Company Want to Port Your Phone to Company Plan?

Lsechingl on 03/04/2018 - 08:46

Hello Friend,

This is my first post.

I work for a company that everyone uses their mobile phone as the work phone. I am one of the few of them who carries two phones - one for my personal use and the other one is for work purpose (the work phone is provided by work).

Recently I was told that the company wants me to port my personal phone to the company account, and the company will pay my phone bills, while this is a company plan I can use it for streaming and / or other usage as they have a huge data plan. They said the reason behind that is for the company to reach their staff when necessary and they will have the data needed to respond / action the request.

They promise me they won't check my phone's content / check my call history/data usage etc.

My question: is this legal to force staff to port their personal mobile number to the business plan? If I agree to switch to business plan then I'll save $25 per month, but I'll need to use my personal phone to access all my work emails.

Education & Work Business Plan Mobile Phone

Comments

  • cruiseronroad on 03/04/2018 - 08:49
    +7

    Not legal to force you. I would not do it, the only benefit here is to the company, knowing they have access to you 24/7. Keep 2 phones and only have the work one on during work hours.

    They promise they won’t check but that doesn’t mean much.

  • Quantumcat on 03/04/2018 - 08:53
    +3

    I wouldn't do it either, when you leave your job you might have trouble getting your phone number back.
    And if they want access to you outside of work hours, they should pay you a standby on-call rate.

    • jorf on 03/04/2018 - 09:00

      I've had my number since the early 90s - I wouldn't give that up to a company not knowing if I would be able to get it back.

      • Quantumcat on 03/04/2018 - 09:16

        Me too, I got my number aged 16 in like 2002 and it has an excellent pattern to it so I wouldn't ever risk it either

  • 87percent on 03/04/2018 - 08:56
    +1

    makes no sense.. if work gives you a phone and you chose to also carry a personal phone, why would they make you port the personal number?!

  • Gronk on 03/04/2018 - 09:03

    I work for a company that everyone uses their mobile phone as the work phone.

    Well first of all, that's a cultural thing, the company cannot legally force people to use their personal mobiles for work purposes.

    They promise me they won't check my phone's content / check my call history/data usage etc.

    Mmmmhmmm… I'm sure they did…

    If their reasoning is to be able to reach staff at all times then the work phone which your company is providing should already serve that purpose, sounds fishy.

    • payton on 03/04/2018 - 09:12

      +1 this is one area OP dont want to mix working life with private life.
      Company already has your private # to sms the OP in emergency and all

  • payton on 03/04/2018 - 09:08
    +1

    Tell them to call you on work mobile, and they should give you incentive to answer it after hours.

  • justhooked on 03/04/2018 - 09:10

    I had the same with my last company seemed great till I left and tried to get my number back which I had had for many years.

    Make sure you have it in writing that they will port your number back to you ,as many companies don't want to as
    Clients may still call that number .

  • garetz on 03/04/2018 - 09:10

    Sounds dodgy, what business is it of theirs that you have a personal phone.

  • justhooked on 03/04/2018 - 09:13
    +3

    The other option is to just get a new personal number at let them transfer that one so you still have your long term number
    And put it on a cheaper plan .wish I had done this

    • Quantumcat on 03/04/2018 - 09:55

      That's a good idea, but the company might get annoyed if they try to call outside business hours and OP doesn't answer

  • [Deactivated] on 03/04/2018 - 09:39
    +1

    I'm a bit unclear on why work can't call the work phone when they need to contact you?

  • bobbified on 03/04/2018 - 09:42
    +2

    If you don't mind paying to maintain your personal phone and also carrying a second phone around, I'd keep everything separate.

    Once you give out your personal number and the work calls start coming through, there's no easy way to stop it - especially on Friday nights, weekends and on annual leave.

    As others have said, once you transfer ownership of your number to work, you'll need their authority to transfer it back. For whatever reason, if you had to leave the company on not-the-best terms…

    My company is fine for us to use the company phone as a personal phone (not the other way around as your company has suggested), but no thanks. My email signature and clients all have my work number. Only my boss and closer colleagues have my personal number.

    Save yourself all the trouble and carry both phones.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/04/2018 - 09:50

    tell them your main phone is actually your wife's not yours.

    • sechingl on 03/04/2018 - 09:51

      sorry I am actually the wife :)

      • bobbified on 03/04/2018 - 10:22

        sorry I am actually the wife :)

        This day and age, anything goes! lol

  • MeesusEff on 03/04/2018 - 10:32
    +2

    Ask them to get you a dual sim phone instead! :D

    • rxjb on 03/04/2018 - 10:45

      This

  • Seraphin7 on 03/04/2018 - 10:51
    -1

    I'm confused. Why isn't your work phone your work phone? What are you doing with your personal phone that would cause your company to have any interest in it whatsoever?

  • apple2016 on 03/04/2018 - 11:22

    My question: is this legal to force staff to port their personal mobile number to the business plan? If I agree to switch to business plan then I'll save $25 per month, but I'll need to use my personal phone to access all my work emails.

    Get a $2 pre paid sim and claim thats your personal mobile number. Once that is ported to your company plan set up a call redirect to you personal number so that you dont miss any calls.

    While your company has no right to force you to go with their plan you could always try to find a solution so that you dont need to end up in a argument.

  • bobbieb on 03/04/2018 - 11:54
    +1

    They said the reason behind that is for the company to reach their staff when necessary and they
    will have the data needed to respond / action the request.

    Has the company clearly articulated exactly what this means? Are the expectations in line with your current employment agreement's terms regarding working hours, availability, and compensation for being available 24x7 and specifically if/when you are called out of hours?

    My employer took everyone through this same process. When they were unable to answer even the most simple questions (which I considered very strange in my case as it was an extremely large corporation) I politely declined.

    I would suggest going back with a list of questions appropriate to your specific circumstances…
    * If it's a substitute for your personal phone, what exactly constitutes unacceptable use. Most companies have acceptable use policies which in my case (being a single guy :)) that either precluded or were very grey in regards to many normal, legal activities that I may do on my personal phone.
    * In the absence of an explicit roster, or availability terms, in what circumstances would it be acceptable to not be available? (weddings, funerals, family events, etc.) Would you face discipline if you failed to answer the phone if you failed to answer an 'urgent' call? Is there as system in place for registering when you will be unavailable?

  • axlfan on 19/04/2018 - 16:09

    So what did you end up doing and any tips for managing 2 phones. I got a new iPhone 8 plus from work with a new number and have my own Android for personal use.

    Thinking of setting up call forwarding on my personal number so that the work phone can receive calls during work times. Would this work for you?

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join