What work and rest rules apply to standby and sleep-in duties?
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Being reachable at home is different from being required to stay at work. Record actual freedom, call-outs and the applicable collective agreement. Working-time classification and pay are also separate questions.
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1. Classify the duty
Consignatie means being reachable outside normal work to respond quickly to unforeseen emergencies. It is not every on-call or zero-hours contract. During attendance/sleep-in duty you must stay at work: all hours count as work, including sleep. Neither duty is allowed under18. Healthcare availability duty may also involve foreseeable calls and has sector exceptions.
2. Count calls and restrictions
For ordinary standby, work starts with the call, with at least half an hour counted for short work; a new call within half an hour after work ends makes the gap count too. The entire availability period may be working time where response time, frequency and duration seriously constrain freedom. Record actual restrictions; a home-duty label does not prove rest. Special standby rest/night counting is not permission to conceal actual work.
3. Check the standby rota
Ordinary standby allows at most13working hours in24 including call-outs,14standby days per4weeks, and two blocks of two consecutive days free of work AND standby per4weeks. No standby11hours before or14hours after a night shift. Include regular work and other jobs. Healthcare availability lacks the same14call-free-day rule, but is not unlimited: ask for the specific collective/sector rule.
4. Check overnight standby
With16or more standby periods in16weeks covering any time00:00–06:00, average work is capped at40hours weekly over that period. Up to45average requires8continuous hours’ rest after the final overnight call, or, if a shift immediately follows,8hours’ rest within06:00–24:00. An ordinary overnight standby call is not a full night shift for frequency limits. Log each call and rest start/end.
5. Check workplace attendance and rest
Workplace attendance must be necessary and collectively agreed. Regular duty: maximum24hours per duty,52duties in26weeks and48hours weekly average over26weeks. Regular means, for example, at least26duties/26weeks or over half of working time. Rest before/after is11hours; over7x24hours90hours comprising24continuous plus6x11. Necessary, collectively agreed reductions to10once and8once cannot be consecutive; missed rest is added to the next rest. Occasional duty does not automatically qualify for the whole exceptional regime.
6. Check opt-out and payment
An opt-out to60hours average/26weeks for regular attendance requires personal written consent and an employer register. Consent lasts26weeks and renews automatically unless you reject renewal. Ask about effects and scheduling before signing; it does not legalise every rota. The Working Hours Act provides no separate standby payment: check agreement/contract and payslip separately from time classification. Request correction of inaccurate schedules or records and help with unsafe workloads.
Draft request: What work and rest rules apply to standby and sleep-in duties?
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Does a call interrupt rest?
For ordinary statutory standby, call-out work is disregarded for certain daily/weekly rest rules. This does not mean work is not working time. If the entire duty counts because of compulsory presence or severe restrictions, have the appropriate regime assessed instead of automatically applying this exception.
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- Duty type and collective agreement
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Rijksoverheid — consignatie ↗Rijksoverheid — aanwezigheidsdienst ↗Arboportaal — aanwezigheidsdiensten en consignatie ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.