Can't have your phone at work? How to make sure someone can still be reached

Who this is for

Nurses and carers on a ward, teachers in a lesson, drivers, warehouse and factory staff, shop and call-centre workers: anyone whose phone is in a locker or a bag for hours at a time. The school, the nursery or a parent's care home rings, and the call goes to voicemail.

Give them someone who can answer

• Put first on the form someone who can answer during your working hours: a partner who works from home, a grandparent, a friend.
• Tell the school or care home when you can't take calls, and the best way to reach you in an emergency: a work landline, a reception desk, a manager.
• Agree it with the people you list, so they know they might be rung and what to do.

Let important calls through when you can check

If you can glance at your phone on a break, make sure the calls that matter aren't silenced:

• iPhone: save the school or care home as a contact, then in Contacts tap Edit, Ringtone, and turn on Emergency Bypass. Its calls ring even when your iPhone is silenced or a Focus is on. A Focus can also allow repeated calls: a second call from the same person within 3 minutes rings through.
• Android: Do Not Disturb (Modes on newer phones) can let chosen people through under People, and "Allow repeat callers" lets a call through if the same person rings twice in 15 minutes.

Repeated-call settings only help if the caller rings you twice. Schools and care homes often move on to the next contact instead.

Your right to time off

As an employee you're allowed a reasonable amount of time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant. GOV.UK's examples include illness or injury, a breakdown in care arrangements such as a childminder not arriving, and an incident involving your child during school time. Your employer doesn't have to pay you for it, so check your contract, and tell them as soon as you can how long you'll need.

Where MyCirCall fits

MyCirCall gives you one UK mobile number to give the school or care home. When it's called, your phone and the phones of up to five people you trust ring at the same time, so if yours is in a locker, your partner or a grandparent can take it by pressing 5. You can see afterwards who answered, and on Essential and Peace of Mind everyone gets a text saying so.

MyCirCall is not an emergency service. In an emergency, always call 999 or 112.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Time off for family and dependants
• GOV.UK, Time off for family and dependants: what's an emergency
• Apple, Allow or silence notifications for a Focus on iPhone
• Google, Limit interruptions with Do Not Disturb on Android

Sources checked on 16 October 2026. Each organisation's own guidance can change, so check with your school, care home or hospital for how they work.