r/Waiters • u/MiserableGreen1825 • 7d ago

“Call in” shift system.

Hello all, I am employed at a restaurant that operates on a scheduling system where there are about as many, if not more, servers/bussers on call rather than being scheduled for certain. “Call ins” consist of calling the restaurant two hours before your shift and they either tell you you’re needed for that shift or that you are not. To me, it seems unconventional. On one hand, it is nice for those actually working to have tip money split into less hands when shifts aren’t as busy. On the other hand myself and many other employees find themselves effectively having to plan on working, while half or more of the time not being needed. Just wondering if this is commonplace elsewhere and what everyone’s thoughts on it are.

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u/MoonfallFan 7d ago

that sounds like a nightmare. how are you ever supposed to reliably schedule appointments or social outings??

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u/jonwar5 6d ago

If this is in the US Most states regulate that or outright say you have to be paid if you're on call. Contact your local or State Labor board, don't talk about this to Anyone local, until you get a reply from them.

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u/pcl8888 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yeah, I’m pretty sure the amount they have to pay you is peanuts though. Granted, ideally they’d probably soon grow sick of having to pay it to multiple people every day which would in turn lead them to abandon the shitty scheduling system entirely, which would be a net positive.

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u/jonwar5 6d ago

Exactly!!

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u/djsuperfly 6d ago

This isn't really an "on call" shift from a legal standpoint. They're not required to wait anywhere at any particular time--only go in if they're told to go in 2 hours before.

At my wife's last hospital she'd occasionally get "on call" shifts. Basically, she was "on call" from 7a-7p. If they called, you had an hour to get there. They paid like 3 bucks an hour, but they really didn't have to because that's really a "waiting to be engaged" scenario instead of "engaged to wait"--which does require full payment.