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Allowances

Your role may require you to carry out standby, sleep-in duty or be recalled to work, if so you will be paid a duty payment for each shift and overtime at the relevant hourly rate for any work you carry out. Your manager will advise you if this is a requirement of the job.


The revised terms and conditions will apply from 1 November 2021.

Allowance rates 2023 to 2024

Standby duty

If your job means that you have to be available for contact or response outside your normal hours, you will be paid a duty payment based on the length of time you are on standby. You will be paid £29.20 for any period of standby duty up to 8 hours. If your standby duty is for a longer period of time, you will be paid an additional duty payment of £3.66 for each 2-hour block thereafter, up to a maximum of 24 hours for each period of standby duty.

Standby duty:
Length of dutyBasic duty payment rates
0.01 - 8 hours £29.20
8.01 - 10 hours £32.86
10.01 - 12 hours £36.52
12.01 - 14 hours £40.18
14.01 - 16 hours £43.84
16.01 - 18 hours £47.50
18.01 - 20 hours £51.16
20.01 - 22 hours £54.82
22.01 - 24 hours £58.48

Example a: a 17-hour period of standby from 4pm to 9am, would be paid £47.50 - 1x £29.20 and 5x £3.66 (the 17th hour is within the 5th 2-hour block of time between the 16th and 18th hour of duty).

Bank holidays: where an 8-hour standby duty, or subsequent 2-hour block of time, falls on or spans into or out of a bank holiday, the standby payment will be a bank holiday enhancement which doubles the basic duty payment rates for any blocks that fall within the bank holiday. Bank holiday enhancement applies from midnight to midnight, for any of the 8 statutory bank holidays (or substitute bank holidays if a bank holiday falls on a weekend). Any 8-hour or 2-hour blocks linked to a period of standby that does not fall on or span into or out of a bank holiday will not receive an enhancement.

Example b: a 17-hour period of standby that starts 4pm on 24 December and ends 9am on 25 December, would be paid £65.80 - 1x £29.20, 5x £3.66, plus bank holiday enhancement of 5x £3.66.  (The 17th hour is within the 5th 2-hour block of time between the 16th and 18th hour of duty).  Enhancement applies to all 5 of the 2-hour blocks of time, as they are all within the bank holiday.  The 8-hour period falls outside the bank holiday and will not receive an enhancement.

Example c: a 16-hour period of standby that starts 5pm on 24 December and ends 9am on 25 December, would be paid £87.68 - 1x £29.20, 4x £3.66, plus bank holiday enhancement of 1x £29.20 plus 4x £3.66. Enhancement applies to the 8-hour block of time as 1 hour falls within the bank holiday as does all 4 of the 2-hour blocks of time.

Compensatory rest: resulting from additional hours worked as a consequence of duty will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day for all contract hours not worked. Any compensatory rest should be agreed in advance and in accordance with the rules and criteria applicable to your service.

Working time: any additional time worked as a result of being on standby duty claimed as ‘standby attendance’ will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day.

Employees in the flexi scheme can claim standby working hours undertaken between 7am and 7pm under the normal flexi scheme arrangement rather than receive additional payment.

Employees who are on the council's flexi scheme cannot start to claim standby duty while working their contractual hours. If the standby rota is scheduled to start within the flexi bandwidth, the employee must have finished work before standby duty can commence or the standby duty must commence between 7pm and 7am.

Travel: travel time for standby duty is not claimable, any mileage undertaken responding to standby duty will be paid in line with our travel claim guide.

Claim forms: standby claim forms are available on Our Derbyshire. For employees who use craft time sheets, your line manager and admin support team will be able to provide your new time sheets.

If you undertake standby duty from Friday evening into the following Monday morning, your Friday evening claim should run straight into the Saturday Morning, then Saturday morning into Sunday morning (24 hours) and then your Sunday morning into the Monday morning (24 hours). You should not stop the claim on a Friday at midnight in order to claim 2 payments for the weekend as you will be paid a duty payment relating to the length of time you are on duty.

Sleep-in duty

If your job means you have to undertake a sleep-in duty, you will be paid a basic duty payment rate of £32.86. Any additional time worked as a result of being called to work when sleeping in will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day. If you are on grade 14 or above, any extra hours will be paid at plain time rates or taken as time off in lieu.

Bank holidays: sleep-in duties that span into or out of a bank holiday will be enhanced to double the basic duty payment rate.

Compensatory rest: resulting from additional hours worked as a consequence of duty will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day for all contract hours not worked. Any compensatory rest should be agreed in advance and in accordance with the rules and criteria applicable to your service.

Waking duty: all time when you are disturbed for work purposes will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day including overtime/bank holiday rates for time you work above 37 hours.

Claim forms: standby claim forms are available on Our Derbyshire. For employees who use craft time sheets, your line manager and admin support team will be able to provide your new time sheets.

Recall to work

Recall to work duty payments can be claimed if you are called to respond to an emergency or incident more than half an hour after finishing work. Paid working time starts only when the work activity starts, and you will be paid a set amount based on where you start work from. Recall to work payments are not applicable for cover for staff absence, additional hours, or normal work activity.

Recall to work (undertaking work activity from home): if you undertake the work activity from home (more than 30 minutes after finishing work), you will be paid a basic duty payment rate of £21.62. Any additional hours worked will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day and are claimable from when the work activity starts.

Recall to work (undertaking work activity at site): if you are required to travel to site before you start the work activity (and it’s more than 30 minutes after you finished work), you will be paid a basic duty payment rate of £29.20. Any extra hours worked will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day. This includes flexi scheme employees who are recalled to work within the flexi scheme bandwidth.

Working time: any additional time worked as a result of being recalled to work claimed as ‘recall attendance’ will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day.

Employees in the flexi scheme can claim recall working hours undertaken between 7am and 7pm under the normal flexi scheme arrangement rather than receive additional payment.

Bank holidays: a recall to work duty on a bank holiday will receive an enhancement to double the basic duty payment rate.

Compensatory rest: resulting from additional hours worked as a consequence of duty will be paid at the appropriate rate for the day/time of day for all contract hours not worked. Any compensatory rest should be agreed in advance and in accordance with the rules and criteria applicable to your service.

Travel: travel time for recall to work is not claimable, any mileage undertaken for recall duty will be paid in-line with the council’s travel guide.