On-Call Cost Calculator
Cost of a standby rota and the call-outs that come with it.
What this calculator does
All rates and counts come from the user's own rota and pay policy; the calculator supplies none of them.
Inputs and what they mean
- Currency
- — Amounts are shown in the currency you pick. No exchange rate is applied..
- Standby hours per period
- — number value.
- Standby rate per hour
- — number value.
- Call-outs per period
- — number value.
- Hours per call-out
- — number value.
- Call-out rate per hour
- — number value.
- Number of periods
- — number value.
How to use it
- Enter your own figures — the calculator never fills in a rate, price or benchmark for you.
- Press Calculate to see the result.
- Read the formula, variables, assumptions and source below the result before you rely on it.
Formula
Cost per period = Standby hours × Standby rate + Call-outs × Hours per call-out × Call-out rate; Total = Cost per period × Periods
Worked example
One week of standby with two call-outs
Standby pay and call-out pay are counted separately.
Reading the result
The headline figure is the main answer. Any breakdown underneath shows the parts that make it up, so you can check the working and see what changes when you adjust an input.
Limitations and assumptions
Results depend entirely on the figures you enter and are rounded for display. They are for general information and education, not professional advice.
Reference: U.S. Department of Labor — Overtime pay and on-call time — Wage and Hour Division guidance
Last reviewed:
Common questions
Formula, source and verification
Standby pay and call-out pay are costed separately and then multiplied by the number of periods.
The question it answers: What does our on-call cover cost per week and per year?
The formula
Cost per period = Standby hours × Standby rate + Call-outs × Hours per call-out × Call-out rate; Total = Cost per period × Periods
- Hs — Standby hours
- (h). Hours on standby in one period.
- rs — Standby rate
- (currency/h). Rate paid while on standby.
- n — Call-outs
- (count). Call-outs in one period.
- hc — Hours per call-out
- (h). Average length of a call-out.
- rc — Call-out rate
- (currency/h). Rate paid for call-out work.
- p — Periods
- (count). Number of periods costed.
Units: Currency; hours; counts.
What kind of calculation this is
Business input model. The answer depends on business figures only you can supply, such as your own costs, rates or volumes. No market or benchmark values are assumed for you.
Method
All rates and counts come from the user's own rota and pay policy; the calculator supplies none of them.
Assumptions built into the result
- Mathematical: Each period has the same rota and the same rates.
Figures this calculator will never guess for you
- No standby allowance, call-out frequency or premium is assumed.
Limitations
- Uses an average call-out length; a period with unusually long incidents will cost more.
Source and version
- Standard or reference
- Standby and call-out pay (U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division — on-call (standby) time and hours worked.)
- Published source
- U.S. Department of Labor — WHD guidance
- Formula version
- Version 1
- Verification
- Reviewed against the cited source on
- How much weight the source carries
- Standards or government
- Applies to
- Currency
- Amounts stay in the currency you choose; no exchange rate is applied.
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