Out-of-hours rota for Irish vet practices: the method in 4 steps.

The duty behind the rota.

The Veterinary Council of Ireland’s Code of Professional Conduct asks veterinary practitioners in practice to make proper provision at all times for 24-hour emergency cover for the animals under their care, at least first aid and pain relief. The cover can be shared with other practices nearby, and clients must be told how it works.

Step 1: the needs for each slot.

For every night, weekend and bank holiday: how many vets, how many vet nurses, on site or on call. A night of emergency cover with inpatients doesn’t ask for the same thing as on-call from home. Write the needs down once, before putting a name anywhere.

Step 2: the rest that follows.

An on-site duty is working time: afterwards, 11 consecutive hours’ rest in every 24 (section 11 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997). Every week, 24 consecutive hours in every 7 days, preceded by a daily rest period and by default including a Sunday unless the contract says otherwise (or two 24-hour periods in the following week) (section 13). Practice often goes further, and that is what makes the rota sustainable:

• a full day off after every on-site night;
• the Monday off after an on-call weekend;
• never two on-call weekends in a row, when staffing allows.

Step 3: fairness over time.

Count each person’s on-call over twelve months, not one: nights, Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays separately. This month’s share is worked out among those who can do on-call this month, with a tolerance band. The full method, with a worked example, is in our guide to fair night on-call.

Step 4: on-call and days together.

Adding on-call after the day rota means breaking rest that was already planned: the person on call Thursday night was down for Friday morning. On-call and days are decided at the same moment, with the same constraints in view.

The version with a tool.

All of this is what an optimisation engine does in a few seconds: it picks on-call together with the days, applies the rest days you have set as hard rules and measures fairness per person, counter by counter. That is what Djed does: on-call, out-of-hours, weekends, vets and vet nurses, in the same month. These are day-based rules: the 11 hours and the weekly rest, counted in hours, Djed doesn’t check, and avoiding two on-call weekends in a row is a goal for the engine, not a guarantee. Duties you pin by hand are kept and the engine builds the rest. The rotation is described on the on-call page; the rules, in our working time guide.

Sources and date checked.

• Veterinary Council of Ireland, Code of Professional Conduct, chapter 3.
• Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, revised edition (sections 11 to 17 and 25).

Texts checked on 5 October 2026. This guide is not legal advice: for your own situation, speak to your HR or employment adviser.