On-call rotation
The schedule of who answers emergencies after hours, in what order, with a backup if the first person doesn’t reply.
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A rotation only works if the emergency reaches the right person, and a backup gets it when the first person does not answer.
A rotation names the first person to call each night or week, a backup, and how long to wait before moving on. Small teams often share one night phone between two owners. Larger teams rotate weekly and pay an on-call stipend. Under federal wage rules, whether on-call time counts as hours worked depends on how freely the person can use that time.
An example
Kim is first on call this week and Dave is the backup. At 1:15 AM ET a tenant reports sewage backing up. Kim’s phone is on silent. After 5 minutes Dave is called too, and he replies that he will take it.
What makes a rotation work
- A written list of what counts as an emergency
- A first person and a backup for every night, holidays included
- A rule for how long to wait before trying the backup
- An easy way to swap nights when plans change
How Now Ours handles it
An emergency calls and texts the first person on your on-call calendar and adds the backup after 5 minutes. Read setting up an on-call rotation.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, on-call time. Checked October 20, 2026.