On Call Allowance - Weekends

My work are considering making the regional field engineers on call at the weekends and fielding the helpdesk calls (diverted to mobile).

What would the standard renumeration for an "on call allowance" be? Would it be your hourly rate time and a half sat? double time sunday? time and a half both days?

We are awaiting an "offer" coming back from the business, but I've never done on call before so was just wondering what the going rate is. It is a 1600 user environment and it will be mainly doing remote access first time fixes and logging calls for the engineer on the Monday if unable to resolve etc. No site visits required on weekends, we need to be "within an hour" of a broadband connection to VPN into the systems for troubleshooting.

Also, we are actually 2nd line desktop/network support and being asked to do helpdesk work at weekends (though I left the helpdesk behind for good LOL).

Anyone's feedback who has been on call or in a similar situation would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Malcybood

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sprkymrk

Way back when (before I was salary) we used the time and a half method with a couple of bullet points:

1. Your time starts when the phone rang, not when you get to a place where you can launch the VPN. If you were 30 minutes from home and got a call that required you to access the VPN, it started right then. You charged for the thirty minutes it took you to get home, plus resolution time.

2. Minimum charge was 1 hour for fielding a call. If you got a call and had it resolved in 20 minutes, you got paid for 1 full hour.

malcybood

Thanks for the info.

I am on a salary, this is why I am asking as it will involve amending my contract to reflect the change in working hours/salary etc.

What I am trying to clarify is if one is thought to have been fielding calls all day (could be 1 call, could be 50 calls per day) should I expect a fixed amount for a days work i.e. 7.5 hours on call......salary / 52 weeks / 37.5 hours @ time and a half x 7.5 hours for each day I work

OR

a "reduced rate" as I will potentially not even have to answer the phone (not likely but I can hope). Just not sure how it usually works with these things.

Hope I didn't confuse you with my logic

Kaminsky

malcybood wrote:

a "reduced rate" as I will potentially not even have to answer the phone (not likely but I can hope).

It isn't a reduced rate...... This is your time that is being cut into! Not only that you are being restricted on travel by always being required by your work to be within a certain distance. I was on call for 8 years on a 1 week in 3 basis. It was a pain in the backside. Yes it was a good extra earner but a pain none the less. As it is your time, the company must pay for it. They are the ones sitting at home with the mrs and kids out of hours.

Typically, you get a fixed rate just for being on the other end of the phoe even if it doesn't go off. This is not a days pay usually but should not be a pitance either. Not a fixed hourly rate but a set amount.

If the phone does go off, the clock starts (write down the time.... in hourly segments - even if the call lasts 30 seconds) If more than one call comes in in that hour.. tough... you've already charged for the hour. If a call goes over an hour then charge another hour...

If you have to dial in there is no extra payment as it is taken for granted when the phone goes off, you are sitting at the workplace.

If you do eventually have to site visit then your mileage also comes into play from wherever you are as well as time.. again in hourly segments.

Don't forget... this is your time they are biting into and alhough you are quite prepared to do it, remuneration needs to be equivelant to what you are potentially losing in your real life.

malcybood

Thanks Kaminsky all good stuff.

This is the general concensous I think throughout the department, that "you can't buy your own time so they better make it worth my while".

I am not as aggrieved as some in regard to this, it is only going to be 6 - 7 weekends per year, but at the same, yes time it is my time that is being restricted not the top dogs. I would rather go without the extra money and have my weekend to myself but that is not going to happen so I'm making sure that what they offer me is reasonable.

I should hear within the next couple of weeks of the proposal, when the people in high places come back from their extended festive break lol

Kaminsky

malcybood wrote:

Bsc Network COmputing

You can get a degree in that now ? Buggar!

malcybood

Kaminsky wrote:

malcybood wrote:

Bsc Network COmputing

You can get a degree in that now ? Buggar!

Yeap, not just "Computer Science" degrees nowadays. I graduated in 2003, so they've been around a while!

TechJunky

I will inform you of our rates, which are a little low compared to others around the area.

Customer Rates

Onsite Support:

Regular onsite support $100 hourly, 1 hour minimum charge Mon-Friday 8am-5pm

Standard Overtime onsite is billed at 1.5 times the rate of 100 per hour with a $150 hour minimum. 5pm -10pm, 10am-5pm Sat-Sunday

Premium overtime onsite support: is billed at 1.5 times the rate of $100 per hour with a two hour minimum of $300.

Emergency onsite support is billed at 2 times the hourly rate of $100/hr. with a 2 hour minimum of $400 dollars. This covers all normal holidays.

Phone support:

Regular, billed in 15min increments at an hourlyrate of $100/hr. with a $50 min charge for 15 min or less.

Standard overtime, 15min increments at an hourly rate of 1.5 times the hourly rate of $100/hr with a $75 minimum.

---Technician Pay ----

We get paid $25 dollars per day for on call, and a bonus of $50 for every on site visit and $35 for every phone call taken while on call. You get OT pay for every hour worked as well.

If you want the exact support contract shoot me your email address.