You've got me on what?

[Pixilated]

Called in today to find out my schedule for next week. I'm definitely scheduled on Wednesday aaaand ... I'm on "standby" on Sunday from 3 to 6:15.

Me: "When did we start standby shifts?"

CW: "Oh, we've had them for a long time. You just lucked out this week." (laughing)

Ah, yes ... something else nobody told me about ...

I always thought only people like emergency responders were on "standby" ... but retail workers??

[Amina516]

I pick up call shifts. But if I'm expected to be available when they call, they better pay me for it (and they do). Will you be paid for "stand by"?

[Pixilated]

I never thought to ask, but I'll be surprised if they do.

[KellyHabersham]

Well, when I was at Macy's, we had a few "on-call associates" in my department, but I'm not sure exactly how it worked......my impression was that they were mainly called in to cover shifts, or when we had a sale going on.

[Rapscallion]

Legally in the UK if you are 'on call' then you have to be compensated whether called out or not. Not sure about the law in the US and elsewhere, though.

Rapscallion

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I always thought only people like emergency responders were on "standby" ... but retail workers??

Well yeah. If there's a big sale going on and somebody calls in or doesn't show up for their shift, it's an emergency dontcha know.

Hope you get paid for having to spend your Sunday afternoon by the phone in case they call you in; I can't see how it be legal for you not to get paid.

[bainsidhe]

You should ask for more details about this "standy" shift. Some companies require you to call in before the shift and confirm if you're needed, meaning it isn't a "true" on-call shift and they don't have to pay you. You should check what your store means and for the heck of it, check with your local labor laws. Wouldn't be the first time store level is doing something that isn't sanctioned by corporate.

[Pixilated]

Well yeah. If there's a big sale going on and somebody calls in or doesn't show up for their shift, it's an emergency dontcha know.

Hope you get paid for having to spend your Sunday afternoon by the phone in case they call you in; I can't see how it be legal for you not to get paid.

Okay, I see your point there, Irving ... however, our store very rarely has sales, and there's none in the offing that I'm aware of. There's been a big push lately to cut hours and I suspect this is just a CYA thing in case it suddenly gets busy.

You should ask for more details about this "standby" shift. Some companies require you to call in before the shift and confirm if you're needed, meaning it isn't a "true" on-call shift and they don't have to pay you. You should check what your store means and for the heck of it, check with your local labor laws. Wouldn't be the first time store level is doing something that isn't sanctioned by corporate.

Thanks for the suggestions, bainsidhe, I'll ask some questions when I go in for my Wednesday 'real' shift.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Legally in the UK if you are 'on call' then you have to be compensated whether called out or not. Not sure about the law in the US and elsewhere, though.

Rapscallion

Having been the "on call" tech for the IT Service Desk here at The Client once or twice, the way it worked is, I got a pager that I carried for that week. If I got a call (whether on my cell, home phone, or pager) that I was needed to cover a shift, I would go in and get paid for that shift.

I also got paid an additional 4 hours for the week-- regardless of whether I was called in or not-- for being "on call."

That's how our contract was worded.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

There's been a big push lately to cut hours and I suspect this is just a CYA thing in case it suddenly gets busy.

If this is what it is, I've never heard it referred to as a "standby shift" and it never goes for a certain period of time.

They just call people if they need them and if they answer and come in, great. If not, they keep trying, and if they still can't find anybody to come in they do the best they can while shorthanded.

Sounds like this place expects its employees to spend their time off tethered to the phone, ready to come into work if they call. Which is not good.

[EricKei]

Raps -- IIRC, EE's do have to be paid for "on-call" time, but the definition of "on-call" is fairly strict. If Pixilated would be required to come in for a shift if called while, say, on a family picnic one hour outside of town, on pain of summary termination, then, yes, it's "on-call" and must be paid. If one's personal life is NOT effectively put on hold, it's probably not considered "on-call"/paid time.

That could be why they referred to this as "Standby" rather than as "on-call".

Exact verbiage below:

"On-Call Time: An employee who is required to remain on call on the employer's premises is working while "on call." An employee who is required to remain on call at home, or who is allowed to leave a message where he/she can be reached, is not working (in most cases) while on call. Additional constraints on the employee's freedom could require this time to be compensated."

Sauce: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs22.htm

[Pixilated]

Apparently this is not as bad as I'd thought it might be. You are supposed to call in an hour before your possible shift begins and ask if you're needed. If they say 'No' you are off the hook.

[emax4]

How long does it take you to get to work? Is there a minimum work period required? Can you assume that you're no longer on-call after three hours of no calls?

[Pixilated]

It takes me about half an hour to get to the mall (although if there's any kind of traffic problem that can definitely screw that up).

If I understood the manager correctly (and I will confirm it Sunday when I call), once I call and am told I'm not needed, that's it. If all hell breaks loose after that, they can try to call me, but once I've got that "No" I'm not obliged to sit around waiting.

I can't see them calling me after 3:15 anyway (closing on Sunday is 6 p.m. so we're expected to sign out by 6:15) because when you get called in, you must be paid for a minimum of three hours. So there'd be precious little point in them calling me in at, say, 5 p.m., to be paid for 3 hours while I only worked 1.5 hours.