Arriving 15 Minutes Before Your Shift: That Time Must Be Paid

"Your boss asks you to arrive before your shift. Will you be paid for that period?" That is the first question of the labour standards campaign launched by the CNESST (Quebec's labour standards and workplace safety board) on June 1, 2026. The answer is yes, and it closely concerns security guards, for whom shift handover, waiting for an assignment and required training are part of daily life.

What the CNESST points out

In its news release, the CNESST writes that all time worked must be paid. It gives a specific example: if the employer asks you to arrive 10 or 15 minutes early or to stay after the time set in the schedule, that time must be paid.

This rule comes from section 57 of the Act respecting labour standards. Under that section, an employee is deemed to be at work:

• while at the employer's disposal at the place of work and required to wait for work to be assigned
• during the breaks granted by the employer
• during travel required by the employer
• during any trial period or training required by the employer

What the security guards' decree says

Agency guards are also covered by the Decree respecting security guards. Its section 3.06 takes up the same idea: the employee is deemed to be at work while at the employer's disposal at the place of work and required to wait for work to be assigned.

The Decree goes further on two points:

• Meals: section 3.12 grants 30 paid minutes for each 5-hour work period, whether or not the guard is authorized to leave their post
• Training: section 4.07 provides that any training or renewal of training required by the employer or the client is at the employer's expense. These costs include the guard's pay as if they were at work, registration and other reasonable costs

Two exceptions to paid training: training that serves to qualify for a premium under the Decree, and training that allows you to obtain or renew your agent licence. For details on the premiums, see the Decree's premiums that many guards do not claim.

Three common situations

The handover briefing before the shift

Your supervisor requires you to be at the post 15 minutes before the hour to receive instructions from the outgoing guard. This time is requested by the employer. According to the CNESST, it must be paid, just like the rest of the shift.

Waiting for an assignment

You are called in to the agency's office and you wait to be sent to a site. You are at the employer's disposal and you are waiting for work: that is working time under section 57 of the Act and section 3.06 of the Decree. The Comité paritaire also specifies that a guard who must stop by the employer's offices before going to the site is paid from the time their presence is required there.

Training required by the client

A client imposes training on its procedures before you can work at its premises. This required training is paid and its costs are covered by the employer, under section 4.07 of the Decree.

These hours also count in the week's total. Beyond 40 hours, they are paid at time and a half. See our article on working hours and overtime.

How to claim this time

Each day, write down your actual arrival and departure times, and keep your pay stubs. If you work for a security agency, the complaint is made to the Comité paritaire des agents de sécurité, the parity committee that enforces the Decree. It receives complaints confidentially. The steps to follow are explained in the security guards' decree explained simply. For labour standards questions that do not come under the Decree, the CNESST remains the place to start.

Sources

• CNESST: De nouvelles questions qui vous travaillent? Campagne sur les normes du travail (June 1, 2026)
• LégisQuébec: Act respecting labour standards, section 57 (up to date as of August 12, 2026)
• LégisQuébec: Decree respecting security guards, sections 3.06, 3.12 and 4.07 (up to date as of June 1, 2026)
• Comité paritaire des agents de sécurité: salariés et plaintes