Security Guard Assaulted at Work: Your Rights and Next Steps

A security guard assaulted at work has specific rights: they can file a complaint with the police, they are entitled to their employer's protection and, if injured, they can be compensated by the CNESST (Quebec's labour standards and workplace safety board). An assault on a security guard is not “a risk of the job” to be endured in silence. Here, step by step, is what the Criminal Code and Quebec's occupational health and safety laws provide, and the steps to take after the incident.

This article is for information purposes and is not legal advice. For a specific situation, consult a lawyer, your union or the CNESST directly.

What should you do right after an assault?

In the minutes that follow, the order of priorities is simple:

1. Get to safety. Move away from the attacker, ask for backup and do not stay alone at the scene if the danger persists.
2. Call 911 if there are injuries, a weapon or a continuing threat.
3. Notify your superior. The Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (AIAOD, known in French as the LATMP) requires an injured worker to inform their immediate superior, or another representative of the employer, before leaving the establishment if able to do so, or otherwise as soon as possible (s. 265). The notice can be simple: your name, the place and the circumstances, in ordinary words (s. 266).
4. See a doctor, even if the injury seems minor. The first health professional who takes charge of you must give you a medical certificate on the CNESST form (s. 199).
5. Write the report while the details are fresh: times, exact words, witnesses, cameras. Our incident report template for security guards gives the method.

Can you file a police complaint for assault?

Yes. Hitting, pushing or spitting on a guard is a criminal offence, the same as for anyone else. Under section 265 of the Criminal Code, a person commits an assault when they:

• intentionally apply force, directly or indirectly, to another person without that person's consent
• attempt or threaten to apply force, if they have the ability to carry out the threat or if the victim can reasonably believe so
• openly carry a weapon, or an imitation, while accosting or impeding someone.

Section 266 provides that assault can be prosecuted as an indictable offence, with a maximum of five years' imprisonment, or by summary conviction. Your role is to file the complaint, give your account and keep your evidence (report, photos of injuries, names of witnesses).

Does a guard have the right to defend themselves?

Yes. Self-defence under section 34 of the Criminal Code applies to everyone, security guards included. Three conditions must be met:

• you believe, on reasonable grounds, that force is being used or threatened against you or against another person
• you act for the purpose of defending yourself or protecting that person
• your act is reasonable in the circumstances.

To judge whether it was reasonable, the court considers, among other things, the nature of the threat and how imminent it was, the other means available, the presence of a weapon, the size and capabilities of the persons and, above all, the proportionality of the response. Defending yourself does not mean punishing: once the threat is removed, the force must stop. If you had to hold the attacker, the rules of arrest apply. See our article on citizen's arrest by a security guard.

What are the employer's obligations regarding violence?

Section 51 of the Act respecting occupational health and safety (AOHS, known in French as the LSST) requires the employer to take the necessary measures to protect the worker's health, safety and physical and mental well-being. Its paragraph 16 deals directly with violence: the employer must take measures to protect a worker exposed in the workplace to a situation of physical or psychological violence, including spousal, family or sexual violence.

For a security guard, this can mean clear instructions on when not to step in, a reliable means of communication, backup at high-risk posts, training and follow-up after an incident, especially at isolated posts such as night-shift security guard work. After an assault, ask your employer what will be changed to keep it from happening again.

How do you claim from the CNESST if the security guard is injured?

An assault suffered during work can be an industrial accident within the meaning of the AIAOD: a sudden and unforeseen event, arising out of or in the course of work, that results in an employment injury (s. 2). An injury that happens at the workplace while the worker is at work is even presumed to be an employment injury (s. 28).

Even if you return to work the next day, a claim can be filed within six months (s. 271), for example to have care paid for. Report every assault, even a minor one: if after-effects appear later, the file already exists.

How much does the CNESST pay during the work stoppage?

A worker who can no longer carry on their employment because of an employment injury is entitled to an income replacement indemnity (s. 44). It is equal to 90% of the weighted net income that the worker derives annually from their employment (s. 45). During the first 14 full days, it is the employer who pays 90% of net wages, on the usual payday, if you gave the employer the medical certificate (s. 60). To compare with your normal pay, see our page on a security guard's salary.

Is post-traumatic stress recognized by the CNESST?

Yes, the injury can be psychological. The Regulation respecting occupational diseases lists post-traumatic stress disorder among mental disorders, with one condition: having done work involving repeated or extreme exposure to serious injury, sexual violence, a threat of death or actual death (Division VII). When this condition is met on the day of the diagnosis, the worker is presumed to have an occupational disease (s. 29 AIAOD).

For an occupational disease, the six-month time limit starts on the date the worker learns they have it (s. 272).

What help is there for victims of crime?

The CAVAC network (crime victims assistance centres) offers free and confidential help, whether or not the victim has filed a complaint. They can be reached at 1-866-532-2822.

The IVAC, for its part, pays financial assistance to victims of criminal offences. When the assault gives rise to the application of the AIAOD, which is the case for an assault suffered at work, the victim must file their application with the CNESST (s. 68 of the Act to assist persons who are victims of criminal offences and to facilitate their recovery). If the CNESST declares you eligible, you cannot also receive IVAC financial assistance for the same event.

Can you refuse to go back to the same post?

The AOHS gives a worker the right to refuse to perform work if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the work exposes them to danger to their health, safety or physical or mental well-being (s. 12). They must notify their superior at once (s. 15). There are two limits (s. 13): refusal is not possible if it puts the life or safety of another person in immediate danger, or if the conditions of the work are normal for that kind of work. For a guard, the right of refusal therefore covers an abnormal danger, for example a post where threats from the same individual keep recurring with no protective measure at all.

After a work stoppage, a worker who is able again has the right to be reinstated by priority in their employment or in equivalent employment (s. 236 AIAOD). This right is exercised within one year after the start of the absence if the establishment has 20 workers or fewer, and within two years if it has more than 20 (s. 240). The employer cannot dismiss, suspend or penalize you because you were injured or because you exercised a right provided by the Act (s. 32).

Frequently asked questions

My employer tells me not to file a complaint so as not to displease the client. Is that allowed?

The decision to file a complaint with the police is yours: it is the victim who files it. The employer may have its internal procedures, but if you are injured, the industrial accidents Act forbids it from penalizing you because you exercised your rights (s. 32). If you are pressured, talk to a CAVAC or the CNESST.

How long do I have to claim from the CNESST?

Six months from the injury (ss. 270 and 271 AIAOD), or six months from the moment you learn you have an occupational disease (s. 272). The time limit is two years if the injury results from sexual violence.

Am I paid if I have to stop working?

Yes: the employer pays 90% of net wages during the first 14 full days, then the CNESST pays an indemnity of 90% of weighted net income if the stoppage continues and the claim is accepted.

Sources

• Criminal Code, section 265: assault (Justice Canada)
• Criminal Code, section 266: punishment (Justice Canada)
• Criminal Code, section 34: defence of person (Justice Canada)
• Loi sur la santé et la sécurité du travail, sections 12, 13, 15 and 51 (LégisQuébec)
• Loi sur les accidents du travail et les maladies professionnelles, sections 2, 28, 29, 32, 44, 45, 60, 199, 236, 240, 265 to 267 and 270 to 272 (LégisQuébec)
• Règlement sur les maladies professionnelles, Division VII (LégisQuébec)
• Loi visant à aider les personnes victimes d'infractions criminelles et à favoriser leur rétablissement, section 68 (LégisQuébec)
• Réseau des CAVAC