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Anonymous
We are a Christian Conference centre operating in the SW. we have two couples living on site and three part time cleaners living off site. accommodation is provided by the employer. are there any special employment law conditions applicable to employees on site working an on-call duty system. ie when one couple is off the other couple must be on-call to deal with any emergencies, deliveries, repairs etc. Is there anything we should be doing re Health and Safety, Employment Contracts, Remuneration Scheme etc. we have members of the public staying as fee paying guests and can accommodate up to 97 persons.
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Jane Byford - Martineau Johnson
Online advisor - 9 posts
Dear Harold
Thank you for your recent query.
Employing people who live on site and are required to carry out on call duties is potentially very problematic and it would be impossible to summarise all the employment issues this could involve in a response as brief as this, but I set out below some of the main issues to consider.
The first issue is on what terms the employees occupy the accommodation. It seems to me that they are required to live on site for the proper performance of their duties and therefore they probably have a service occupancy which will automatically terminate when their employment terminates. What you will want to try and avoid is a service tenancy, whereby your ability to recover possession of the premises on the termination of employment would be much more limited. Ideally this should be spelt out in a service occupancy agreement.
From a health and safety point of view, you will have the normal duties to provide a safe working environment, but when employees reside on the premises the accommodation provided should also comply with health and safety requirements.
Under the Working Time Regulations an employee?s average working time should not exceed 48 hours a week, unless the employee has opted out of this provision. As time spent on call may well be working time it would be wise to get the employees to sign opt outs. You will also need to ensure that they receive adequate rest breaks and holiday under the Regulations.
One of the most problematic areas for you may well be the National Minimum Wage Act. You will need to ensure that these employees are paid the national minimum wage in respect of all the hours they work, which could potentially include time spent on call. Records should be kept of the actual hours worked so that you can ensure that the legislation is complied with.
I trust that this gives you some idea of the kind of issues you need to be thinking about.
Yours sincerely
Jane Byford
Partner
Martineau Johnson
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