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I'm considering this. Last time, I used a Google Voice number to return calls and ended up having to watch my minutes as I went over... And this was just from returning the calls from my cell (after the pager went off) when I was away from home and had to use my cell to make the 1 hour return call deadline. I did mention that I had overages (about $25 as it was only a few minutes) but they acted like it was not their issue. I dropped it. I probably shouldn't have.
I guess I'm just feeling really taken advantage of at this point.
While I shouldn't have to defend my personal phone to work, I have a family plan. As most of the people I call are on this or on the same carrier, I have a limit on my minutes.
I use Google Voice all the time, and it is free to make and receive phone calls. You have a landline at home? Just return the call from the landline, still using Google Voice which is free. You dial the voicemail number and then you can dial-out to whatever phone number you need to.
I use Google Voice all the time, and it is free to make and receive phone calls. You have a landline at home? Just return the call from the landline, still using Google Voice which is free. You dial the voicemail number and then you can dial-out to whatever phone number you need to.
No, I don't have a landline. This is my only phone... Which honestly I think is part of why this annoys me so much. Still waiting for the supposed pager.
I think, that in this instance, you should just use your phone. If they normally have the pager available then this is a one time situation? Unless they ditch the pager completely.
As for not getting paid when you are on call...I kinda think that you screwed yourself on that one. You agreed to the terms of employment when you were hired and you knew that you would be on call once in awhile.
Absolutely NOT!
The company is required by law (in that state) to provide work phones when necessary.
The company is required by law (in ALL states) to pay hourly employees for ALL hours spent working, and that includes being "on-call". Knowing you'll occassionally be on call is one thing - being told you have to use your own phone and you're not going to get paid for it is illegal.
If they won't resolve this immediately, get another job. In fact you should start looking now. And make sure you turn them in to the labor bureau.
No, I do not get paid for any of the work I do while on call.
I have been told by my employer that during the time I have the pager, I am not to do anything that I am unable to step away from as we have contracts in place with vendors in which business could be lost if the response is not within an hour. So, as I am not allowed, per my employer, to go to a movie (this was a specific item that they request the on call person not do) my state law does find that I am constrained. I called the Labor Board when I first found out about this and the person told me that if I am restricted to this degree, I am at least on call during awake hours that are constrained...but probably not during hours where I am asleep.
And, they know this. Another employee in the company who is on call every night, year round (on a company provided cell phone) is paid for the on-call time. Because it is permanent. Because the pager on-call is rotating, they say they don't need to pay on call.
Well, there you go. Luckily, you live in a free country, which enables you the freedom to find another job more suitable to your liking.
Foreigners also usually don't know what their rights are.
However, what I've noticed with foreigners in my office is that if they have to log on during the night to deal with an issue, they are late to work the next morning. Every. Single. Time. If they spent two hours on an issue during the previous evening, they come in two hours late. You can set your watch to it.
I, on the other hand, do not automatically take time in lieu the following day if I'm up late working an issue. There have been times when I've been up all night dealing with a production issue...these are rare, but it does sometimes happen...and I was still at my desk at the usual time the following morning. The foreigners? Nowhere to be seen. And all they did was hang out on Skype. They rarely do anything; they wait for one of us (Americans) to pick up the issue first and if nobody puts their hand up, only THEN do they jump in.
If you stayed up all night working, I wouldn't want you to come into work either. I don't see the point, and there is no expectation to do that. People without sleep make lots of mistakes and aren't as useful. If they worked two hours later at night and are taking comp time the next morning that's the smart thing to do.
Deduct your cell phone bill from your taxes as a work related expense. Just like how some people use their own car and gas for work.. Perfectly legal.
The deduction is subject to other conditions according to the IRS, and it is never a dollar for dollar deduction. No, that employer needs to provide or pay for it as a monthly expense if it is that often.
If I was called at home after working hours..... I was entitled to 2.7 hours OT pay........
Unless I was being paid to be on-call, I wouldn't even answer the phone. If it is that important to their business they need to compensate and treat employees properly. I know guys who work for a heating and air-conditioning company, and they are paid to be on-call if they are called or not. The on-call pay is so they make themselves available during the scheduled on-call time. Any company such as the OP works at, which has a required one hour response to customers according to service contracts are charging the customers a premium for that. I work in IT, and if I want service within an hour, or NBD (next business day) the contract is at a very different rate.
Someone in management at this company is giving the employees a bunch of nonsense about this being their duty as if it was a military or law enforcement post. They get suckers to fall for that, when they are just being abusive to the employees.
When I was hired, I was told I was hourly and that I would have a pager for on-call on a rotating basis. It honestly never occurred to me to ask if they would expect me to take and deal with work calls without being paid. This didn't come up until after I dealt with an issue on a weekend. I came in on Monday and asked how I would notate the time (about an hour) on my time sheet. I was told at that point that no one was paid for on call. I didn't say anything as for the first couple of times as the pager barely went off. Fast forward to now and it's 3-5 per week.
Sorry to tell you this, but you have bad management there for sure. Update the resume, gather your references and look for another job.
If you stayed up all night working, I wouldn't want you to come into work either. I don't see the point, and there is no expectation to do that. People without sleep make lots of mistakes and aren't as useful. If they worked two hours later at night and are taking comp time the next morning that's the smart thing to do.
It's not allowed where we work; comp time is supposed to be granted by your manager, not automatically taken the following day. People used to get in big trouble for that. One guy (an American) got fired for it last year. (Remember, we're all salaried.)
I really only mentioned it because it kind of flies in the face of the stereotype of south Asian tech workers, i.e. they work really hard and work really long hours. They don't. At least none of the ones I've ever worked with do. They work the same hours as the rest of us, if that.
Can you forward your work phone to your cell phone? That way they don't get your number. I don't want people at my work knowing my cell number.
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At least none of the ones I've ever worked with do. They work the same hours as the rest of us, if that.
