Can we be fired for suspicious company cell phone use?

[Meredith]

Some quick background: my boss and I have developed a romantic relationship over the nine months, and we've kept it secret because, of course, company policy forbids relationships between superiors/subordinates.

 

We have been painfully discreet, to the point that we do not go out in public together except very far from work, and we refrain from acting romantic even then, lest someone see us. We barely speak at work except to discuss business issues, and even though we both have company-issued cell phones I bought a separate, pre-paid cell phone for our out-of-office communications. I use a canned voicemail message, so the phone does not identify me.

 

All this secrecy has worn on both of us, and I had been looking to make a career change anyway, so I decided to finish out the fiscal year (end of June) at my current job and then go into another field (which I have just received licensure in).

 

Okay, now for my original question. Way back in July of last year, when our relationship started, we made the mistake of calling each other too much on our work cell phones...we are allowed to call each other, and our type of work sometimes requires frequent calls, but we even used our work phones in the evenings or on weekends sometimes. My home line was out of service for two weeks during this month, which is why we were kind of lax about the cell phones. In mid-August, we decided this was stupid and I bought the pre-paid phone. Ever since then, I do not use my work cell phone outside work hours.

 

The general manager (who is the big boss) is trying to change the company cell phone service, and has been researching past bills to determine how often calls "drop" on our current plan, since many employees complained about the service. Today, while my boss was in his office, the GM was looking at my bill from last July (when our new service contract started). He noticed, and questioned, why there were so many calls to my boss' cell phone, and after work hours. My boss told him that I had been going through a rough time personally last year, and had called him on occasion after work, but the GM seemed perturbed and asked "was something going on?" My boss assured him nothing was, other than my "rough patch," and the GM said, "okay, well then this issue goes no further."

 

The concern is, if the GM is not satisfied with my boss' assurance, which he likely isn't, all he has to do is look up my boss' cell phone records and see that in mid-August, all calls to my work cell stopped, but suddenly a new number appears on his bill with great frequency (my pre-paid number!). If he calls the number, he will get the automated voicemail message that doesn't identify me, but it will be fairly obvious to anyone with a brain that the owner of that number and my boss have a personal relationship - he calls me almost daily on the way to work, and on the way home.

 

Can the GM act on only these phone records and a hunch? Both my boss and I will never admit to anything, and there is no other concrete proof of our relationship. How serious is this?

[befuddled11]

Wow, your whole situation sounds very difficult....the part about having to keep it a secret. Sounds like you've both been doing a good job, though.

 

Originally posted by Meredith

If he calls the number, he will get the automated voicemail message that doesn't identify me, but it will be fairly obvious to anyone with a brain that the owner of that number and my boss have a personal relationship - he calls me almost daily on the way to work, and on the way home.

 

Well even though relationships between superiors and subordinates are forbidden, surely your guy is allowed to have a relationship with SOMEONE outside if the company...so if anything, all HIS boss could deduce is that. I mean, there's no law saying he can't do that, right? I don't see how it could ever be determined that that prepaid cell phone is yours. Just be very careful now.....about answering it.......in case his boss would decide to call it to find out "who" the person is. Though I doubt the big boss would go to that trouble, no? If it would make you feel safer, I guess you could just go and get phone, with a different number?

 

Sounds like a pretty communistic place to work.......a shame you have to "hide" being in a relationship with someone.

 

Hopefully you can find a new job soon....maybe even sooner than June?

 

Maybe your boyfriend should get his own PERSONAL cell phone......like the kind YOU use.....so that your boss will never be privy to the bill.

 

As for whether you or he could get fired? I don't know. Did either of you have to sign a contract when you were hired, which had a clause in there specifically about dating someone from within the company? If either of you have a friend who's a corporate/business lawyer, you might want to ask them.........

[sportsloving]

I think the most they would do, if found the calls were personal, would be to make your boyfriend pay the charges incurred from calling you. And being asked to not use the company cell phone for personal use (unless they have no restrictions).

 

As far as the personal relationship? Our work says no relationships between supervisors and employees... if found out, it can cause dismissal. So if you both deny it and do not act on it at work, and if both are careful, I don't think they can just fire you on a hunch. You and he might get warned, but as far as firing, they have to have definite grounds for it (my friend was dating a supervisor before he was a supervisor, and after he was promoted, they kept their personal side outside and that works for them...).

 

Best of luck to you both. I hope you get a new job and then you can be seen in public together (woo hoo!). I also think it is sweet he calls you before work and after work!

[Meredith]

I know that it seems like an awful lot of trouble that we both go to, to hide our relationship, but we work in a very competitive industry in very good jobs, and we don't want to risk our careers, either. He is my direct supervisor, as well, and we don't want the question to ever arise that maybe I have been favored, or that my performance is due to his help. (In fact, I receive less assistance from my boss than anyone on his staff, because we are so sensitive to this issue.)

 

That said, to answer your question, befuddled, my boss and the GM are also friends; they sometimes see each other socially outside of work, and my boss was even in the GM's wedding party several years ago. So, naturally, the GM would expect to know if my boss were seeing someone, and might even be hurt to find out that he had been "left out of the loop," were my boss to say that the calls to the prepaid number were to a girlfriend. My boss and I (ew, I hate to keep saying it like that) have discussed how to handle this in the future, and we decided that once I am in a new job, my boss can mention to the GM that he has started dating me.

 

We never signed anything upon our hiring saying we could be dismissed for our relationship, but it is pretty common knowledge in our business that dismissal is the action taken in such an instance.

 

As far as my manager's personal calls, he has said that on Monday he will offer to get his own personal cell phone to the GM, and act affronted that he has been made to feel like he is under suspicion. It's really sort of sick the lengths we go to! But we have developed such a wonderful relationship and we feel it's worth the effort, at least for just a little while longer.

 

Thank you both for calming me down a little.

[sportsloving]

Awww just hope it helped. And I wish you both the best of luck and happiness!

[Meredith]

Well, it looks like we're safe. Monday morning my boss went into the GM's office and acted as if he had mulled over the GM's accusation all weekend. He acted insulted and said he would get his own cell phone, because he hadn't realized that he worked for 'the Gestapo,' and that his cell phone use would be pored over. The GM apologized and mentioned that when he had looked at our subsequent cell phone bills, the calls had dwindled, so he considered the issue dead and said he wouldn't bring it up again.

 

Whew! Now we just have to lie low for another couple months until I can get out of that snake pit. Thanks to everyone for your advice and your ear.