Repair questions
Using WhatsApp at work is legal; what regulators look at is the employee's personal phone and the time
A team group for faults, rotas or last-minute changes is completely normal, and the question comes late: is it allowed? Yes, but data protection law and, in several countries, the right to disconnect set conditions. Here they are, with their articles.
The short answer
None of these laws bans using WhatsApp at work. What they examine is something else: on what basis the company uses the employee's personal mobile number (and shows it to colleagues in a group), whether it asks only for the data it needs, and whether it messages them outside working hours. In Spain, the data protection authority fined a company for adding an employee with their personal phone to a group without an alternative, and closed a complaint against a faults group because the company offered work phones and another tool. In Spain, Colombia and Ireland, employees also have a right to disconnect outside working hours.
| Country | Data: the employee's personal number | Right to disconnect | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | The employment contract is not enough if the phone is personal; legitimate interest may work if the company shows it needs it. Data limited to what is necessary. | Yes, for all employees, with a mandatory internal policy. | GDPR, Arts. 5 and 6 · LOPDGDD, Arts. 87 and 88 |
| Mexico | Consent, which can be tacit with a privacy notice; not needed if the data is required by the legal relationship. | Only for remote work. | LFPDPPP, Arts. 7, 9 and 12 · Federal Labour Law, Art. 330-E |
| Colombia | Prior, informed authorisation from the data subject; employment is not among the exceptions. | Yes, general, with exceptions for management and positions of trust. | Law 1581 of 2012, Arts. 9 and 10 · Law 2191 of 2022 |
| Argentina | Consent, unless the data derives from a contract and is needed to perform it. | Only for remote work, until 31 December 2026. | Law 25,326, Art. 5 · Law 27,555, Art. 5 · Law 27,802, Art. 199 |
| Chile | Today, express written consent unless a law authorises it; from 1 December 2026 contract and legitimate interest will be valid bases. | Only for remote work and teleworking: at least 12 hours in a row. | Law 19,628, Art. 4 · Law 21,719 · Labour Code, Art. 152 quáter J |
| Peru | No consent needed if the data is necessary to perform the contractual relationship. | Only for remote work. | Law 29733, Art. 14 · Law 31572, Art. 22 |
| United Kingdom | Contract or legitimate interest, with data limited to what is necessary; if the business uses WhatsApp, the employer is the controller of that information. | No statutory right. | UK GDPR, Art. 6 · ICO |
| Ireland | The regulator warns that consent is rarely the right basis with employees. | Yes, through a code of practice: not an offence in itself, but taken into account by the WRC and the courts. | Data Protection Act 2018 · S.I. 159/2021 |
Official texts read on 27 October 2026. For Peru, the 2011 text of Law 29733 was read.
Two Spanish regulator cases that explain it
In the first, a company added a remote employee to a WhatsApp group using their personal number, messaged them outside working hours and offered no other channel. The Spanish authority (AEPD) noted that when contact details are personal rather than corporate, the processing cannot rest on the employment contract (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)), and proposed a fine of 2,000 euros, reduced to 1,200 for voluntary payment.
In the second, a company used a WhatsApp group for its technicians to report faults. The AEPD closed the complaint: it found it a proportionate measure because the company had expressly offered work phones and its own tool as an alternative. The difference between the two is not WhatsApp; it is the personal phone with no alternative.
Worth knowing
In no country in the table is the employee's consent a good thing to rely on: between employer and employee it is rarely free, and the Irish regulator says so expressly. The useful question is a different one: is the personal number really needed, or is there a work number or a work tool?
Two dates: in Argentina, the right to disconnect in the remote work law disappears on 1 January 2027, when Law 27,802 repeals it; in Chile, the new data law (Law 21,719) comes into force on 1 December 2026.
How to use it properly
- Offer a work channel (a company number or tool) for anyone who does not want to give their personal phone.
- Ask for and show only what is needed: in a group, everyone sees everyone's number.
- Respect working hours: where there is a right to disconnect, a message outside hours does not oblige a reply, and the company needs a written policy (Spain, Colombia).
- Keep personal data out: customers', residents' or patients' data should not circulate in a group the company does not control.
- Write down the rules for using devices (in Spain, Art. 87 LOPDGDD, with employee representatives).
Frequently asked questions
Can I be required to join the work WhatsApp group with my personal phone?
In Spain the AEPD fined that case where there was no alternative: with a personal phone, the employment contract is not a sufficient legal basis. Where a work phone or another tool was offered, it closed the complaint.
Do I have to answer work messages outside my hours?
Spain and Colombia give all employees a right to disconnect; Ireland has a code of practice. In Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru, only for remote work. The UK has no statutory right.
Can WhatsApp be used to report faults to the maintenance team?
Yes. The AEPD closed a complaint against a faults group for technicians because the company offered work phones and another tool. What matters is which number is used and that the group does not carry data it does not need.
Does the employee's consent work?
Rarely: between employer and employee consent is seldom free. It usually rests on legitimate interest or the contractual relationship, depending on the country, plus offering an alternative.
These pages are for information and are not legal advice. The lease and each country's law in force always prevail.
Repair questions
- Who pays for repairs in a commercial lease?If the lease says nothing, the landlord carries out necessary repairs and the tenant pays for minor everyday ones. Ireland works the other way round.
- How long does a landlord have to make repairs?Few laws set a number of days: the tenant gives notice and, if urgent, repairs and claims it back. Argentina, Spain (since October 2026) and England do set deadlines.
- Who pays for repairs in a rented flat?The landlord pays what keeps the home habitable; the tenant pays minor wear and any damage they cause. In Spain, England and Ireland a lease cannot change that against the tenant.