They say they will pay me for the official usage only if I produce proof. As part of my job, I have to travel a lot and need to be contactable. Employer does not provide company phone but is forcing me to make use of my personal mobile phone. Is this legal?
company phone, job, mobile phone, proof
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 9th, 2010 and is filed under Telephone. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Fusion theme by digitalnature | powered by | Disclaimer | DMCA Notice | Terms Of Use | Anti Spam Policy | Affiliate Agreement | External Links Policy | Earnings Disclaimer | WordPress
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS) ^
#1 by waldo_mcginty at September 9th, 2010
There is no law that either allows or prevents this.The only relevant law is employment law as it relates to your contract of employment.
If it is a requirement of your employment that you are contactable then you need to carry a mobile.Who pays for it is another matter and at the end of the day it is up to you both to agree terms.If they want you to be contactable and will pay for business usage then that seems reasonable (it is fairly common by the way) even if you need to produce proof.If you do not like this arrangement and cannot negotiate a different deal your only option is to find alternative employment.
A bit drastic perhaps but there is no law you can quote to force the employer to provide you with a fully expensed mobile or prevent them requiring you to adhere to their rule.
#2 by kateiskate at September 9th, 2010
If they say they’re paying you for the usage that you acquire while on the job, yes it is.
#3 by maxwell.fisher at September 9th, 2010
submit an expense report or tax deduct it with your bill.
#4 by Stupid Flanders at September 9th, 2010
As long as they pay for the usage for your company business, it is legal.
#5 by oldfart at September 9th, 2010
Check your contract .It might be worthwhile you agreeing a rate per minute with your employer. Obviously at more than your phone operators rate for ‘wear and tear’.
#6 by Snot Me at September 9th, 2010
if they pay if not then you can start asking questions of them
#7 by Carl F at September 9th, 2010
Maxwell is right. You have to do an allocation of sorts and get them to reimburse you for the business portion of all your phone bills. It is a hassle and you have to show them your bill, but if it is that important to you, you need to do this. Tell your boss you are intending to seek a monthly reimbursement.
#8 by Ryan's Bunny at September 9th, 2010
no, i would tell them i don’t have a cell phone
#9 by Silverbullet at September 9th, 2010
Its no different than mileage reimbursement for business use of your personal vehicle.
#10 by Paul T at September 9th, 2010
i would think that if it was part of the "contract"(emplymnt.app.)and you were told in advance,and they are willing to pay for the incmng/outgng busnss.related calls,any extra charges, like havng your cell co.send you a printout of all your calls;splitting all the fees, (taxes,911 servce,connection fees ect.) right down the middle then it might be legit. i would GET IT IN WRITING just to be sure you know exactly what there willing to pay for. PAUL
#11 by Cool hal at September 9th, 2010
I think you need to come to an agreement with your employer – one of my previous employers asked me to do the same. However I get free minutes and said it was not fair if the company used the free minutes at the beginning of the month and I paid for my personal calls at the end.
We agreed the company would pay 20p per minute on any work related calls that I made if I provided the bill, even if they were shown as free calls. This meant some months I was a couple of quid up.
Although it is best that you come to a compromise they cannot insist that you use your own phone unless it is part of your contract that you must provide a mobile phone….. Although we all have them there is no legal obligation for you to have one.
#12 by Michael M at September 9th, 2010
Yes this is legal. As long as they provide a monthly stipend to cover the costs of your phone bill. You can also have your company endure the cost of the actual phone itself. This of it as free money. It’s not to bad to put a few bucks back in your pocket each month.
#13 by ericakimberlee at September 9th, 2010
If you don’t want to, tell them the phone is no longer in service, and don’t let them see you talking on it. Did they tell you this beffore you started?
#14 by Bardic at September 9th, 2010
No, they cannot, unless it was a condition of your employment, which I very much doubt. You have two choices, either agree if you can get a reimbursement rate which makes it worth your while or decline. If they need you to be contactable they must then provide the phone and service the account.
My employer used to pay me for the use of my mobile, and quite reasonably too, but the accounts people b*ggered me around so much I told them I was no longer prepared to provide a phone for their convenience. Then they provided me with a business phone.
#15 by gary s at September 9th, 2010
wats the best thing you can do is to tell your employer that’s your mobile is for your personal use only. whats the best thing to do is get a new contract(business) where you get loads of xtra mins and free texts under your name. but make sure to give the billing address of your employer and also if you will get a business contract, you might have to provide details of your employer(inc VAT number etc.) and your employment. i don’t see this as much of an issue as your employer is going to pay for any work related calls.