regularly arises to a substantial extent. Without collective bargaining coverage, ten hours stands.

How do I record on-call duty?

The on-call time itself as a category of its own, and the call-outs with a start and an end as working time. A flat rate without times is not enough: without the exact times, neither the rest period nor the maximum working time can be checked.

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