Is It Fair to Charge Employees for Personal Calls on Company-Provided Phones?

The company a friend of mine works for provides them with free mobile connections. Now, as per the agreement, the employees can make as many local calls as they want and as many SMS (local, national, or international) as they want. However, all official STD calls are chargeable. So when the bill comes, employees are instructed to demarcate their personal & STD calls. Usually, no checking is done of the same as the employees are trusted.

However, my question is, are not personal calls official as well? Since the free mobile connection is given as a benefit to the employee for their well-being, shouldn't personal calls also be considered official? An employee makes personal calls for their mental well-being. And their mental well-being is important for their motivation and proper functioning in the office. In any case, the company is trusting the employee to demarcate personal & official calls. Why then is the employee not trusted to misuse personal calling?

Is it unethical to classify personal calls as official calls?

Regards,

Mathew

Hi,

Nice to think about this issue, but I would like to offer some suggestions on this matter. Every company provides facilities for employees to enhance performance and create a better work environment within the organization.

These facilities should be utilized within certain boundaries or limitations. If all employees believe that the company's provided facilities will be misused, then that is a misconception. All employees should perceive the company as their livelihood, not just a place of work. Employees should never view company property as solely belonging to the company; it is OUR company property. When the company saves money, it can grow bigger, benefiting all individuals within the organization.

Therefore, all employees should be trained along these principles. While employees can use mobile phones for personal calls, there should be some restrictions in place.

Thank you for your attention. Please provide your feedback.
Shravan

Dear Sharavan,

I also feel limits need to be preset. Personally, I feel this way because despite any amount of genuine trust in employees, there will always be someone who will take advantage otherwise.

Regards,
Mathew