Standby as working time in civil aviation

Unlike the WTR, the concept of standby duty is explicitly addressed in the CAT aviation regulations. They refer to a crew member who (in accordance with the terms of his employment) holds himself ready to act ... if called upon to do so by his employer. Under a 2010 amendment (see chapter 2), for the purpose of calculating the total annual working time standby counts in full, except in certain circumstances when it counts as half the actual time spent on duty. Standby counts as half working time where:

• The period of notice given by the employer before the crew member must report for duty is at least two hours and 15 minutes; or

• Standby is spent at home; in accommodation provided by the employer away from the place where the crew member is next required to report for duty; or in other accommodation arranged by the crew member to stay in while temporarily deployed away from home; and is between 10pm and 8am local mean time, and during that time the crew member can take undisturbed rest, and is not called upon to report for duty.