Job on call (lavoro a chiamata) is an atypical employment relationship that may be agreed on a permanent or fixed-term basis in order to deal with short-term needs or peaks in workload. Nevertheless, it is a regular employment relationship and not an occasional self-employed activity.
An on-call employment contract may be concluded in particular where the relevant activity, by its nature, is performed only irregularly or intermittently.
The activities for which this is possible are determined first and foremost by the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CCNL).
If the collective bargaining agreement does not specify the relevant activities, reference may continue to be made to the statutory list of intermittent activities. This includes, for example, certain activities in the hotel and catering sector.
Irrespective of the activity performed, on-call work is also possible with:
As a general rule, an employee may actually work on call for the same employer for a maximum of 400 days within three calendar years.
If this limit is exceeded, the employment relationship is converted into a permanent full-time employment relationship.
Not necessarily. The employment contract may specify whether the employee is obliged to accept the employer’s call.
If the employee undertakes to remain continuously available, they are generally entitled to an availability allowance for this availability. The amount is determined by the applicable collective bargaining agreement and may not be lower than the statutory minimum amount.
If there is no obligation to respond to a call, the employee receives remuneration only for the hours actually worked.
In addition to the standard notification of the employment relationship, the employer must submit an additional notification of the call before the start of each work assignment.
The notification may also cover several consecutive work assignments.
Failure to notify an on-call assignment may result in administrative penalties.