Employees covered by the Nurses Award get paid an allowance for each 24-hour period (or part of a 24 hour period) that they’re required to be on-call. 

The amount of the allowance is different depending on whether they’re required to be on-call on: 

• Monday to Friday
• Saturday, or
• Sunday, a public holiday or a non-rostered day.

If the on-call period covers multiple days, the allowance is based on the day on which the majority of the on-call period falls. 

To find out the amounts of the on-call allowance, use our Pay and Conditions Tool.

Example

Janko works on Friday and finishes at 6pm. He’s required to be on-call after finishing work until 10am on Saturday. 

Janko is paid the Saturday on-call allowance amount as this is when the majority of his on-call period falls.

Recall to work when on-call

If an employee is recalled to work when they’re on-call, they’re paid for a minimum payment period at overtime rates. 

The minimum payment period is:

• 3 hours when the employee is required to return to the workplace
• 1 hour when the employee is required to perform work electronically away from the workplace, for example by phone. 

Performing work electronically away from the workplace

If the employee is required to perform work electronically more than once within the same one hour minimum payment period, only one minimum payment will apply. Any time worked beyond one hour is rounded up and paid to the nearest 15 minutes. 

Recall to work when not on-call

If an employee is recalled to work after leaving the workplace and they aren’t on-call, the same minimum payment period rules apply as if they were on-call. The employee doesn’t get the on-call allowance. 

The same minimum payment rules also apply for performing work electronically away from the workplace. 

If the employee is recalled back to the workplace, the time spent travelling to and from the workplace is counted as time worked. 

An employee may be called in to start earlier than their rostered start time on a day they’re already rostered to work. If the employee is called in within 3 hours of their rostered start time, and they stay at work, only the time spent travelling to the workplace will be counted as time worked. 

Example

Vesna is rostered to work a shift from 1pm to 6pm. That morning, Vesna’s employer calls her and asks her to come in at 11am.

Vesna is paid for the time spent travelling to the workplace.  

She’s not paid for the time spent travelling home from the workplace. This is because she was called in to start within 3 hours of her rostered start time and she stayed at work to finish her rostered shift.