On call duty

[ullyeus]

Let's discuss on-call duty.

I am on-call 24/7/365, when I originally signed up for this position they said there would be oncall components and I agreed to this, I've worked on-call before and have no trouble with this, I consider it a standard part of my duties.

My problem comes into play in that my current employer...unlike past employers...really seem to be "taking advantage" of this. Likely because I am the only IT person for the company compared to being a member of a team.

I've worked with my management to really try to limit this and it has improved....BUT...not to a point to really make me happy.

On an average week I might get 2-5 calls well outside of my work hours, if I work 9-5 I am talking 7am...or 9pm. Weekends its very rare I won't get a call. About 2-5 times a month I'll need to come back into the office for 1-2 hours. I get a call a month or so that's 2am-ish.

In past jobs "on call" meant 1-2 a month...and only if things really blew up.

This is really starting to stress me out, I have to call work if I am going to the swimming pool for a few hours as I won't have my phone on me.

I feel strange complaining as it's not (time-wise) a huge deal...but stress wise it's huge...and afterall this is what "on call" is.

Is anyone else here in a similar situation? Are they compensated in anyway? Should I suck it up and just know that's im on call and never be truly off work?

[brownie123]

My dad works for a large telecom company, specifically their retail division. He was on-call, but the calls were usually during store-hours. I am confused, why are you getting calls at 2-am?

[jollyeskimo]

My dad works for a large telecom company, specifically their retail division. He was on-call, but the calls were usually during store-hours. I am confused, why are you getting calls at 2-am?

It might depend if he's covering for national branches/locations, as there might be a time-zone discrepancy. If it closes late (ie. a food establishment) and it's national... then it's possible that you'll get some nasty calls from B.C. or something at ungodly hours.

[cOmAtOaSt]

Man, it's no wonder you're stressed.... you never really leave work! I can't think of any advice to offer you. If you're the only IT person in the company, there isn't much alternative. What happens when you're on vacation? On holidays (like we just had)? What if you want to go for a few drinks with friends after work?

[shahn2]

I am a little curious here.
Are you saying that being "on-call" is part of your job profile and this duty is included in your salary?
Or do you get compensated for any additional hours that you have to put in i.e. phone support or having to login via citrix or something to fix a problem or actually having to drive in to work?
I mean you are putting in your 40 hours per week and then on top of that, if you are getting 2 to 5 calls a week, I believe you should be compensated appropriately for each call.

[boxingday]

I am in the same boat.From march to nov i am on call from 4:00 pm -8-pm.

[ullyeus]

I am in the same boat.From march to nov i am on call from 4:00 pm -8-pm.

with all due respect thats not even close to being on call 24/7 for years. I'd love to know I was only on call until 8pm then could put away my phone.

[ullyeus]

It might depend if he's covering for national branches/locations, as there might be a time-zone discrepancy. If it closes late (ie. a food establishment) and it's national... then it's possible that you'll get some nasty calls from B.C. or something at ungodly hours.

It's an operation that's 24/7 so people are working in the building all the time.

[boxingday]

with all due respect thats not even close to being on call 24/7 for years. I'd love to know I was only on call until 8pm then could put away my phone.

Try 10 years 4-8 not beeing able to go away not beeing able to make plans.It is not like beeing a it go which is not easy.With it most of the time you can call in.In my case i have to go into work each time i am called in.PLus i work 7-4 each day.And yes there is some time have to work 7-8.

[ullyeus]

I am a little curious here.
Are you saying that being "on-call" is part of your job profile and this duty is included in your salary?
Or do you get compensated for any additional hours that you have to put in i.e. phone support or having to login via citrix or something to fix a problem or actually having to drive in to work?
I mean you are putting in your 40 hours per week and then on top of that, if you are getting 2 to 5 calls a week, I believe you should be compensated appropriately for each call.

I don't get compensated in any special way for my extra time. It's generally understood at my company that as a "salaried" employee has to put in whatever hours are required to do their job....which frankly isn't a big sell to me when the HR or finance people are explaining this to me and I'm thinking "when was the last time you got called in to fix a spreadsheet at 11pm?"

On a handful of occasions were it's been excessive...as in get a call at 10pm and there till 7am...I've taken the day off but nothing past that.

I really want to discuss appropriate compensation with my employer but am not sure on how to so seeking advice. For example...if I get a call at 10pm and have to log in via citrix to fix something....i might only take me 10 minutes....but that's still a pile of stress...I don't want to be compensated for 10 minutes of my time.

[hyoo82]

being in IT, it's the ropes of the job, "on call" I know the feeling, first question you gotta ask yourself is do you really enjoy your job? stress is something you gotta learn to handle, and if you find that you are being taken advantage of, why not asking management to hire someone to be on call for weekends for you? or if you've got 'x' experience why not just try and look for a job that is mostly IT hours?(9am-7pm..lol)
i think being straight with your management is a great start.

Another card you could play since you ARE the IT guy, is just tell them straight up is ask for a raise, based on all the work you do, if you feel underpaid look for another job, once you have an offer for another position you can ask management to "match" the offer or leave the company. Being it IT is tough, I firmly believe that any company that has IT people do not really identify their role in the field. If an employee has anything to do with computers they are considered "IT" and expected to perform their job description PLUS any other duties that "IT" hovers through.

good luck!!!

[zzricezz]

I have been on call for most of my IT jobs and we do get compensated for it. At my first company, we get paid each day for carrying it, like $24 a day and weekend and holiday was $36 a day. Any extra time spent we can take lieu days. Lucky for me, I was a in a team of 4 and I get it every 4th week.

Either way, for sure you need to get compensated for your time.

[qster]

When I used to work in telecom for a major carrier, I was on salary but was also paid overtime during oncall hours.

