On Call Cell phone...

Are those of you who are required to be on call provided with a company cell phone, or are you using your personal cell phone?

I currently am using my personal cell phone for work related calls and I am canceling my subscription next month. I am pushing my boss to purchase a cell phone for on call and for my work related use.

I was just curious what everyone else was doing in this situation.

I believe that if an employer wants an employee to be on call or have a cell phone for work they should provide the phone, is this wrong?

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Comments

malcybood

TechJunky wrote:

Are those of you who are required to be on call provided with a company cell phone, or are you using your personal cell phone?

I currently am using my personal cell phone for work related calls and I am canceling my subscription next month. I am pushing my boss to purchase a cell phone for on call and for my work related use.

I was just curious what everyone else was doing in this situation.

I believe that if an employer wants an employee to be on call or have a cell phone for work they should provide the phone, is this wrong?

I am not on call but will be as of February. I have always had a company mobile since I've worked for the company. I've got a Palm Treo 650 which enables me to get my emails on the run to.

In theory if you are making business calls from your personal mobile you should be able to claim back expenses but I would say it is more normal to have the company provide you a mobile if you are a permanent employee.

If you are a contractor it is maybe a bit different and I wouldn't imagine you would get a phone as although mobiles are "business tools" they are also classed as a "benefit" which only permanent employees on the company's books are entitled to (usually)

Smallguy

I have a cell provided to me by my workplace because I'm technically on call 24/7

I think your with in your rights to have the company pay for a cell phone for you since they require you ot be on call and reachable 24/7.

SRTMCSE

I got a phone since I'm on call once a month. Pretty sweet that I can use it for personal calls so it saved me $80 a month since I don't need a cell phone. Although it does suck knowing that phone can ring anytime, 24 hours a day for 7 days straight.

Kaminsky

On call will either provide you with a phone (preferable although it usually means your carrying around 2 phones - theirs and your personal one) - They pay the bill for theirs.

Or, you can use your own and when your statement arrives you take it to finance and claim back the calls you made on it for work.

One drawback of using your own is that your number gets out amongst the users and you typically start getting calls when your not on call by a user who got hold of your number once when you were on call and wrote it down for future reference.

kujayhawk93

My company offers cell phones and Blackberries to those who need them. They also pay for my cable internet connection at home, as I occasionally need to VPN in and take care of things.

Ricka182

My old job gave me a cell phone to be on-call, and my current boss just told me I was getting a Blackberry...either way, I'll probably still keep my personal cell phone.....

Orion82698

At my pervious job, I was on call 24/7. However, I was given a company cell phone to be used...

I think if the company is going to make you use your personal phone, you should be reimbursed.

TechJunky

When I worked for an ISP they provided the on call phone/lead phone. I was just wondering if this was a standard practice by most companies or if I was just used to my old experiences.

My boss explained to me that she reimburses me $30 a month for cell phone use, but she can get a cell phone for work puropses. I am just going to ask for a cell phone provided by the company.

Thanks again for all the responses.

royal

I'm not really on call but my company paid for my Palm Treo 700p smartphone, pays for the access/phone, and pays for my home internet. I'm a strong believer that if your company wants you to be on call, or to be able to vpn in, they should pay for your access.

blargoe

My previous job, the company paid 1/2 of your personal cell phone bill whether you were on call that month or not, and you just use your personal cell phone. We had a call center handling our help desk calls so we were able to call their 800 number and not be charged long distance if we didn't have a national plan. It worked out pretty good.

Current job provides me with a Treo 700 which I can use for personal calls. I am considering cancelling my personal cell plan.

TechJunky

blargoe,

That is actually what led me to ask this question. I am cancelling my cell phone and was making my boss aware.

malcybood

icroyal wrote:

I'm not really on call but my company paid for my Palm Treo 700p smartphone, pays for the access/phone, and pays for my home internet. I'm a strong believer that if your company wants you to be on call, or to be able to vpn in, they should pay for your access.

Same here, I've never been on call but had Nokia's on a corporate contract until approx 6 months ago got the Treo as we were introducing them into the business and have to support them.

I can also claim the "broadband part" of my phone bill back on expenses as I need to VPN/work from home some mornings etc, but I have to pay for my telephone line rental which is fair enough.