Mobile Phone Policy

Mobile phone use

The Company will provide you with a mobile phone for use in connection with the Company’s business. This is to be used exclusively for work-related telephone calls during working hours.

Whilst the Company will tolerate essential personal telephone calls concerning your domestic arrangements, excessive use of the mobile phone for personal calls is prohibited. This includes lengthy, casual chats, text messaging, e-mailing, web browsing and calls at premium rates. Not only does excessive time engaged on personal telephone calls lead to loss of productivity, it also constitutes an unauthorised use of the Company’s time and money.

Excessive use of the mobile phone for telephone calls unrelated to Company business will constitute a disciplinary offence and will be dealt with under the Company’s disciplinary procedure.

Payment for cost of personal calls made on the mobile phone
The Company operates the mobile phone supplied to you on a monthly contract basis.

The Company will pay the cost of the monthly line rental, which includes up to (number) minutes of calls, up to (number) texts and up to (number) Mb of data. You will pay for any excess call, text or internet costs incurred above this level in the legitimate business use of the mobile phone and then claim such costs back as expenses under the terms of the reimbursement of expenses clause in your contract of employment. You are also required to check the monthly itemised list of calls and texts and declare which calls are personal. You will be required to pay for any excess charges relating to personal calls or texts.

By signing this policy, you agree to provide your written consent for the Company to deduct the cost of any personal calls or texts or internet usage incurred in the use of the mobile phone from your wages.

Loss of the mobile phone and return of the mobile phone
Loss of the mobile phone and return of the mobile phone

You are required to repay to the Company the cost of the mobile phone and any accessories if it is lost or stolen whilst under your control due to your negligence or wilful default.

By signing this policy, you agree to provide your written consent for the Company to deduct the value of the mobile phone and any accessories from your wages if the mobile phone is lost or stolen whilst under your control due to your negligence or wilful default.

The Company reserves the right to require you to return your mobile phone at any time during your employment.

On the termination of your employment, you must promptly return or account for your mobile phone and any accessories. By signing this policy, you also agree that failure to do so will entitle the Company to withhold any outstanding wages due from the Company to you up to the value of the phone and any accessories.

Mobile phones and driving
Some employees are required to travel by car or other motor vehicle on the Company’s business from time to time as part of their job duties. Operating a mobile phone whilst driving both reduces concentration and increases the likelihood of an accident. It is also a criminal o"ence. This policy therefore sets out the Company’s requirements in relation to your using a mobile phone whilst driving on Company business. It applies irrespective of whether you use the Company-provided mobile phone or your own personal mobile phone.

Hand-held mobile phones
You are prohibited from using a hand-held mobile phone or similar hand-held electronic device whilst driving as part of your duties, whether this is to make or receive telephone calls, send or read text or image/picture messages, send or receive facsimiles or to access the internet or e-mail. If you are discovered contravening this rule, you may face serious disciplinary action under the Company’s disciplinary procedure. In view of the potential health and safety implications, it may also constitute gross misconduct and could render you liable to summary dismissal.

If you do wish to use a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving in these circumstances, you must pull over and stop the car in a safe place and completely turn off the car’s engine before using the mobile phone. A person is regarded as ‘driving’ for the purposes of the law if the engine is running, even if their vehicle is stationary. This means you must not use a hand-held phone at traffic lights, during traffic jams or at other times when the engine is still running.

Hands-free mobile phones
A hands-free phone is one that does not require the user to hold it at any point during the course of its operation. A mobile phone that is attached to fixed speakers and does not require the user to hold it whilst in use (for example, because it is stored in a cradle) would be covered, as would a hands-free mobile phone that has voice activation. If the phone needs to be held in the driver’s hand at some point during its operation, for example to dial the number or to end the call, it is not hands-free.

If you are required to travel by car or other vehicle as part of your job duties, the Company will also provide you with appropriate hands-free mobile equipment to accompany the mobile phone supplied to you. If you choose to use your own mobile phone in these circumstances, then you must ensure you have the appropriate hands-free equipment for your phone.

However, even with hands-free equipment, driving and conducting a telephone conversation are both demanding tasks and you should take all reasonable steps to ensure you do not carry out these tasks at the same time. Whilst driving as part of your job duties, you should make use of any voicemail or call divert facility available, rather than make or receive ‘live’ calls. You should then stop regularly in safe places to check for voicemail messages and to make and return calls. If you do need to make or receive a call whilst driving on Company business with appropriate hands-free equipment, these should be limited to emergency or essential calls and only when it is safe to do so, with any incoming callers being informed that you are driving and so the call must be kept short. Please note that you can also be prosecuted for using a hands-free device if you are not in proper control of your vehicle when using the device.

Data protection
The Company will process the personal data collected in connection with the operation of this policy in accordance with its data protection policy and any internal privacy notices in force at the relevant time. Inappropriate access or disclosure of personal data will constitute a data breach and should be reported immediately to the Company’s Data Protection O#cer [Data representative] in accordance with the Company’s data protection policy. Reported data breaches will be investigated and may lead to sanctions under the Company’s disciplinary procedure.