At one Large Org where I worked, the Pager Bearer was paid 25% time for all the time they were on the pager, and standard overtime rates (including weekend/holiday multipliers) from the time the pager went off until they cleared the problem and walked out the plant door, or logged out if the problem was diagnosed/fixed remotely.
25% time for carrying the pager was to compensate for: 1) Requirement to be able to get to the plant in 30 minutes. Fresh snow? Too bad, no skiing for you this weekend. 2) You must be sober and work-ready when the pager goes off. At a party? Great, but I hope you like cranberry juice.
As the customer who signed the time cards for the pager duty, I thought that was not only fair, but it also drove home to me as a manager that the cost was real and was coming out of my budget, not some general IT budget that someone else took the hit for. This is one case where "You want coverage for your service? Give me a charge code for the overtime." was not just senseless bureaucratic friction, it led to healthier, business-driven, decisions.
25% time for carrying the pager was to compensate for: 1) Requirement to be able to get to the plant in 30 minutes. Fresh snow? Too bad, no skiing for you this weekend. 2) You must be sober and work-ready when the pager goes off. At a party? Great, but I hope you like cranberry juice.
As the customer who signed the time cards for the pager duty, I thought that was not only fair, but it also drove home to me as a manager that the cost was real and was coming out of my budget, not some general IT budget that someone else took the hit for. This is one case where "You want coverage for your service? Give me a charge code for the overtime." was not just senseless bureaucratic friction, it led to healthier, business-driven, decisions.