Company Mobile Phone Policy

Transcription

1 Company Mobile Phone Policy Policy Clifford House Fostering is committed to ensuring that adequate communication facilities are available to its staff in order for them to carry out their normal daily duties. This policy sets out the Company s guidelines on mobile phones. Provision of mobile phones to staff will be at the discretion of their managers where such a phone is necessary and beneficial for them to do their job. This policy applies to all members of staff where Clifford House Fostering has supplied a Company Mobile telephone. Company telephones Company mobile telephones are provided at the discretion of the Company on the basis of business need, and must be returned to the Company on the last day of your employment (or as requested by your manager). Company mobile telephones may be used for a reasonable level of private calls. The Company monitors the use of its mobile telephones. The safeguarding of your Company mobile telephone is your responsibility. Do not leave it in a visible place such as in an unattended car. The use of a personal identification number (PIN) is recommended for added security. Loss of a Company mobile telephone should be reported to the Finance Manager. The phone is covered by Orange Care Insurance. Terms and conditions of this insurance are available upon request. Any costs incurred from damage, loss or theft are not covered by this insurance and will be the responsibility of the user. Use during working hours Mobile telephones may be used for private purposes during working hours, but such use must kept to a minimum, be reasonable and in no way interfere with your work. Etiquette Be considerate in your use of your mobile telephone. Turn it off when its use could be distracting, for example during meetings and training sessions. As an employee of Clifford House Fostering there is an expectation that you provide a reasonable degree of out of hours response to telephone calls. Local Arrangements should be made by each Manager within their service area. Mobile phone alerts e.g. ring tone and message alerts should be non offensive and portray the professional role you hold. Observe any restrictions imposed by other organisations on the use of mobile telephones, including requests to turn them off. 1

2 Driving Legislation came into effect from 1 December 2003 that makes it a specific offence to use a hand held phone when driving. It is the Company's responsibility to make sure that Clifford House Fostering employees understand that they cannot use hand held mobile phones when driving on Company business even in the event of emergencies. All employees will be personally responsible for breaches of this legislation and Company Policy and associated consequences Hand Held Phones; - A hand held phone is one that "is or must be held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or performing any other interactive communication function". The new legislation does not allow hand held mobile phones to be used when driving. Never use a hand held phone including those with a microphone and earpiece (walk and talk set) while driving - you are not in control of your car if you are holding a mobile phone. It is also a specific offence to do so. You may keep the phone on but must only use if after you have stopped the vehicle in a safe place. It is still an offence if the mobile phone is used at traffic lights or in a traffic jam. Driving, under the legislation includes times when stopped at traffic lights or during hold ups that may occur during a typical journey when a vehicle can be expected to move off after a short while. Other devices such as PDA and Blackberry technology are also covered by the legislation. Hands Free Phones; - Hands free equipment is not prohibited by the new regulation so long as the phone can be fully operated without holding it. For the purposes of this legislation the Company defines hands free phones as car installed hands free phones; which have been properly checked by the company and confirmed as suitable. The police can still use existing legislation (for failure to have proper control) if a driver is using any hands free phone or similar device if there is risk of careless or dangerous driving. Whilst legally, hands free devices such as Bluetooth are an acceptable alternative to the now banned hand held mobile phones, the driver could still be convicted of the much more serious offence of driving without due care and attention or potentially manslaughter in the event of a fatality. If the driver was undertaking mobile communications on behalf of Clifford House Fostering at the time of an accident, then potentially Clifford House Fostering could be prosecuted. As a result of this risk to both the company and the employee, many companies are now banning their work force from using mobile phones including hands free mobile sets when driving on company business. For this reason the company strongly discourages any mobile communications whilst driving. 2

3 Breach of this policy Breach of this policy will be treated as misconduct. Whether it is minor or gross misconduct will depend on the circumstances, but you should expect breach of the driving provisions to be gross misconduct. If you have been issued with a Company mobile telephone breach of the policy could result in its being withdrawn. Roles & Responsibilities The mobile phone is the property of Clifford House Fostering Ltd, and as such, it is a requirement that staff must take good care of the mobile phone. Staff should take all reasonable steps to ensure that it is not damaged, lost or stolen. It is the responsibility of staff to ensure that mobile phones are kept safe and secure and should report any loss, damage or misuse to the Finance Manager. If the phone is stolen, staff will also be expected to report the theft to the police and obtain a crime reference number. It is the responsibility of staff to keep the batteries fully charged and for the phone to be kept on during working hours unless in a meeting. Staff members who have mobile phones should remember to:- Ensure they have a phone with them when away from their office base. Ensure the phone is switched on and they are able to receive calls, when they are not in a meeting. Regularly check their mobile phone messages if the phone has been switched off for the duration of a meeting or have been in an area where there is limited or no telephone signal. When issuing a mobile phone to individuals they will be asked to read the policy and will be required to complete declaration of use form. The phone issued to you is your responsibility and should not be loaned or passed on to anyone. This includes family members and friends. The use of this phone will be monitored by your line manager and any misuse could and may result in disciplinary action. Leavers must return their mobile phone to the F i n a n c e M a n a g e r for re-allocation or disposal and complete the appropriate form. Failure to comply will result in the user being invoiced for the full cost of the modern equivalent handset and any other associated costs. Mobile phone misuse Clifford House Fostering Ltd recognises the benefits of ensuring that adequate communication facilities are available to its staff, however, they also have a duty to protect the assets of the company from misuse. 3

4 The definition of mobile phone misuse, for the purposes of this policy, includes:- - Loaning the phone to family, friends and anyone else not authorised to use. - Using the mobile phone when driving. - The downloading, storing or sending of any material, picture or text that may be consider as offensive, pornographic or violent in nature (and not within the spirit of Clifford House Fostering Ltd Code of Conduct and / or Bullying and Harassment policy). - Excessive use of the mobile phone for personal calls and texts. - The phone may not be used to take pictures of any colleague or service user (past or present) of Clifford House fostering Ltd. Mobile phone misuse will be regarded as serious or gross misconduct, which may result in disciplinary action being taken; up to and including dismissal. Mobile Phone Plan The following mobile phone plan details may be subject to future changes where the Company re negotiates the contract; you will be notified of such changes. Calls abroad are not permitted by employees and will be recharged through your salary. The individual phone holder is responsible for making suitable arrangements to cover annual leave. Text messages are free between plan sharers and an additional text bundle has also been added to the plan. Texting should only be used for business purposes and excessive or unreasonable use of texting will be recharged to the user by way of a salary deduction at a rate of 10p plus VAT at the current rate. The phone is covered under Orange Care Plan and the procedures set out in the attached policy must be adhered to. Failure to do so may result in non-payment of the claim and any replacement costs will be at your expense. Calls between handset users and to other Orange users are free; however calls to 0845 numbers are chargeable at 20p per minute. Therefore, where possible please use the most cost effective means of call e.g. by telephoning where possible the STD code numbers instead. 4

5 Your new handset has WI-FI facility, which enables free calls to be made whenever a broadband signal is detected. Please use this facility wherever possible. Mobile Phone Declaration of Use. To be completed prior to the issue of a Mobile Phone and should be retained on the employees Personnel File. Name: Position: Mobile Telephone Number: Make and Model: SIM IMEI No. I confirm that I have Read, Understood and Agree to abide by the terms set out in the Mobile Telephone policy and the Mobile Telephone Phone Plan. Signed: Date: 5