Pay For No Work – Part I – On-Call

In addition to vacations and statutory holidays, there are two key times when an employee who is not performing any productive work may be entitled to be paid under the Employment Standards Act (British Columbia):

• while on-call other than at home; and during travel time.

On-call employees are "at work" and are entitled to be paid regular wages as well as overtime for those hours of work. The Act provides that an employee is "at work" while on call at a location designated by the employer, unless that location is the "employee's residence", a term which is narrowly construed and probably does not include most temporary accommodation provided by the employer at or near the worksite.