I am on call until 9 p.m. boss just took away work cell wants my personnel cell # for work is this legal?

BOB N

>>It is not illegal, but you should get an allowance for your personal phone. Tell your boss you no longer have a cell phone.

1Glamourgirl

Tell you want him to reimburse you for any calls related to work.

Texas Made

it's legal for them to ask for # you can be contacted at

Kal-El

No, absolutely not! The company must provide a way for you to be contacted when on call at thier own expense (they can call you at home of course).
You pay for your cell phone minutes out of your own pocket and are not reimbursed. They have no right to call you on it for work purposes.

But...even though it's not right, you need to consider the economy. Can you afford to lose a job over this? It's not right but you might be better off just taking it with the current economic downturn.

dap

doesnt sound right to me...i would just tell him you cant afford your cell anymore.

Jane S

Yes, it's most likely legal for him to ask, but I believe that its illegal for him to make him give you your personal number. You should find out.

xoxo :D

Answerman

Only if he/she is willing to pay for work related minutes used. Nothing illegal about it. Give him/her your home number instead.

merloutre77

I would request that you come up with an agreement that he will either pay some of the bill or decline his request. Maybe suggest that he purchase a prepaid phone and provide you with minutes if he is concerned about cost.

justwondering

He is trying to cut costs - will it be costing you any more? If it is an expense to you perhaps he would be willing to share that cost. When some one says "is that legal" it sounds like they are ready for a fight - have you never used the company cell for your personal calls? Were you going to march into his office and tell him he can't legally use your cell phone if some yahoo here tells it is illegal?

teresathegreat

Not really. He has to provide you with the materials to do your job. If your job requires that you be reachable by phone during a certain, he must provide that phone line or reimburse you for the cost of the call.

Have a calm talk with your boss and tell him that you need the work cell to do your job efficiently. If he will not return the work cell, tell him that you have a right to be reimbursed for the cost of calls made to your cell.

comfortablynumbpf06

It is legal as long as the employer agrees to pay a fair percentage of your bill. Otherwise, I would tell him that it got cut off.

He can not by any means make you use your pesonal resources for a company issue.

angie v

it depends on how much you want your job, the way the economy is now, you dont want to lose your job over a cell phone...if your on call and your boss needs to get in touch with you, why wouldnt you give him your cell number? I would make sure that only the people at work that needs the number has it and no one else, times are hard, so your boss probably took away the business cell phone because why pay for one if you already have one, and if it becomes a problem, it takes about 5 minutes to change your number. hope this helps.

Cubs Girl

If they are going to pay for your cell phone bill then I don't see a problem with that but if they are not then I suggest that you tell them to give you a company phone or beeper.

Eric G

Yes, it is legal. He is not saying you need to use your own cell for all work calls, he is just saying he would like you cell # for contact purposes. Basically, if there is a blizzard and the company will be closed for the day he would call you.

Rushevents

Many of our employees use their own phone for work here. The question is do you have to do a lot of work with your cell phone eating up air time or is just a means to contact you when they need you to do a task?

If you are required to do a lot of work on the phone I would certainly want to be able to expense most of the phone bill to the company.

Oh and btw it is legal - but not necessarily the nicest thing to do.

Why did he take the phone away? Are they hurting that bad for money or did he just end his contract with the carrier?

mzshouright

Unless they pay your cell bill...or in the company policy you don't have to give it to him. You can claim it on your taxes though if you have to use it as a work phone.

Amanda

Hmm well if he gave you the work phone than, yes, he can take it from you at any time because he was the one paying for it. The thing is is if he wants you to use your personal cell for work then, then I would think he should have to either pay you more to compensate for your bill or pay part of the bill that goes towards work calls. The thing is whether or not he'll do that is the question. I don't know if there are any laws on this at all. Then again, he may just want your number, some guys are like that.

Vote 4 Pedro

It is legal as long as he keeps it strictly business. If he starts calling you with topics outside of work, then you could report him.

MelissaH

Legal. But, if you're worried about being charged for his incoming calls, explain the problem and ask if he can reimburse you for those calls. Tell him you will provide him with a copy of your bill at the end of the month. Or you can give him a different contact number.

mel

tell himits not working for some reason, and give himur home number?

Don S

Legal...yes. Can he force you probably not. If it was never a condition of your original employment that you have a cell then it would be resonable to only give him your land line #. But if you get paid extra to respond to these calls it is probably in your best intrest to be contactable. On the plus side if they dont want to pay for your phone in part or whole then you can decide when you are availible and when you are unreachable.

lady_bella

NO it is NOT legal! That company does not pay for your minutes, and you are NOT obligated to give your cell number out for 'on call' purposes. Unless you yourself choose to do so. But frankly, I wouldn't. My husband's department tried that, and I nipped that in the bud real quick!!!!

Companies MUST provide their own "on call" phone, or pager!!!

And if your company/boss is giving you heck about it, take it to the labor board.

demicidal

Ehh... You don't have to give them your cell, but you have to give them a 'Contact' number. Doesn't need to be cell...Just the best way to get in contact with you.

Nobody

That happened at my job. I don't know if it's legal or not, but he let me put my entire bill as a work expense, so my personal cell was free for a year.

EDIT: Do you mean he wants your number or he wants you to use your phone for work?

Mr. X

Of course its legal, I run a small business of my own and have everyone's cell number.

Joshua M

They don't have to supply you with a work cellphone. And if you are on call they have to have a number to reach you at.

Twilight has captured my heart

I don't know about laws, but I do know a lot of people that give there work there personal cell #.

joseph_dog

dont i think he just wants your number so he can call u...and im not sure if this is legal....cause im just 16

L80_80

Yes, it is legal for your boss to ask if he can call you on your personal cell. (duh). But it is NOT illegal for you to suddenly find that your cell phone has, say, died...

zabjeff

can my boss force me to buy and maintain a cell phone at my own expense and to be on call 24/7 with no additional compansation? they expect me to be on hand for them when they need me but cut my hours. i prob spend 3 hours a day on the phone with clients and dont feel like i should be doing these calls from home at no pay.

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