An Ideal Employee Phone Policy

There is a growing trend among companies where non-managerial employees are barred from carrying their phones. In certain instances, it is because the company markets or transports phones and an employee's phone could be confused with a product. The primary reason of course is to prevent interference with employees' work. 

...There are a number of reasons employees should be allowed to carry their phones and respect established guidelines for using them. First and foremost, the employee should be capable of making an emergency call in the event of eminent need. Amusingly, those companies with no-phone policies very often do not have posted courtesy phones within reasonable grasp that employees can use in the event of emergencies and managers who can carry their personal phones are not always accessible...

Employees should be capable of carrying their phones onto the company premises and utilizing them during meal and other breaks and during any emergency. If the employee becomes ill or encounters a safety hazard, they should be capable of readily contacting their company's internal security and/or an external EMS and their manager. 

Employees should of course make their job a priority and not abuse telephone privileges. Companies reserve the right to at random require an employee to verify their ownership of a phone and to reprimand an employee for transgressing their established telephone policies, particularly if use is inappropriate, i.e. the employee is speaking profanely, or if their use interrupts company productivity...