Crossroads Care Mobile phone policy
F.23
Policy on the use of mobile phones and other electronic communication devices
1.0 SCOPE
1.1 This policy outlines the legal and contractual responsibilities of staff when using mobile phones or other electronic communication devices at work, whether or not the device has been provided by Crossroads Care.
Please note: where reference is made to ‘staff’ within this policy, the term will include volunteers as appropriate to the context and their use within individual schemes.
1.2 A hand-held device is something that is or must be held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or performing any other interactive communication function. The term ‘hand-held device’ will be used throughout this policy to describe mobile phones and other electronic communication devices such as iPhones, iPads and Blackberries (the list is not exhaustive).
· ‘Cradling’ a device by wedging it between the ear and shoulder (or anywhere else)constitutes ‘holding’ that device.
· Examples of interactive communication functions are sending and receiving spoken or written messages, sending or receiving still or moving images and accessing the internet.
1.4 A hands-free device is a device that allows the user to talk on the phone without needing to hold one (for example Bluetooth).
1.5 The intended outcome of this policy is:
· to inform and educate staff about the responsible use of hand-held and hands-free devices
· to protect staff and schemes from possible prosecution for the illegal use of a hand-held or hands-free device while driving a motor vehicle
· to prevent the inappropriate use of hand-held and hands-free devices in relation to service users and the service they receive.
2.0 LEGISLATION
2.1 The RoadVehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No 4) Regulations 2003 (referred to as ‘the regulations’) bans drivers from using hand-held devices while on the road. Staff will be held liable for offences arising from using their hand-held device whilst driving in the course of their work with Crossroads Care.
2.2 The regulations make it illegal to use a hand-held device when driving. This includes texting / internet access / video calls or any other function. This applies to the drivers of all motor vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, goods vehicles, buses, coaches and taxis.
2.3 The regulations also apply to anyone who causes or permits any other person to use a
hand-held device whilst driving. Crossroads Care schemes will be liable in situations where they require staff to use a hand-held device while driving or if they fail to forbid them to use such a device while on company business.
2.4 Exemptions
2.4.1 The regulations apply to the use of hand-held devices when driving. ‘Driving’ includes times when stopped at traffic lights or during other hold-ups that may occur during a typical journey when a vehicle can be expected to move off after a short while.
2.4.2 The only exemption to the regulations is for calls to the emergency services on 112 or 999, in genuine emergencies where it is either unsafe or impractical to stop.
2.5 Hands-free devices
2.5.1 The use of hands-free equipment is not prohibited by the regulations, provided the device can be operated without holding it. In addition, pushing buttons on a device whilst it is in a cradle, or on the steering wheel or handlebars of a motorbike for example, is not covered by the regulations, so long as the device is not being held.
2.5.2 However, the use of hands-free devices in a motor vehicle is still considered distracting and individuals using one risk prosecution for careless or dangerous driving and for failing to have proper control of a vehicle under Regulation 104 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
3.0 TRUSTEE RESPONSIBILITIES
3.1 Trustees are responsible for ensuring managers have systems in place whereby staff work in accordance with this policy at all times.
4.0 RESPONSIBILITIES OF MANAGERS
4.1 Managers are required to have systems in place to ensure staff work in accordance with this policy at all times.
4.2 Managers are responsible for ensuring staff understand the following.
· It is illegal to use hand-held devices while driving and staff are prohibited from doing so.
· Staff are under no obligation to make or receive telephone calls while driving.
· There is a risk of prosecution for careless or dangerous driving if staff use hands-free devices when driving.
4.3 Managers are responsible for requiring and enforcing the following best practice protocols:
· staff will switch hand-held and hands-free devices to voicemail when driving
· staff will only make or receive calls (from either a hand-held or a hands-free device) from their vehicle when they are safely parked away from the road
· only emergency 112 or 999 calls are permitted when driving, where it is unsafe or impractical to stop the vehicle.
5.0 USE OF HAND-HELD DEVICES WHEN SUPPORTING OR CARING FOR SERVICE USERS
5.1 Staff are not permitted to either make or receive personal calls or to send or respond to personal messages (including texts and emails) on a hand-held device while they are actively responsible for, supporting or caring for a service user.
5.2 It is recognised and accepted that schemes may provide staff with mobile phones that can be used for logging in and out of service users’ homes at the start and end of a visit (for example Smart phones used with Webroster).
6.0 PHOTOGRAPHS, IMAGES AND VOICE RECORDINGS
6.1 Any photographs, images or voice recordings in which an individual can be identified are classed as personal data and are subject to the same restrictions as all other personal data. This includes analogue and digital photographs, videos, film footage or any other image, taken on any device including cameras and mobile phones.
6.2 Staff are not permitted to take or display any photographs / images of individual service users( including children, young people, people with care needs or carers) or record them speaking without prior informed consent from the individuals concerned or their representative and from their manager. Please refer to the data protection and subject access policy documents (A.03a, A.03b, A.03c, A.03d, A.03g and A.03h) for full details.
6.3 Where staff have been issued with a device for the purpose of logging in and out of a service user’s home (see 5.2 above), managers need to consider disabling its photographic / video facility.
7.0 LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
7.1 General learning and development requirements relating to this policy are contained in the learning and development policy, procedure and guidance (E.13a, E.13b and E.13c).
7.2 Managers are responsible for assessing the roles undertaken by volunteers (including trustees) within their scheme and the level of briefing / induction those volunteers require in relation to this policy.
8.0 review AND ADOPTION of this policy BY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
8.1 The scheme’s board of trustees is required to formally adopt the policy on the use of mobile phones and other electronic communication devices and to ensure that a documented record is kept of their decision to do so.
8.2 Full details of the policy (namely its title and reference number) and the date it was adopted will be documented in the minutes of the appropriate trustee board meeting as evidence of the decision taken. The minutes will be signed by the chair of the trustees on behalf of the board.
9.0 ACCEPTANCE OF THIS POLICY BY MANAGERS
9.1 All managers, care planners and other staff members involved in the implementation of this policy are required to evidence that they have received, read and understood its contents.
Evidence required:
· the title and reference number of the document
· the name and signature of the staff member
· their job title
· the date.
9.2 Responsibility for following this policy rests with the individual staff member. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary proceedings.
10.0 ACCEPTANCE OF THIS POLICY BY staff
10.1 All staff are required to sign to indicate that they have received, read and understood the content of this policy as directed by their line manager and on completion of training, it is the responsibility of the individual staff member to follow it. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary proceedings.
11.0 ACCEPTANCE OF THIS POLICY BY VOLUNTEERS
11.1 Volunteers are required to sign to indicate that they have received, read and understood the content of this policy as directed by their volunteers’ supervisor.
11.2 Having received briefing / induction in the policy, it is the responsibility of the individual volunteer to follow it. Any breach of the policy’s content will be dealt with according to the procedure for dealing with inappropriate behaviour by a volunteer (HT.07).
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Policy/Mobilephones/2012/08/APf023 Last updated July 2014
© Carers Trust 2014 Review due July 2015