Performing work on a standby basis in Hungary
Standby time is when your employee is ready to perform work for your company above their regular working hours. They can be on standby in any location they prefer, however, they must be ready to work. When the employer calls, the employee must start working immediately.
Example: the IT support person goes home at 5 p.m. after their working hours, but they are on standby from midnight through 4 a.m.
By default, standby time can last at most 4 hours. However, standby time can be longer than 4 hours in the following cases:
- for employees of utility providers,
- for personnel that can help avoid, avert, or relieve damage to health or property in case of accidents or natural disasters;
- for personnel maintaining the safe and proper operation of any technology.
If no work is required during standby
In case there is no actual work performed during standby time, the employee gets 20% of their salary as a standby bonus. They get no extra rest-time after standby, so they have to go to work as per usual.
If work is required during standby
In case actual work is performed during standby time, they must be paid their normal wage AND other wage supplements. The amount of the wage supplement depends on various factors, the most important of which include overtime (on workday 50%, on a rest day 100%), night-time shift (15%) or Sunday work (50%).
Employees are allowed 11 hours of rest after performing work. When work is performed during standby time, the rest-period of 11 hours starts after the work is finished. This might mean that after working on standby, the employee cannot start working according to their regular hours. However, this downtime must also be compensated.
Example: The IT support person leaves at 5 p.m. after work on a Monday, but they are on standby from midnight until 4 am. An emergency comes in, and they have to work from midnight through 2 a.m. They are allowed 11 hours of rest, so they will not come to work at 9 a.m., only at 1 p.m on Tuesday.
The IT support person is paid:
- 20% of their salary for 2 hours of standby time
- their normal salary for 2 hours of work
- 50% overtime wage supplement for 2 hours of work (since it is a workday)
- night wage supplement for 2 hours
- downtime wage for 4 hours (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
How much can an employee be on standby?
The maximum monthly standby time is 168 hours. If the employee works according to allocated cumulative working time, this 168 is a monthly average.
Standby time can be allocated to the weekly rest day of the employee only 4 times a month. Standby schedules must be allocated at least one week in advance, in writing. In case of emergency, standby may be assigned 96 hours (4 days) in advance.
Disclaimer: The data in this article reflect the state of affairs upon publication. To get up-to-date information, always consult your accountant.
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