On-call time in health centres must be seen as working time

The hours that doctors working in primary healthcare teams spend on-call in health centres or hospitals, as opposed to at home, must be regarded in their entirety as working time, and, where appropriate, as overtime, under European Union legislation on rest periods and the average 48 hour working week.

The landmark ruling this month from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, at the request of a Spanish court, considerably clarifies the situation of doctors under EU measures on working time and health and safety, and it applies throughout all 15 …