Guide to Security Guard Contracts
A security guard contract agreement is intended to provide clear, set expectations between a security company and an entity that requires the services. The contract states the terms under which the guard will serve, including day-to-day operations, performance expectations and the payment arrangements for services. It also addresses any potential problems that arise during the course of service, such as damages to the property. In addition, the agreement allows both parties the ability to disengage from the contract under specified conditions.
There are a number of situations in which a security guard contract agreement is utilized. Here are a few examples:
Standalone Serving Agreements: This is the most common type of security guard contract agreement. The security guard enters into an agreement to provide services for residential communities and commercial properties outside the homeowner’s or business owner’s existing security company. In this case, the security guard serves on behalf of the property under the conditions specified in the agreement.
Unarmed Guard Serving for a Private Business: A private or nonprofit business may desire to employ security guards in storefronts, venues, customer service desks, lobbies, etc. , to monitor entry or customer access. An unarmed security guard maintains order at the premises and/or patrols and responds to emergencies when needed. Some entities are required by law (e.g. hospitals) to have an unarmed security guard on site 24 hours. The contract agreement may specify placement (or "posting") in a specific entrance or lobby. Customers and members of the public enter and exit the premises without concern of personal safety or disruption. In rare instances brought on by unwanted solicitation, public disturbances, unruly crowds and the circumstances surrounding certain cases, unarmed security may temporarily hand off an unruly customer or individual to local authorities.
Patrol Services: Security companies provide mobile patrol services for clients who require a periodic or emergency presence. For example, increased traffic due to the arrival of a new business or construction project may create the need for a security guard to patrol the company’s property as part of traffic control efforts. Contracted mobile patrol services commonly drive around the perimeter of a property.
Only in unusual circumstances should an entity employ security guards to serve without a contract. Without a signed agreement, the security guards establish and maintain their own terms of service and the contracting entity has no legal recourse if the terms aren’t upheld.
Fundamentals of a Security Guard Contract
When drafting or reviewing security guard contract agreements, clients should be mindful of the following essential components:
- Scope. First and foremost, scope elements should be included into any security guard contract agreement: guarding both interior and exterior areas of the premises, following client-specific instructions, patrolling and checking buildings and exterior areas during shifts to ensure security is maintained, checking in/out with the office, managing a logbook, and calling or alerting police and emergency services when appropriate. Any and all services that you expect from the guards should go into the scope, in writing.
- Compensation. This section may include hourly rates, overtime and time-off requirements, but also meal periods, additional charges for religious observance schedules, billing requirements, deposit payments, etc. Make sure that your terms are correctly captured in the "Compensation" section.
- Confidentiality. In most cases, the supplier and the site owners will have to share confidential information, or at least the existence of confidential information retained by both parties. Be specific about how confidential information should be handled, and how it should not be handled. For example, if you’re the security guard supplier, are you authorized to take notes on the clients’ business processes, surveillance footage, and enter and exit the premises? What about the owner of the premises – are they permitted to use tapes and scans of tacking systems, CCTV, Key codes and automated locks they’ve implemented? What do you expect? Make your instructions clear.
- Termination. What happens in case of termination? Will you have to continue to pay for 30 or 90 or 180 or 365 days after termination? Will you have to give notice? Do you have to remove your uniforms immediately? Having thought through these questions now is much easier than later on, whether or not termination actually rubs anyone the wrong way. Address remedies for termination or breach of contract as well.
Creating a Security Guard Contract Template
When preparing a security guard contract agreement template you will need to provide the flexibility to insert various provisions as necessary. Flexibility is important as it saves time and potential errors from trying to amend an existing template. Even if amendments cannot be avoided later, there will likely be a large number of agreements that can be created with a standard template agreement than without one.
There are some important things to keep in mind during the drafting phase. It is extremely important to ensure that your template includes compliance language for all applicable laws to avoid liability. For example, specific language must be included to ensure compliance with employment, equal opportunities, and immigration laws. Failure to comply with these laws can lead to severe penalties.
You must be able to include the specific details of the arrangement. When the flexible parts of the agreement are inserted, they will detail the specific agreement that’s been reached. It is important to include this information as it will provide useful evidence should a dispute later arise.
Also, the terms of the security guard agreement must be clear, so the operative provisions must include, what the employee will be required to do, and when they will be required to do it.
Some Legal Aspects of Security Guard Contracts
Legal considerations are also central in security guard contract agreements. The most essential is considering whether you’re hiring licensed security guards or unlicensed guards.
Licensing and Guards
Your contract should specify whether the security guard is licensed, since any violations of licensing requirements can be attributed to the employer. A waiver of the licensing requirement in the contract may be acceptable, but if you fail to require licensing when it is required, you may be penalized.
