On Call Allowance

Grandmasu

I wonder if anyone could give me an idea of what would be a fair allowance for being on call. This would entail someone having a mobile phone so they could be contacted by care staff if they have a problem, for instance advice about a situation with a client or if they were unable for any reason to attend their next client. They might also be contacted by a client to say that a care worker had not turned up.

The person on call would be able to contact another care worker to help or replace the person calling on and would have access to an experienced manager if the situation was particularly complicated.

There is also a rare possibility that the person on call might have to go out to give direct help and would be paid accordingly for this.

The on call hours would be from 5pm -11pm and 6am -9am. It is suggested that someone would be on call about one week in four. I would be grateful for any suggestions for a fair allowance for these duties

DVardysShadow

Just to open the bidding. £15/session evenings £12/session mornings. Attendance extra.

moneysavingexpert79

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Just to open the bidding. £15/session evenings £12/session mornings. Attendance extra.

£20 evenings £15 mornings. Attendance extra.

Grandmasu

Thank you both,

I have to say that this amount appears rather high, it is anticipated that there would only be a few calls each week and with a mobile phone the person on call is not confined to the house.

The amount of expertise needed is not like that of an IT consultant with specialist knowledge but generally checking a staff rota to see who could step in in an emergency. More complicated issues can be escalated to higher management.

Is there any one who does similar on call work in domiciliary care who can say what sort of allowance they get.?

[Deleted User]

ha, i'm a highly skilled IT consultant and we don't get paid anything extra to be on call

paulwf

I think the rate might depend on:

- How often the person is likely to be called, you may need to monitor it for a month or so before you can set a final pay rate

-How experienced the person has to be, obviously the on call pay will reflect their normal pay scale

- Required response time. E.g. if you don't mind a call going to voicemail and the person on call phoning back within 5 minutes that can make a huge difference as that makes it easier to still have a shower, prepare breakfast etc.

Anihilator

I would imagine 75-120 a week for being on call with any attendence charged at the normal rate

It all depends on the likiehood of call outs etc. On call is deemed necessary now to keep the care commission happy so companies feel obligated to have it when it probably isnt really needed.

jim_walton

I would be going for time off in lieu...and if not that then a percentage of my salary depending on number of people on the rota.. Also be careful about who's responsibility it is to find cover for you when holiday time comes around.. I would be reluctant to accept this responsibility as it will undoubtedly cause anguish later on!!

safesound

My DH gets £50 a week for being on call with a guaranteed 2 hours pay for each call out plus more if it goes over the 2 hours. The hourly rate differs depending on what day of the week the call out occurs.

terra_ferma

Are you asking from an employee or employer's point of view?

On-call is often included in the salary and no extra payment is made for it.

I've seen amounts of about £100 and time off in lieu for attendance, for a 5pm-9am + weekends type of on call.

Some telecare/community alarms organisations offer a similar service, as they have dedicated call centres open 24hrs. I don't know the cost though.

PasturesNew

Being on call can vary so much between people. I've been on call before and I couldn't even go shopping in case I was mid way through the till at Tesco when the phone rang. Even showering's not possible.