Does on-call time count as working time?
On-call time spent at the workplace at the employer's disposal is counted separately and limited by statute. Standby at home is not working time, but the Court of Justice examines how far freedom is actually restricted.
What the source says
- Section 6: on-call time may be required for at most forty-eight hours over four weeks or fifty hours per calendar month.
- Article 2 of the directive: working time is time when the worker is at the employer's disposal and carrying out activity.
- The Court has examined the boundary against standby in cases on response time and actual restrictions.
Source rows
- Working Hours Act (SFS 1982:673)SFS 1982:673 · Swedish Work Environment Authority · Read 2026-08-20 · Content hash 3acf2b854117c7c0Official source
- Directive 2003/88/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working timeCELEX 32003L0088 · European Commission, implemented nationally · Read 2026-08-20 · Content hash efebfd36c36c3c33Official source
For the employer · How the employer puts the question
Document call-out requirements and response times, the actual restrictions decide the classification.
For the employee · How the employee puts the question
Short response times may turn standby into working time even where it is spent at home.
Leading rulings
- C-55/18 CCOOCourt of Justice of the European Union · 2019-05-14
Member States must require a system enabling the duration of each worker's daily working time to be measured.
Official source - C-55/18 CCOOCourt of Justice of the European Union · 2019-05-14
Member States must require a system enabling the duration of each worker's daily working time to be measured.
Official source - C-684/16 Max-PlanckCourt of Justice of the European Union · 2018-11-06
The right is not lost automatically where the employer has not enabled the worker to take the leave.
Official source
Next step
Read the national on-call rule together with article 2 of the directive and the standby judgments.
The rows reproduce what the source says. They are not legal advice, and applying them to a specific case is the reader's or their counsel's decision.
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