Being on call

[Erin Murray]

I recently accepted a staff position with an agency. The days I am not scheduled, I am on call, or if I have an afternoon job, I am on call in the morning, and am starting to feel like my free time isn't so free. I am wondering if any other staffers have thoughts as to how many on-call days are expected to be given to the agency?? Thanks!

[DEPOGRL ~ Angelica R. Gutierrez]

I agree. Everyone has given you very good insight. ;)

[Kellie Zollars]

Such a coincidence.  I was talking to another reporter on the phone last night and she told me that many years ago a firm had their reporters classified as employees (no independent contractor status) and the firm had to pay huge amounts in back taxes for having reporters on call.  If you are not an employee, they cannot require you to be on call.  If you're a new reporter and you want to get more work, make major brownie points, you could say you'd be happy to help them out if you're home when they call.   

[Janet]

 

Has your work changed since you've become a "staff" reporter?  Are you getting more work, better jobs?  Are you getting a benefit from the situation or is the agency getting all of the benefit by having you ready to go?   If you're not getting better jobs and you're unable to get more work with other agencies, that's not a good situation to be in.

[Kyung]

I'll be on call right up until I get another job offer.  Then I call the agency asking me to be on call and say, look I've got a job I need to take.  I can no longer be on call.  The only way I would stay on call is they're offering to pay me to turn down the other job and they're a really good agency that gives me a LOT of work.  I might also be on call if I was planning on being at home anyway to work on transcripts.

This is a business and time is money.  Reporters need to treat their time as a valuable commodity because it is.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

One good thing about jumping out of your jammies and throwing some clothes on and running out the door is most agencies will remember that and give you some great work to show their appreciation.  I got a call two weeks ago at 8:30 p.m. to take this 2 RT all-day job in San Francisco.  I didn't really want to take it, but I knew this agency was getting desperate.  I said yes, I'd do it. 

Job turned out to be a great job; i.e. 340 pages and 2 RT hookups.  Anyway, when I emailed and asked them if they had a job I could take that was decent the following week when my job went off calendar, they returned the favor and gave me a great job in return (2 RT hookup - 2-day expedite).  Sometimes it pays to do the last-minute work; sort of a you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours sort of deal.

[Judy]

Hey, I got a husband out of being willing to run out at the last second. 

[Cindy Clark]

Okay, Judy, now you have to share what you mean by that!   :)

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I think that means she met him on a job where she ran out of the house to cover a last-minute job.  Just a hunch.

[Cindy Clark]

Probably, but I'd like the whole, sweet story - if she'll share!

[Judy]

Kelli is correct.  There was a late call-in.  The person calling said "and there's a room full of people waiting for a reporter!"  Cha-ching, "room full of people."  I fell for it and off I went.  Unfortunately, it was just three attorneys, but all of their clients were there too; hence, the room full of people.

By the time I finally arrived everybody else had decided to take an early lunch, but one attorney stayed back to tell the reporter what was going on.  So I set up my equipment and proceeded to get a quick bite.  The attorney and I ended up going to the same cafe for lunch.  When the hostess came along, she assumed we were together, we didn't say "no," and we ended up sharing a table.  They ended up setting more depos in the case.  We ended up getting married a few years later (in Vegas on Halloween, once on a gondola at the Venetian and then the next year we did it again at the drive-through chapel in the back of a cab).  

 

[Deborah M.]

Judy, I love this story!  Thanks for sharing.

[Janet]

 

Who knew something so exciting could ever come about from a deposition?   :)