HR-Glossar

Rufbereitschaft und Bereitschaftsdienst (on-call and standby duty)

How standby duty and on-call differ in German law, when they count as working time and why the response time decides more than the label does.

1. What are Rufbereitschaft und Bereitschaftsdienst (on-call and standby duty)?

Both forms describe periods in which no work is performed but work must be capable of being taken up at any moment. The difference lies in who determines where the person is.

In Bereitschaftsdienst (standby duty) the employee stays at a place determined by the employer in order to start work immediately if needed. That time is working time in full for the purposes of the Working Time Act – even where there was nothing to do throughout.

In Rufbereitschaft (on-call) the employee determines their own location and need only be reachable. It counts in principle as rest time; only the actual call-out is working time. That classification tips over, however, where the requirements are so severe that free time can no longer be meaningfully arranged – for instance with a very short response time. On-call is then working time in full as well.

That last sentence is what makes a group-wide on-call rota a German problem rather than a scheduling detail. The response time, not the label in the rota, decides the legal classification.

2. Origin and development

The distinction comes from fields where a response must be possible around the clock without work arising continuously: hospitals, fire services, technical fault response, IT operations.

For a long time standby duty counted only partly as working time. The Court of Justice of the European Union disagreed: someone required to hold themselves ready at a particular place is available – and that is working time, regardless of whether work actually occurs. The German legislature followed.

That produced a position which looks contradictory at first. Standby duty counts in full for working time law but may be valued lower for pay purposes than full work. This is not a contradiction but the separation of two levels of regulation – health protection on one side, remuneration on the other. The only hard floor is the minimum wage: standby time is working time and must be paid at least the minimum wage per hour.

3. Core principles and how it works

The location decides

Where the employer determines it, this is standby duty. Where the employee determines it themselves, on-call.

Standby duty is working time in full

It counts in full towards the maximum working time and interrupts the rest period – even without a single call-out.

On-call is in principle rest time

Only the actual call-out is working time. It does, however, interrupt the rest period, which must then begin afresh.

Severe requirements tip the classification

A very short response time or tight requirements as to location can turn on-call into working time. What matters is whether free time remains capable of being meaningfully arranged.

Pay follows rules of its own

Standby duty may be paid at a lower rate than full work, on-call typically through a flat allowance. Both need a contractual or collective basis.

The minimum wage as the floor

Standby time is working time and must be paid at least the minimum wage per hour. A flat allowance that is too low can therefore be unlawful.

Works council co-determination

Introducing and distributing standby duties concerns the start and end of working time and is subject to co-determination under Section 87 BetrVG.

4. Who are Rufbereitschaft und Bereitschaftsdienst (on-call and standby duty) relevant for?

- Hospitals and care institutions – the classic field of application. - Technical fault response and IT standby – the distinction is most disputed here, because reachability is possible from anywhere. - Fire and rescue services – with collective agreements of their own. - Payroll teams – they implement allowances, premiums and the minimum wage check. - Works councils – rotas and standby models are subject to co-determination.

5. How it differs from related terms

- Standby duty and readiness for work – readiness for work is alert attention in a relaxed state during regular working time; it is full work without qualification. - On-call and reachability – a mere request to be reachable, without an obligation to take up work, is not on-call. Where it is expected in fact, the position is different. - Standby duty and overtime – standby duty is a form of work in its own right, not extra work. It can, however, lead to the maximum working time being exceeded. - Working time law and pay law – whether something is working time and what must be paid for it are answered separately. - On-call and premiums under Section 3b EStG – the tax exemption attaches to work actually performed at qualifying times. An on-call allowance without a call-out does not meet that.

6. Variants and adaptations

Arrangements and how they are classified:

- Standby duty on the premises – working time in full, affecting the maximum working time and the rest period. - On-call with a generous response time – in principle rest time. - On-call with a very short response time – tips into working time, because the arrangement of free time is considerably restricted. - Background duty with remote access – IT standby where call-outs are handled from home. The classification depends on frequency and response time. - Special collective models – Section 7 ArbZG permits derogations from the maximum working time and the rest period for standby duty, but only by collective agreement.

7. Advantages and challenges

Advantages

  • Secures responsiveness outside regular working time without continuous staffing
  • For employees, additional pay that can be planned for
  • On-call in principle does not consume the rest period
  • Collective models allow sector-appropriate solutions
  • The criteria for the distinction are well settled by case law

Challenges

  • Standby duty consumes the maximum working time in full, even without a call-out
  • Call-outs during on-call interrupt the rest period and push back the start of the next shift
  • The classification tips with short response times — often unnoticed
  • Flat allowances that are too low can fall below the minimum wage
  • The burden of constant reachability is underestimated
  • Without a collective basis, derogations from the ArbZG are barely possible

8. Best practices for implementation

Choose the response time deliberately

It is the control on which the classification turns. A very short response time turns on-call into working time – with every consequence for the maximum working time and the rest period. Adopting a group rota without checking it is where this goes wrong.

Record call-outs during on-call

They are working time, interrupt the rest period and trigger its fresh start. Without recording, breaches of Section 5 ArbZG arise unnoticed.

Check allowances against the minimum wage

Standby time is working time. An allowance that falls below it when converted to an hourly rate is unlawful.

Adjust the next shift start after night call-outs

After a call-out the rest period must run afresh. A rigid rota that does not reflect this produces systematic breaches.

Settle the model with the works council

Standby models concern the timing and distribution of working time and are subject to co-determination. A works agreement creates clarity for both sides.

9. Tips for employers and employees

For employers

  • **The location decides** – not the label in the rota
  • **Standby duty is working time in full** – even without a single call-out
  • **Short response times tip the classification** – on-call is then working time too
  • **The minimum wage applies here as well** – convert allowances to an hourly rate

For employees

  • **Note your call-outs** – they are working time and interrupt your rest period
  • **After a night call-out the rest period starts again** – eleven hours, Section 5 ArbZG
  • **On-call allowances are not tax-free under Section 3b EStG** – without a call-out the qualifying work is missing
  • **Tight requirements can constitute working time** – ask if your free time effectively disappears

10. Conclusion

The difference between on-call and standby duty comes down to a single question: who determines where you are? Where the employer does, the whole period is working time. Where the employee does, it is in principle rest time – until the requirements become so tight that free time can no longer be meaningfully arranged. The response time is therefore the real control, and it is usually set without any awareness of that consequence.

Pay stands separately from this. Standby duty counts in full under working time law but may be paid at a lower rate than full work – not a contradiction but the separation of health protection from remuneration. The floor is the minimum wage: standby time is working time, and an allowance that is too low when converted to an hourly rate is unlawful.

The most frequent unnoticed breach in practice concerns the rest period: a night call-out during on-call interrupts it, and it must then begin afresh. Rotas rarely reflect this.

For an international group, this is the point where a global rota meets German law. A response time set centrally for an IT standby can convert the whole period into working time in Germany without anything in the rota changing – consuming the maximum working time and breaking the rest period for people the rota treats as off duty.

A note on sources: the German Civil Code, the Works Constitution Act and the Minimum Wage Act have official English versions. The Working Time Act does not (checked on 2026-09-26); its German text governs.

Sources

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