I would work three three 10 hour days straight, then be oncall for 2-3 days at a rate of $5 per/hour (12 hour oncall duty = $60/reg. day and $90 for weekend/holiday) to carry the pager/cell phone. It left me with lots of time to do things during the days where I was not working and oncall, but it sucked when you are oncall overnight. The kicker was if you were paged and had to do work via VPN or head back to the office, you where paid your pro-rated salary in wage at 1.5 times the rate ($35-40/hr) at a minimum of 3 hours for each call, even if you only put in 10-30mins to fix the issue. The operation was same as OP, 365/7/24hrs.

If the network went down, it wasn't good so things needed to resolved quickly. There were a few times the pager went off 2-3 times in a span of 12 hours and it wasn't pretty. It throws off your sleep schedule not to mention your social life.

My work gave the option of OT pay or Lieu days (4hrs = 1 day). Banked a crap load of Lieu days over a spand of 4months.

Needless to say...being oncall isn't a healthy situation if you are involved with someone. So most companies generally target young IT workers or the older generation who need $$$ to pay for their family's increase spending habits or kids education.

[shahn2]

I don't get compensated in any special way for my extra time. It's generally understood at my company that as a "salaried" employee has to put in whatever hours are required to do their job....which frankly isn't a big sell to me when the HR or finance people are explaining this to me and I'm thinking "when was the last time you got called in to fix a spreadsheet at 11pm?"

On a handful of occasions were it's been excessive...as in get a call at 10pm and there till 7am...I've taken the day off but nothing past that.

I really want to discuss appropriate compensation with my employer but am not sure on how to so seeking advice. For example...if I get a call at 10pm and have to log in via citrix to fix something....i might only take me 10 minutes....but that's still a pile of stress...I don't want to be compensated for 10 minutes of my time.

I am on-call every third week and am frankly quite tired of it.
Mind you, I am a guy who understands the business systems and operations and gets pulled in to sort out who screwed up and how to fix it.
However, they do compensate me quite well in comparison to most companies.
If you are "The" IT guy, I think its time to put on the squeeze and explain a few facts of life to them. This is what I have learned.

Time at work is what the salary is for.
Time after work is MY time.
If you want MY time, you pay for it.
If you dont want them to pay for it, you get someone else who does not want MY time.

Again, before I get flamed, I realise that not everyone has a choice. Heck, I dont have one and hence still am on call support because I love my work.

But I think there has to be some employment board who will understand the unfairness in not even being compensated for your overtime.
Be it 10 minutes or 1 hour or 10 hours, you are putting in overtime.
You are dealing with the stress when the company needs you the most.
The least they can do is recognise this and compensate you.
Ofcourse, the more experience, the better negotiation power..

Do keep us updated if you pursue any negotiation with the company.
Good luck. :)

[ullyeus]

I am on-call every third week and am frankly quite tired of it.
Mind you, I am a guy who understands the business systems and operations and gets pulled in to sort out who screwed up and how to fix it.
However, they do compensate me quite well in comparison to most companies.
If you are "The" IT guy, I think its time to put on the squeeze and explain a few facts of life to them. This is what I have learned.

Time at work is what the salary is for.
Time after work is MY time.
If you want MY time, you pay for it.
If you dont want them to pay for it, you get someone else who does not want MY time.

Again, before I get flamed, I realise that not everyone has a choice. Heck, I dont have one and hence still am on call support because I love my work.

But I think there has to be some employment board who will understand the unfairness in not even being compensated for your overtime.
Be it 10 minutes or 1 hour or 10 hours, you are putting in overtime.
You are dealing with the stress when the company needs you the most.
The least they can do is recognise this and compensate you.
Ofcourse, the more experience, the better negotiation power..

Do keep us updated if you pursue any negotiation with the company.
Good luck. :)

An absolutely excellent point, specifically the bold. I'm really trying to balance this with my already higher salary, with wanting to be a "team player" but also with my own stress levels. I work very hard when I am in the office...and if a project needs to be done I'll put in 100 hours a week...that's not the tough part...it's the sporadic On-call.

[Bazooka Joe]

I was in a situation that was somewhat similar, but may not seem so at first.

As a salaried employee, I took on/was assigned so much work that I was coming in at least an hour early, staying at least an hour late and working both days every weekend without additional pay. After 6 months or so, I was starting to burn out and thought that I should be compensated for all the extra work I was putting in. I asked for it, and got it without a hitch. However, now I was expected to do all this work, and I began to feel even more pressure as I felt I would never be able to get out of it. I quit within another 6 months or so.

I took a new 9-5 job with paid overtime, and loved it for a while (eventually got bored and took on extra work - but that's a whole other story).

I guess the point I'm trying to make here, is will you feel any better with extra money, or will you feel more obligated to work and have even less personal time? You might want to consider that before asking for more money. You may want to consider asking for less hours or help (someone else to handly off hours calls for instance).

[Firebot]

You are supposed to be compensated for your on call time, and extra (or other benefits) for those hours where you do actual on call work. If your company doesn't recognize that, they are not gonna be able to keep that position filled.

[direct-x]

I think the problem here is the companies priorities and expectations for on call work.

Nobody should be calling you at 11pm at night for help with a spreadsheet.

It should be made clear that on-call support is clearly for business critical events such as network failure, failed server, etc.

It should not be for routine level 1-2 type issues.

If they need 24/7 support for issues like that, then they should invest in resources to cover the hours.

I work on-call, and am not shy to tell people to buzz off if they are trying to sneak in a request that is clearly not in my "on-call" mandate.

[ullyeus]

So I had to go into work THREE times on my Sunday today..10 minute drive there and back....and 10 minutes in office...but got me thinking again about this oncall and lack of any form of reimbursement.

so *bump*