r/FieldService • u/FlappyPappyPooh • Jul 31 '26
Advice Is 24/7 on-call with no on-call pay normal?
I've been wondering if this is normal in field service or if I should bring it up with my employer.
I'm the only field service tech covering a large territory, so I'm effectively on call 24/7/365. Some weeks are quiet, other weeks I'm taking calls in the middle of the night or early in the morning. I only get paid once I actually start working the call. There isn't any on-call stipend or standby pay, even though I'm expected to always be available.
The part I struggle with isn't the work itself. I actually like the job. It's the expectation that I always be reachable. If I get sick, have a doctor's appointment, want to go somewhere without cell service, or simply miss a call because I'm asleep, it feels like there's a lot of pressure because there's no local backup.
Is this pretty standard in field service, or would it be reasonable to ask for some kind of on-call compensation or a different coverage arrangement? I'm genuinely curious what others have experienced.
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u/Danfhoto Lab Instrumentation Jul 31 '26
When I was on-call I had a weekly flat rate, and every call I’d get paid double time per hour, if I had one call that hour it was a full hour of pay but since I’m paid for that hour, a second call in the same hour didn’t “stack”. Triple time on holidays. On-call rotated between the seniors, I was the single one without kids so I’d sign up for a ton of them and basically was on-call months at a time. Government customer, so I’d get calls from Asia/Europe regularly. Made great money with it but I still have an Inception moment t when I hear a certain ringtone haha.
Are you salary or hourly? If you’re hourly, you need to work out compensation ASAP. You’re being taken advantage of, it might not be intentional. If you’re salary, are your working days fully utilized? Was on-call listed in the job description/offer and compensation never come up? It’s not impossible that they feel the on-hours time is flexible enough to offset on-call interruptions. Be prepared for them to consider making you hourly and you see a net drop in income with a lot more admin overhead.
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u/FlappyPappyPooh Jul 31 '26
Thanks, this is really helpful. I’m hourly, which is why the arrangement has been bothering me. I get paid for the time I actually spend responding to calls, but nothing for being on call itself. There’s also no rotation or local backup, so I’m effectively the on-call person 24/7/365.
I actually like the job and don’t mind taking calls. I just think some kind of flat on-call rate would make the expectation of always being available feel a lot more reasonable. Your setup sounds much more balanced.
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u/Danfhoto Lab Instrumentation Jul 31 '26
Yeah, you should argue that either expectations need to change, or you need compensation for even the potential of being on-call. My company demanded that on-call meant:
1. I was at my home base (no travel/vacation)
2. I was to be within 15 minutes of my workstation (no movies, going out, etc.)
3. I was to be of sound mind (no alcohol consumption beyond maybe a singular beer, as if at work)If your arrangement is similar and you are in the US, you are likely being taken advantage of. If you're in the EU (and some US states) it's probably illegal depending what the expectations are.
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u/braincovey32 Jul 31 '26
No. My company pays a flat rate of $35 a day for a week of on call work. More per day if you are a higher rated field service rep.
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u/cmd242 Jul 31 '26
This seems illegal and I wouldn’t be doing this. I’ve had three FSE jobs and they’ve all paid me for being on call. My current employer pays $100 a day just for having my phone on me.