The Labour Court upheld a decision rejecting a retained firefighter’s complaint that his on-call time counted as working time. The determination, dated 12 January 2023, concerned Mr James Gannon’s appeal against a ruling in favour of Roscommon County Council.
Mr Gannon said he had to respond to alerts within seven minutes and attend at least 75% of call-outs in each 13-week period. He argued those requirements restricted his ability to take other work and activities. The Council said his standby duties did not stop him arranging his time freely.
The Court found that, although the requirements were restrictive, Mr Gannon did not have to remain in one place and could pursue other activities, including alternative employment. It accepted that call-outs took about 1.4 hours a week on average and found he had time for his other interests. It concluded standby periods were not working time under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, so it did not need to examine related rest-break, working-hours, leave or public-holiday claims.