Mobile Phone Use & Telephone Calls, Incoming & Outgoing.

Guidelines for Staff at Work

Policy Statement

During contracted working hours, frequent telephone calls and use of mobile phones or landlines by staff for personal purposes will result in care and work standards being compromised.

The following are guidelines to which all staff must adhere:

• Personal mobile phones should only be used during working hours for emergency reasons.

If you need to use your personal mobile phone during outings with service users or are asked to use your mobile phone as part of a service user risk assessment, Hayfield will reimburse the cost of essential calls.

• Mobile phones should remain in bags / lockers / away from the working environment during working hours in day care and residences.

• If someone needs to contact you, they can do so through the main telephone line.  However, please bear in mind that personal telephone calls should be kept brief.  Extensive or frequent personal calls are discouraged as these affect working practice and take carers away from actual work/duties. It is acceptable on outings, for personal mobile phones to be carried for emergency personal reasons.

Hearing Impaired / Deaf Staff may keep their mobile phone on their person to receive / create texts from on-call staff, service users or their working partner.  Texts to / from family / others may only be used for emergency reasons.

Team Leaders may use their mobile phones to contact deaf staff / service users / relief staff and during on-calls.

• Staff may create / reply to text messages, if on an official break.

• Staff on overnight duty may contact their family / other, briefly, prior to retiring to bed.

• If any staff member is not using their mobile phone or the landline appropriately and in accordance with the above guidelines, this will be followed up through disciplinary procedures.

• Common sense and courtesy should prevail for the correct usage of both mobile and landline phones.