Liability
Many security guard companies face lawsuits for alleged negligence by their officers. If you’re planning on using contract guards, your contract should protect your business from liability arising from their actions. Your security guard subcontractor should be required to maintain liability insurance covering the actions of its officers. Even absent a contract clause, you could be liable for claims against your subcontractor’s guards. In the recent case of Simmons v. Conover, a hospital was liable for damages for an injury caused to a patient by a nurse who was an independent contractor, because the hospital’s contract with the nurse did not specify that the nurse had to have liability insurance. SCM Security v. Peters, 2003 WL 23466874 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2003).
Labor Laws
As an employer, you’ll need to treat your employee guards like all other employees. If you’re using contract guard services, you need to consider whether the subcontractor has provided fair working conditions for its employees and complied with any and all labor laws. For example, your contract should address whether your subcontractor is responsible for paying overtime.
Advantages of Implementing Contract Template
A contract template saves time that a new contract would otherwise take. Typically, lawyers have a bunch of contracts that they have used in the past and they can use those contracts as a starting point. In contrast, an inexperienced lawyer usually starts from scratch, rejecting the old contract documents as inadequate to cover this new situation.
In addition to saving some time, a contract template from your lawyer is likely to cover a lot of the issues that are common in business. You will never be disappointed by thinking of future issues that need to be covered in your contract. After having prepared hundreds or thousands of successful contracts for similar situations you will also have the experience to know what issues may need to be discussed, and whether or not they are important enough to cover in the contract.
Contracts vary in how many subjects they cover. Some are very long and cover nearly everything. A long contract usually costs more for the lawyer to prepare . You may also have to pay more to the security guard as a result of the additional complexity. Many contracts are intended to cover only a few of the issues that arise in a business relationship or may just cover several issues that are of particular importance. A contract template can help you avoid leaving something important out of your contract without adding much cost.
If you have signed a contract in the past, you may begin seeing a pattern in the types of contracts involved in your relationships with security providers. You may know enough about how your current contract has worked to have some confidence in using a contract template to save time and money.
Price is always a consideration when using an experienced security guard company. Security company owners with experience have typically encountered a wide range of issues. Their knowledge enables them to quickly handle issues you might not even think to address.
Mistakes in Drafting Security Guard Contracts
Selecting the right security guard is crucial to a security firm’s bottom line. Equally important is selecting the right contract agreement that will keep the security guards on the job and customers happy. Below are some of the common mistakes to avoid when drafting a security guard contract agreement.
Excessive, Legalese-Spoken Contract
"It’s all legalese," says a frustrated customer who wants to hire a security guard. While the use of legalese is required with contracts (in CA it’s a requirement that a contract can be amended by a written document if it’s printed in font 12), it shouldn’t be the only thing that’s used in security guard contracts to explain all the clauses. Security guard firms should include any terms that are not familiar to the average consumer in plain English (or Spanish, if necessary) in a separate page attached to the contract, so the customer understands what a particular clause means without having to go cross-reference within the contract.
Clarity of Roles
A poorly drafted agreement can have serious consequences. For example, the contract can be ambiguous in its duties and obligations (and most importantly, the consequences of failing to perform those obligations) regarding exactly what the security guard is hired to do. If the contract isn’t clear about what a guard was to do in a particular situation and what happened (or didn’t happen), it leaves the door open for different interpretations and that could mean a costly lawsuit down the road.
Failure to Check Background of Security Guards
Many security firms check their guard’s background, but don’t have a system in place for inspecting guards that are hired by their clients. If a customer hires a guard through your firm – for example a tenant-hire situation – and learns months later that the guard has a criminal background, that reflects poorly on your firm. Your agreement should state that a search of a security guard’s background report will be given to the customer (with the guard’s consent) and that the guard must meet certain minimum criteria.
Failure to Properly Specify Location
In the agreement, it should specify exactly the location for where the services will be performed, any restricted areas if applicable and how to gain access. If a firm has to change a lot due to unforeseen circumstances, it would be helpful to have a relocation clause that states how much notice is given to either party that the security guard employment is being terminated.
Modification of Contract Template
Your security guard contract template should be a living document that changes as the company changes. That means you should review your template regularly to ensure it meets any and all new company or industry standards, regulations, or laws to which you must adhere. Failure to comply with the law can carry fines, penalties, and other liabilities. You should confirm that your template accurately reflects any changes in company policies or procedures . For instance, if you now hire more lieutenants on weekends and holidays, your template should feature weekend and holiday pay for lieutenants. If a change has occurred in the processes you use to deliver and monitor services, those should be reflected in your template, too. Regularly updating your security guard contract template will build confidence with your clients, reduce potential liabilities, and provide greater clarity for your guards and your clients alike.
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