Retainer for on call

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tatbaird

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#250819 27-May-2019 10:07

Hi,

I want to get some opinion regarding on call payments. Whether you should get a retainer or not. My employer currently will pay for any time actually worked, but no retainer to "be available". A lot of stuff can obviously be done remotely so it is really a work from home type of thing. Sometimes you get no calls in the week, other times it can be fairly busy.

I have no issue with being on call and enjoy the work whenever it happens. I also would not refuse the work on the grounds of no retainer, but is that typical of NZ employees and employers.

What are some of your experiences with this?

Cheers

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#2246326 27-May-2019 10:10

My previous employer we would get $500 per week and a car to use! If we got busy they would pay us more at managers discretion

tatbaird

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#2246329 27-May-2019 10:13

Yeah, I guess it will be different if you actually had to get in the car and go places. For my situation it is all remote access.

sdavisnz

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#2246330 27-May-2019 10:16

I think your entitled to a payment of some kind.

Some people turn off their work phone when not at work. Maybe just suggest you will do that.

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Linux

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#2246331 27-May-2019 10:17

99% of our on call work was remote, can't remember too often had to drive into work head office or one of the data centers

dryburn

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#2246333 27-May-2019 10:21

There are quite a few threads already. Take a look and decide if it is worth your effort to be on call.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=86&topicid=215360

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=86&topicid=236193

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=75&topicid=191951

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=86&topicid=68468

tatbaird

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#2246335 27-May-2019 10:22

yeah thought there might be, thanks for the links

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#2246337 27-May-2019 10:23

Theres a few different ways it can be handled...

1) Flat rate payment per week regardless of number of calls/work.

2) Retainer payment + payment of any calls/work

3) Payment of any calls/work - no retainer

4) Its in your contract fine print that you didnt read and is part of your normal salary.

I do a mix of 1 and 3 in my position.

XPD / Gavin

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billgates

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#2246340 27-May-2019 10:26

We get a sweet retainer for the week regardless of whether we get any call or not + time and half of any calls we do get. We get day in lieu on top of being on call if the day happens to be a stat day as well.

Do whatever you want to do man.

dt

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#2246346 27-May-2019 10:29

give business of innovation and employment a call for the correct info but I believe it has something to do if that you have to limit your activities to be able to fulfill your obligations than you are entitled to compensation.

years ago when I was on call once a month, one week at a time we were expected to be within 1 hour of a computer and would be compensated $1000 per month for it..

Us on call engineers would have this rule you couldn't trade, you just had for forfeit it.. doing it twice in a month would always mean a new toy :)

Behodar

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#2246386 27-May-2019 10:37

We get an "on-call allowance" of a set amount per weekday - or 1.5x that amount on weekends - regardless of whether or not we actually end up working.

andrewNZ

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#2246387 27-May-2019 10:44

There are so many ways to do it. The retainer could also be included in the salary package.

A lot of it depends on how fast you have to respond and if you can do it remotely.

I get a retainer. I have to be on site, with tools, within 30mins. As a result my ability to do my own things is limited, so my pay has to reflect that.

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tehgerbil

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#2246394 27-May-2019 11:04

So what you're saying is your liberty is constantly being offered for free to the company to be used whenever they please.

Your company is getting a really good deal from you aren't they?

Lias

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#2246400 27-May-2019 11:38

I think it depends on the regularity. My last job was a 24x7 operation and if you got through the week with less than 1-2 calls a night it was a quiet week, so they paid a decent retainer and "late night" fees etc. My current employer is much smaller and averages one call every few months. They pay me for 4 hours if I take a call and understand that without a retainer there is no guarantee of availability.

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup. Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

sen8or

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#2246401 27-May-2019 11:41

We pay our techs an allowance to be on call for a week. The moment their car leaves their house a callout charge is levied, 2hrs double time min callout fee (whether it takes 5 mins or 2 hours to resolve), then time and a half after first 2 hours.

As things are changing a bit for security industry now with more able to be diagnosed / fixed remotely, the bit about the car having to leave their house before a callout is paid is likely to change, but the allowance will always be there.

If they are on call over a pub holiday, even if they don't attend any callouts, they also get day in lieu

CitizenErased

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#2246404 27-May-2019 11:48

I'd expect a retainer. If you're expected to be available at short notice, that means you have to hang around home. Can't go out to a movie, social gathering, day trip out of town, or whatever.

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