Security Services Industry Award Guide [MA000016]

This article provides guidelines on the security services industry award guide. For more information on this award, please refer to the security services industry award.

What is the Security Services Industry Award?

The Security Services Industry Award is a set of legal minimum employment standards and conditions that apply to employees working in the security services industry in Australia.

The award sets out the minimum wage rates, working hours, overtime, annual leave, sick leave, and other entitlements for employees working in various roles within the security services industry, such as security guards,crowd controllers and loss prevention officers.The award is designed to ensure that employees of the security services industry are treated fairly and receive reasonable pay and conditions for their work.

Who is covered by the Security Services Industry Award?

Coverage

The Security Award covers employers in the security services industry and their employees who fit within the classifications of the award.

The Security Award also covers labour hire and group training businesses and their employees who are placed with an organisation in the security services industry.

The security services industry means:

• patrolling, protecting, screening, watching or guarding people and/or property (including cash and other valuables) by physical or electronic means
• crowd, event or venue control through physical or electronic means
• body guarding or close personal protection services
• traffic control associated with the above activities
• operating a security control room or monitoring centre
• loss prevention.

Note: ‘Physical means’ can include the use of patrol dogs or the possession or use of a firearm.

Examples of employees covered by the Security Award include:

• security guards
• crowd controllers
• loss prevention officers.

Employers and employees in the following industries or activities are not covered by the Security Award:

• cash-in-transit (unless this is only a minor or incidental part of an employee’s duties)
• operating prisons, correctional or other detention facilities
• installing, maintaining or repairing electronic alarms and/or monitoring systems
• installing, maintaining, repairing or replenishing ATMs
• security employees employed by an employer not in the security industry eg. an employer who operates a retail business.

How are the hours of work arranged in the Security Services Industry Award?

Ordinary hours of work

A full time employee must work 38 ordinary hours per week or an average of 38 ordinary hours per week over a roster cycle of between 2 and 8 weeks.

If the employer chooses to operate a roster, the average of 38 ordinary hours per week required for full-time employment may be worked in any of the following ways at the discretion of the employer:

• 76 hours over a roster cycle of up to 2 weeks; or
• 114 hours over a roster cycle of up to 3 weeks; or
• 152 hours over a roster cycle of up to 4 weeks; or
•  304 hours over a roster cycle of up to 8 weeks.

Breaks

How are wages and allowances calculated in Security Services Industry Award

Minimum rates

Overtime rates

Allowance

How is the leave managed in the Security Services Industry Award?

In the security services industry, leave entitlements for employees are determined by the National Employment Standards (NES) and the classification of the employee.

Annual leave

Annual leave is provided for in the NES. It does not apply to casual employees.

Additional paid annual leave for certain shiftworkers

• works a roster and who, over the roster cycle, may be rostered to work an ordinary shift on any day of the week; and
• is regularly rostered to work on Sundays and public holidays.
• The employee is a shiftworker for the purposes of the NES (entitlement to an additional week of paid annual leave).

Public holidays

Public holidays are provided for in the  NES.

Substitution of public holidays by agreement

•  An employer and employee may agree to substitute another day for a day that would otherwise be a public holiday under the NES.
•   An employer and employee may agree to substitute another part-day for a part-day that would otherwise be a part-day public holiday under the NES.

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