You work on call. Your working hours are not written in the contract – what does that mean for you?

If your employment contract does not specify working hours, this automatically means that your working hours are at least 20 hours per week.

You can work more than 20 hours a week, but not less. On-call work means that you are assigned to work at short notice. Even if you are on call, your employer must employ you for at least 3 hours continuously if the duration of your daily working hours is not regulated.

So if your employment contract does not state that you should work 8 hours a day, for example, your employer can ask you to work for 3 hours. He/she may not schedule you in for a period of only 2 hours or less, for example, as this would not be worthwhile for you.If you are still only supposed to work for 2 hours, your employer must pay you for 3 hours.

If you work on call, your working hours during the week may deviate from the rule. If a minimum working time has been agreed (in the employment contract), your employer may give you a maximum of 25% more work (per week). If a maximum working time has been agreed, your employer may allow you to work up to 20% less, but not less than that.

If your employment contract states that you should work a maximum of 30 hours per month, your employer can ask you to just work 24 hours in a "quiet" month and then only pay you for these hours. But he/she cannot pay you for less than 24 hours.