Employer expects BYOD phone

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DarthKermit

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#2177832 13-Feb-2019 18:21

Your friend should start the job and bring the oldest and cheapest smartphone he can find along. Not up to spec for the job? Too bad.

Wade

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#2177835 13-Feb-2019 18:32

I'm on the Dual Sim bandwagon, company supplies a mid level Android perfectly adequate for the job, usual uncapped min/text/data (not unlimited but no limit enforced, possibly fair use applies have never been reprimanded on this).

I chose to supply and use my own handset essentially fully funded by me. I have my personal sim in second slot on a $9/mth plan which more than covers any use and keeps number active etc

I was surprised at company policy as even with supplied handset, it arrived from spark BNIB with employees expected to set it up using their own google account or create a new one. Other than device administrator for company email no enforced software etc, this is a sizable company with over 4000 employees across Australasia

richms

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#2177887 13-Feb-2019 19:22

Paul1977:

The biggest issue I see with that is what happens if you leave? You will forever be getting work related calls about a job you are no longer at.

Check ownership of the number if you use it for work purposes. They may require surrender of it at the end of employment which could be annoying if you use a phone number for personal use too.

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wsnz

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#2177982 13-Feb-2019 21:37

We'd never propose such an arrangement, due to:

Labour costs of reimbursing monthly fees.

Arguments relating to overage (regardless of the clauses imputed into the IEA)

Handset subsidies - With a fleet of $40/month contracts, the company would receive a hefty handset subsidy that would cover the cost of hardware.

Potential for personal and company data to mix, and the security implications of this information being disseminated to the wider world.

Insurance of the device.

Ownership of the data on the device.

Implications during employment disputes.

And much more.

Basil12

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#2177983 13-Feb-2019 21:41

Wade: I was surprised at company policy as even with supplied handset, it arrived from spark BNIB with employees expected to set it up using their own google account or create a new one. Other than device administrator for company email no enforced software etc, this is a sizable company with over 4000 employees across Australasia

We had something similar - first company iPhone required it to be set up using a personal Apple account although this had been remedied when the upgrade happened 3 years later.

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Bluntj

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#2177984 13-Feb-2019 21:42

Geektastic: Sounds like a skinflint company to work for. Alarm bells for other areas they may be skimping on.

Most consulting engineering companies are extremely tight and mean. They will also expect you to use it as a camera for free as well.

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MurrayM

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#2178064 14-Feb-2019 08:43

I'm so glad my current position doesn't require me to have a phone for work. My bosses are very good at separating work and private life, I never get contacted outside of working hours.

BlakJak

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#2178098 14-Feb-2019 09:35

Policies on this will vary company to company, as an employee/candidate you can choose to accept (or not) the conditions.

Generally the end result should be that the company pays for company-related expenses. The level to which you get 'personal use' is most certainly by agreement.

In past roles I have:

- Provided my own phone and connection, and claimed business costs line-by-line off the bill

- Provided my own phone, company provides SIM card and pays the bill

- Provided my own phone or purchased one cheap through employer, company pays costs for Internet + Mobile up to a fixed allowance per month.

- Had a phone provided c/w SIM card on the expectation that the phone stays with the company when I leave. Personal device remained entirely personal (no BYOD, but Wifi provided at the office)

- Transferred my mobile number to the corporate plan, New SIM + Handset provided by employer, personal use OK (but don't abuse it). No MDM enforced, but if you leave all you get to keep is the number (ported out to another SIM)

- As above, but with full MDM (personal use fine, but subject to the risks above, and option to remote-toast and impose other rules)

As a candidate employee you should know what you're getting into and accept the conditions as part of your employment agreement. If you are expected to use a phone as part of your work then it's fair to negotiate that the employer provide it and support it (IME the most common arrangement) but in some types of work the employee may prefer their own device and to only carry one phone, so option to claim some of those costs back in return for using personal equipment is pretty nice.

Similar issues for IT staff needing Internet in order to work remotely and be on-call; what happens if you happen to not have good internet where you are?

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MileHighKiwi

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#2181098 15-Feb-2019 20:19

Not uncommon. My wife is reimbursed for her $40 monthly plan. Imo it's a pain in the ass though! My work provides a phone with unlimited calls and 2 gig of data, which I exceed all the time. I dont mind mixing personal and business, I had two phones in my last role and it was a pain. The dual sim option sounds good though!

mattwnz

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#2181102 15-Feb-2019 20:38

My brother used to work for a council and they supplied him with an iphone, which he used for both business and personal. I don't think they cared how much it was used either. Maybe it could be considered a fringe benefit to be able to use it for personal use?

freitasm

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#2181113 15-Feb-2019 21:20

I have a phone number since 1999. I joined was hired five years ago and joined the company's corporate plan. Unlimited data is included in the plan (up to a reasonable amount, which varies depending on the month but a few GB is ok). Voice, SMS, roaming are charged at casual rates. The company will cover anything up to $150 - since I don't usually place voice calls nor use SMS (most messaging is using Messenger, Twitter DM or WhatsApp) this means I never have to pay anything. Roaming is not included so whatever I use overseas comes out of the $150 - which at $5/day for most destinations is fine.

I have my own smartphones but the company offers the option of employees buying through a plan with monthly payments taken from payroll.

When you leave the company they transfer the the phone number to a prepay plan and it's yours to do whatever you want - basically returning the phone number to you.

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trig42

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#2181828 18-Feb-2019 09:27

We are on a shared data plan - I think we have about 40 connections and a pool of about 400Gb a month. Most people only use a few GB, some, who are on the road quite a bit and have to use tethering use 20-30 (more in busy months). I think only twice in a couple of years have we gone over our pool. The plan includes unlimited text and calling in NZ. There are no restrictions (other than a warning not to take the p*ss) on personal use.

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