can a employer but a bug on a employees work phone without their knowledge

Question

can a employer but a bug on a employees work phone without their knowledge

Answer

Check to see if you have an HR policy around your personal use of employer resources.

Generally, an employer owns their phones, phone system, email, etc. - it belongs to the employer so they can exercise control over it - that includes monitoring it.

However, employers sometimes provide you with additional rights through their HR policies - and you can also have rights around some union acitvities, health-realted issues, and some legal communications.

Further, the employer's actions cannot violate other laws - for example monitoring that leads to discrimination or harassment would be illegal.