In employment law, issues relating to permanent accessibility of
employees via business smartphones are all the rage right now. They
are discussed over and over, even if, from the employers' point
of view, there is often little room for discussion based on the
current legal situation. What is less a topic of discussion is
whether employees without a business smartphone need to provide
their private mobile number to their employer so that they may be
reached at least in emergencies. The 6th Senate of Thuringia State
Labor Court has recently taken a position on this issue.
When initiating an employment relationship, prevailing opinion
holds that employers are generally deemed to have legitimate
interests to collect, store, and use at least one additional option
to rapidly contact employees, in addition to a postal address. The
private landline number is used for this purpose on a regular
basis. It is disputed whether a private mobile number or a private
email address