On-call and part-time work: the rules

Part-time and on-call work look like variants of the same theme — reduced, flexible hours — but from a legal standpoint they are very different things. The first is an ordinary contract with a reduced percentage; the second conceals pitfalls that, if ignored, turn into wages payable even for hours not worked. Anyone organising staff must clearly distinguish the two instruments.

Part-time: a normal contract, just shorter

Part-time is simply an employment relationship with an employment level below 100%. The Code of Obligations applies just as for full-time work, with the same rights proportionate to the percentage:

minimum holiday of four weeks, proportionate to the level of employment;
continued payment of salary in the event of illness and accident, according to the ordinary rules;
thirteenth month salary and other elements, if provided for, on a proportionate basis;
social security contributions on the entire salary, with attention to the BVG (occupational pension, second pillar) entry threshold: many part-timers remain below the threshold and are not insured under the second pillar, an aspect to be assessed and communicated.

Part-time is, in essence, predictable: percentage, days and hours are agreed. It is the right instrument when a reduced but stable presence is needed.

On-call work: where the problem arises

On-call work (on request) is where the employee works only when the employer calls them, with variable hours. The law does not prohibit it, but case law frames it carefully because it shifts the business risk onto the worker. Two situations are distinguished.

“Genuine” on-call work: the employee is obliged to show up when called. Since they must remain available, the stand-by/availability time may in part have to be paid, and the employer takes on greater obligations.
“Non-genuine” on-call work: the employee is called but free to refuse the individual assignment. Here availability is not owed and, as a rule, the waiting time is not paid.

The hidden risk: pay based on average volume

The most delicate point of on-call work is this: if over an extended period the employee has worked with a certain regularity, an average employment level can consolidate and become a reference. If the employer then suddenly reduces the calls, the worker can claim the salary corresponding to the average volume on which they had relied.

In other words: an “on-call” arrangement used in practice as regular employment risks being treated as a fixed-percentage part-time job, with the salary that follows even in months with few calls. The apparent flexibility turns into a cost.

Notice and continued payment of salary

Two other aspects that are often underestimated:

Notice of the call: calling at very short notice can, depending on the case, trigger an entitlement to a minimum number of hours or to compensation. Reasonable notice (for example a few days) reduces the risks.
Illness, accident, holidays: even in on-call work these rights exist and are calculated, typically, on the average of the hours worked over a reference period. They do not vanish because the schedule is irregular.

How to choose and set them up

Practical rules:

if the need is stable but reduced, use a part-time contract with a defined percentage: simpler and safer.
use on-call work only for genuinely irregular and unpredictable needs.
put in writing whether availability is mandatory or optional: it changes everything in terms of risk.
define minimum notice and how holidays and absences are calculated on the average.
monitor regularity: if an “on-call” arrangement becomes de facto constant, formalise it as part-time before a judge does.

Contributions and the pay slip

In both cases the ordinary obligations apply: AHV/IV/EO (state pension, disability and income compensation), ALV (unemployment insurance), UVG (accident insurance) and, above the threshold, BVG (occupational pension). Every payment requires a correct pay slip. With variable hours, the accuracy of the hours count becomes the real challenge.

How we help you

The People division of SIH ONE helps you choose the right contractual form — part-time or on-call — and draft clauses that hold up, preventing flexibility from turning into litigation. Talk to the People division.