On Call Pay

Question: I've sent one of our maintenance techs to the CAMT class. He's been chatting with his classmates and has learned that some companies pay their guys to be on call. In addition to any hours they work while on call, they also get paid a flat $150 every time it's their turn. Is this something that's an industry standard? Pros/cons of the policy? I've never heard of this before but we are also a very small locally owned operation without a huge corporate structure so a lot of these things slip by me.

We just started doing this for our techs

Sydney Rose how much do you pay them? Do you give them the option of taking call or is it mandatory?

Jana Boatman I believe it's 150 for the week. So just a flat rate in addition to their hours. Call is mandatory. We have 3 techs that take call so it's a rotation

Sydney Rose thank you!! This is helpful. I’ve been trying to get the guys more money and this could be one way of doing that.

Jana Boatman interesting

It's been growing more and more since covid, and used as a retention getter for current techs and future techs as a incentive, the flat rate of 150 is starting to be the norm in the tri state area

We have a minimum amount of time they are paid for any time they respond to a call so even if they flip a breaker they get paid for any hour to make it worth their time.

Tracy Dollas We pay a minimum of two hours for every call they take but those on salary kinda get the short end of the stick. I like the idea of the flat rate plus any hours.

We just started this as well.

I did extra 30 mins added to call out time...and that is still not good enough. I see it going higher in our smaller market as well.

Yes we do that here at my community. They get one hour put on her paycheck for the week they’re on call. Then if they are getting called out, they get two hours minimum regardless of how long the emergency took. 

Nikki Carbine thats what I do too. 3 hours flat every single call. Flip a breaker 2 hours OT. Unlock a door, 2 hours ot. If they work more than 2, then paid for however long they work.

They should be compensated for on-call time. It's not like they can go to a movie or out of town or do with their time whatever they may wish, which means that they're not on their own time, which means they should be paid.

Heather Blume This is my thinking as well. It just never occurred to me!

Heather Blume I agree. Mine hate being on call because they have no life for that week. Can't have a beer, or go to a movie. I think this is an excellent idea!

I take the calls myself (no OT) and send the message to the Maintenance Tech that is “on call” that week.

being a supervisor and one that is on call. its not always how many calls or how long the calls take. it's about how interrupted ur home life is for a week. or in several cases, if you're the only one on call then it is even worse. several companies have gone to that and i applaud them

More than ever, creativity has come to play in this conversation to increase employee retention. I've seen/heard of multiple methods for "treading the needle" regarding options for on-call pay. My current company pays 2 hours extra per week for the first call-out (in addition to the time). My previous company paid a flat rate bonus for whoever had the on-call phone. Others pay to drive to and/or from the property in addition to the time to repair itself. Overwhelmingly the vital conclusion for the discussion from an employee point of view is the need to honor the after-hours nature of the commitment. IMO this means that the company/property needs to check the messaging.

At the risk of supplementing your question with more questions, here's food for thought:

-What's the money, whether a flat rate and/or the OT pay for? Is it to pay the technician is due just because they're doing their job, or is it recognition that you are giving up your family time to serve the resident? (Does your technician know this answer too?)
-Does the technician get a say in their compensation? (If a technician would rather have time off in exchange for extra pay, do they have that option?)
-Is there any program in place to decrease the need for call out's? (Resident education, Preventive Maintenance, Flex scheduling, etc.)

Yes we do this at our company as well. They get a flat fee for being on call.

And they get a minimum of 1 hour pay for each call

I have the oddest set up I have ever seen. Maintenance tech only takes call Friday 6pm to Sunday 11pm every other week. Maintenance manager takes all week and every other weekend. No additional pay for manager, Maintenance tech guaranteed 4 hours of ot plus any time he actually goes out at additipnal 2 ot hours regardless of actual time. My maintenence super gets screwed and Maintenance tech acts like he has it so hard. Smh

Debbie Haskell That sounds so complicated and gross. LOL

Jana Boatman I agree! Very unfair

We have a flat bonus of $245 just for being on-call. We also pay hourly rates by 15 minute increments in the tech’s favor for each call.

Angel Nelson WOW!! That's really generous!

Jana Boatman a good tech is hard to find. We gotta take care of them, when we have em’.

Angel Nelson THIS RIGHT HERE.

We pay $200 per week of on call in addition to whatever OT they have from after hour calls.

Following! Love this idea

We just started the flat $250 every week they are on call in addition to whatever hours they receive.

Jennifer Hall What market are you in?

Jennifer Hall And does it matter if they are hourly or salary as to what the bonus is?

Jana Boatman I am in Minnesota. We don't have any maintenance techs on salary. All are hourly.

I believe Lincoln pays $150 per employee that takes call plus their hours.

The answer will vary according to state wage law. In some places, being on call is on duty and is fully compensated. In some places, 4 hour minimum when 1st job is dispatched.Most places, you can do it any way you like as long as on duty at work is compensated including overtime hours. You CANNOT flat rate pay $150 and pretend the work hours don't count towards OT.

We pay them to carry. $100 per week

Renae Maisano to carry?

The on call phone

We have a minimum 2 hour pay structure for call outs and pay $150 per pay period for on call. We are mid size in So Cal.

We are two weeks on, two weeks off. Get paid for the actual hours worked only and if you happen to have a vacation or sick day that week, you only get paid straight time for those hours you work on call.

Never heard of that flat fee! Our guys get a minimum of 2 hours on call for each call and mileage

Its not standard but becoming more common. My company is starting this January 1 .

Paid for time from the time they leave home until they return.

Wow so great to see this incentive. I have left the industry but remember how difficult it was on the outside team. My partner is still with multifamily on maintenance. I just saw the increased incentives for Greystar for 2023. It's great to see this industry take care of it's people more and more. My job now I'm on call and still compensated if not used. I think it's fair to get a flat rate if not used. Because that employee has to be available, can't drink alcohol, etc. I'm also glad you posted this to seek out and be open to help improve your team rather than quickly shut down the idea.

$100 stipend for being on call; min. 2 hours for any after hours call (@time and a half); $200 if covering 2 "areas"; double for holiday. We are a small company as well, just under 50 employees

We pay $10 per day and a minimum show-up time of 1.5 hours if they have to report for a call.

My company only pays for time actually worked. 15 mins = 15 mins of pay.

We started $100.00 each time. Its been great! It's not as much as some but they feel like we are appreciating their time. Works for us

Our company does an on call weekly bonus

Some do it.

Well, I'm getting really jipped!

I just saw an open maintenance position on LinkedIn that paid a sign on bonus and $200 a week when on call.

My company pays on call maintenance mileage PLUS $250, for being on call.

We just updated our policy to include $100 for being on call plus mileage reimbursement.