Cellular Phones Policy – Procedure Statement

Effective February 28, 2021 First Nations University of Canada Board of Governors approved the updated cellular phone policy. As such there are two current cellular phone programs that are available to faculty and staff of the University: Cell Phone Stipend and SaskTel Wireless Corporate Plan. Employees can be eligible for both programs.

Cell Phone Stipend:

Employees whose job duties include the frequent need for a cell phone and who use their personal cell phone for business use will receive a $70 allowance on a monthly basis by the University. The following guidelines identify a need for a cell phone:

• Required to be on-call (24/7) (public safety/physical plant): PPM Designate
• Critical decision maker: President, VP Academic, VP Finance & Administration, and AVP’s
• Required to be contacted for emergency purposes: Information Technology (IT) Designate
• Other employees to be determined by the President or VP Finance & Administration may be approved to receive a cell phone stipend.

If an employee’s position does not meet eligibility requirements listed above, the employee is not eligible for an allowance.  Such employees may request reimbursement for the actual extra expenses of business cell phone calls (in excess of calls included in the employee’s service plan) incurred while using a personal cell phone for business purposes.  Monthly reimbursements will be limited to a maximum of $20 per month.

Reimbursement for per-minute “air time” charges is limited to the total overage charge shown on the monthly invoice; in excess of minutes included in the employee’s personal plan.  The employee is responsible for making personal payment to the provider, as per employee and provider agreements, and then should submit a request for reimbursement in accordance with the procedures set forth above.

The employee will need to highlight all appropriate business calls on the original cell phone bill, annotate the business purpose and submit to their manager/supervisor via an Expense Claim no later than 30 days after the end of the month in which the charges are incurred.  After his/her approval, the voucher is sent to Finance for payment to the employee.

Employees utilizing devices that store electronic files, data, email messages or other potentially sensitive university data are required to notify the VP Finance & Administration as well as the IT department within 24 hours of the loss or theft of their device.  If theft is suspected, employees must file a police report and cooperate with law enforcement to ensure First Nations University’s interest in preserving confidential information is respected.

SaskTel Wireless Corporate Plan

All full-time and part-time employees are eligible to participate FNUniv’s wireless corporate plan with SaskTel. Term, casual or sessional instructor employees are not eligible for the wireless plan. Written approval must be provided to the employees who wish to participate in the wireless corporate plan by the Human Resources Manager, a Vice-President, or the President. Approval may be denied or withdrawn at any time for any reasonable grounds.

Employees can email the Human Resources department (humanresources@firstnationsuniversity.ca) to obtain a letter or approval to present to SaskTel to confirm eligibility.

Employees are responsible for:

1. Ensuring the safe and responsible use of the mobile devices;
2. Maintaining the payment of their account for all fees and taxes invoiced to them directly;
3. Complying with FNUniv’s Wireless Corporate Account Agreement; and
4. Ensuring they do not use the service for any purpose contrary to law.

When the employment relationship is ended with FNUniv the employee will be removed from the corporate plan on the last day of employment.