On call duty is a period during which the employee, while not being at the workplace, nor at the permanent and immediate disposal of his employer, must be able to intervene to accomplish work for the company. This period, which is not considered as effective work, is the subject of financial compensation (fixed rate, compensatory rest, benefit in kind…). The possibility of being on call is implemented via a collective company-wide agreement or a branch agreement. In the absence of an agreement, it must be put in place by an employer’s decision after having been submitted – inform and consult – to the works council or the staff delegates. The Cour de cassation has ruled that if this on call duty is exclusively set out in the employment contract, it is not obligatory for the employee to comply.
France