Generally not. Under service contracts, standby fees pay for reserved capacity and readiness to respond within the agreed time, which has value even in a month without incidents. Entitlement depends on agreed and actually maintained availability rather than intervention numbers. In a dispute, the provider must prove availability, making duty schedules, availability records and responses to requests decisive.
“You did nothing all month, so we owe nothing” is a frequent argument under service contracts, and it usually misses the point. It confuses availability with intervention. Yet standby invoice disputes are won through records, which are often surprisingly incomplete on the provider’s side.
Standby pays for availability
Business-to-business service standby has no separate statutory contract type. It is agreed as an unnamed contract under the Commercial Code (Act No. 513/1991 Coll.):
Parties may also enter into a contract not regulated as a specific contract type. However, if they do not sufficiently define the subject matter of their obligations, no contract is concluded.
— Section 269(2) of Act No. 513/1991 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
Standby’s subject matter is readiness: the provider reserves people and capacity during the agreed window and guarantees a response, so that capacity cannot be sold to someone else. Intervention is a separate service, typically billed separately at a different rate. If the contract prices standby as a flat fee, that fee pays for reserved capacity regardless of incident numbers, just as insurance is not free merely because nothing happened.
What determines a dispute
If the contract is unclear, intention is interpreted with reference to the parties’ established practices and subsequent conduct (Section 266(3) of Act No. 513/1991 Coll.). A client who has long paid identical standby invoices without objection will struggle to argue that the service was never agreed. Sudden refusal may also conflict with principles of honest commercial dealing (Section 265).
The provider must nevertheless assert and prove that availability was actually maintained. Evidence includes an advance duty schedule, ongoing availability records and response times to reports. Intervention logs help indirectly: every intervention also proves availability on that day. Arguments based on performance or speed statistics should be challenged as conflating concepts: lower performance is not unavailability.
How to agree standby terms to avoid disputes
A service agreement should address five matters. First, separate the flat standby fee and intervention rate, each with its own invoice line. Second, agree the standby schedule in advance and obtain client confirmation. Third, keep your own ongoing availability records, rather than relying solely on client systems from which access can be removed. Fourth, set SLA response times to define availability measurement clearly. Fifth, include an invoicing clause deeming an invoice accepted if the client does not object within the agreed period.
Distinguish employee on-call duty
On-call duty under Section 96 of the Labour Code (Act No. 311/2001 Coll.) governs employers and employees, with its own limits and compensation. It does not apply between two businesses, although the same term is used. Employment-law arguments therefore do not determine an SLA: the contract’s wording does.
How we can help
Our service agreement and SLA service covers standby remuneration, response times and invoicing clauses. For complex supplier relationships, we prepare a bespoke commercial agreement. If a client already refuses standby invoices, we assess the contract and evidence and pursue the claim through debt recovery.
Send us the contract for review before the first disputed invoice. Whether your standby is paid for is determined by its wording, long before court proceedings.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 5 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
