Mobile phone policy template
Most versions of this are a complaint about staff on their phones. A better one separates the three real problems: the phone that costs a customer, the phone that breaks a hygiene rule, and the phone that is illegal to touch.
| Section | What the policy says |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To set out when phones are used on shift, so customers are served and the work is done safely. |
| Who it applies to | Everybody working a shift, including casuals, contractors and managers. |
| Personal phones on shift | Personal phones stay in your bag or the office during service, not in a pocket on the floor. A quick look between customers is not the problem. Standing at the pass scrolling is. |
| Breaks | Use your phone freely on a break, away from customers and out of the kitchen. |
| Urgent calls | If you are expecting something urgent, tell the manager on duty at the start of the shift and keep the phone with you. Nobody has to explain why. |
| Food areas and hygiene | Phones do not come into the kitchen or behind the coffee bar. If one does, wash your hands afterwards. |
| Driving | If you drive for work, do not touch a phone while driving. Set navigation before you move and pull over to take a call. The road rules in your state apply and they are stricter than any policy. |
| Photos and recording | Do not photograph or record in the workplace without the manager on duty agreeing. The social media policy has the detail, including customers. |
| Phones provided by the business | The venue phone is for work calls, bookings and suppliers. It stays on the premises and it is not used for personal calls. |
| Using your own phone for work | You are not required to use your own phone for work. If you choose to use it for the roster app or work messages, keep it locked with a passcode, and you can stop at any time. |
| Clocking in and out | Clock in and out on your own phone or on the tablet by the office door. Either is fine and nobody is disadvantaged for using the tablet. |
| Headphones | Not worn on the floor. In the kitchen, one ear only, and only with the chef’s agreement. |
| Breaches | A conversation first. Repeated phone use during service is a performance matter and is handled that way. |
| Review date | Reviewed each year in March. |
What is in the file
- Template, blank, with each section down the side and room for the answer.
- Example, the same sheet filled in for Harbourside Coffee.
- How to use, with the steps and the mistakes below.
How to fill it in
- Write the rule around when it matters, not as a total ban. A ban nobody enforces makes every other rule optional.
- Say what happens when somebody has a genuine reason to keep their phone on them, so they do not have to break the rule to do it.
- Keep the driving section even if only one person drives. The road rules are stricter than any workplace policy and the consequences are not yours to soften.
- If clocking in uses a phone, offer a shared device as well and say so.
Common mistakes
- A blanket ban that every manager ignores, which quietly teaches staff that policies here are decorative
- Requiring staff to use their own phone to clock in, with no alternative for somebody who does not have one
- Nothing at all about driving, in a business where somebody does the bank run every day
What changes by trade
The law behind this document is the same wherever you trade, so the wording above is written once. What changes is what the trade puts in front of it.
| Childcare | The strictest version. Personal phones do not come into the room at all, and that rule exists because of photography rather than distraction. Say where phones are kept and who has an exception. rostering an early learning service |
| Cafes and restaurants | Phones and food preparation do not mix, and phones at the pass slow service. Write it as two separate rules, because staff comply with the hygiene one more readily. rostering a cafe |
| Disability and home care | A phone is a work tool here: notes, navigation, and calling the coordinator. Say what it is used for and that it is not used socially during an appointment. rostering disability support |
| Security | A guard needs a phone for sign on and for emergencies, and a guard on a phone is a guard not watching. Say which calls are part of the job and which are not. rostering a security business |
| Retail | A phone in hand on a quiet floor reads badly to a customer walking in. Tie the rule to being on the floor rather than to the hour of the day. rostering a shop |
| Cleaning | Staff work alone and a phone is their contact with you. Say it stays charged and reachable, which is the opposite of the rule in most of these. rostering a cleaning run |
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
Clocking in is the one thing a phone is genuinely better at. Roster Flow lets somebody clock in from their own phone or from a shared tablet at the door, so a policy about phones does not have to carve out an exception for the timesheet.
Questions
What is on the mobile phone policy template?
14 sections down the side, running from purpose to review date. The example beside them is filled in for Harbourside Coffee: phones on shift, phones while driving, and phones in rooms where they do not belong.
Does the mobile phone policy template work anything out for you?
No. It is a document with 14 sections to answer in your own words, not a calculator. Nothing on it is a formula.
Can I use the mobile phone policy template in Google Sheets?
Yes. Open mobile-phone-policy.xlsx from Google Drive, or use File, then Import, then Upload with mobile-phone-policy.csv. The document and its example come across either way.
Is the wording in the mobile phone policy template ready to use as it is?
The mobile phone policy template is a starting point for Harbourside Coffee or any business like it, to adapt rather than sign. The wording was checked against the official sources on 22 September 2026, it is not legal advice, and it has not been through a workplace relations professional.