Abstract

The Finnish Labour Court has held in an interlocutory judgment that whether stand-by time is considered working time depends on the limiting effect of stand-by duty on the use of leisure time. Firefighters who worked as officer firefighters were able to spend their time relatively freely during stand-by periods. For officer firefighters, the Labour Court held that their stand-by time was not to be considered as working time in its entirety. The Labour Court came to the opposite conclusion regarding firefighters working as unit leaders. These firefighters were in practice supposed to stay at the fire station in order for them to comply with the required response time, leading to the conclusion that their stand-by time was considered working time in its entirety.