Dismissed or laid off: a Quebec security guard's recourses
Notice, indemnity, work certificate, complaints to the CNESST and the Comité paritaire, Record of Employment: your recourses after a dismissal or layoff.
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Your agency loses the contract for the site where you work, and you are told about a layoff or an outright dismissal: what should you do? The dismissal of a security guard in Quebec is governed both by the Decree respecting security guards and by the Act respecting labour standards. Here, in plain language, is the difference between the situations, the notice you are entitled to, the papers to ask for and the possible recourses, with their deadlines.
This article is for information only and is not legal advice. For your specific situation, contact the CNESST (Quebec's labour standards and workplace safety board), the Comité paritaire des agents de sécurité (the parity committee that enforces the Decree), your union or a lawyer.
Dismissal, layoff or end of contract: what is the difference?
- Dismissal: the employer ends your employment permanently, often for a reason related to you (conduct, performance).
- Layoff: the employer stops giving you work, in principle temporarily, for lack of work. You remain its employee.
- Loss of the client's contract: in private security, this is common. When a client changes agencies, your employer does not necessarily dismiss you. It can place you elsewhere, lay you off or end your employment. In the last two cases, the notice rules below apply.
- End of a fixed-term contract: if you were hired for a specific term or mandate that comes to an end, the Decree's notice does not apply (s. 3.08.1).
What notice is required for the dismissal or layoff of a security guard?
The Decree requires the employer to give written notice before ending your employment or laying you off for 6 months or more (s. 3.08). The length depends on your uninterrupted service: 1 week (less than one year), 2 weeks (1 to 5 years), 4 weeks (5 to 10 years) and 8 weeks (10 years or more). The full table is explained in our article the security guards' decree explained.
This notice is not owed if you have less than 3 months of uninterrupted service, if your fixed-term contract expires, if you committed a serious fault or in a case of superior force (s. 3.08.1). A notice of termination of employment given during a layoff is null, except for seasonal employment (s. 3.08).
For a layoff of less than 6 months, you must receive written notice of at least 1 week, except in circumstances beyond the employer's control. This notice is not owed to the casual employee A-04 or to a person who has less than 3 months of uninterrupted service (s. 3.11).
What happens if the employer gives no notice?
The employer must pay you a compensatory indemnity for the length of the missing notice (s. 3.09). It is equal to the weekly average of the wages received during your uninterrupted service, over no more than the 6 months before your departure.
| Situation | When the indemnity is paid |
|---|---|
| End of employment or layoff expected to last more than 6 months | At the time of the termination of employment or the layoff |
| Layoff of indeterminate length, or expected to last less than 6 months but that exceeds that period | At the end of the 6 months |
The Act respecting labour standards provides the same lengths of notice (ss. 82 and 82.1). If the indemnity or your last pay does not arrive, see the section on the complaint to the Comité paritaire below.
Can I require a work certificate?
Yes. At the end of your contract, you can require a work certificate from the employer (s. 3.10 of the Decree). It states only the nature and length of your employment, the start and end dates, and the name and address of the employer. It cannot pass judgment on the quality of your work or your conduct. It is a useful document to prove your experience to another agency, on top of a good security guard resume.
What recourses are there if the dismissal is unfair?
Complaint for dismissal without good and sufficient cause
If you have 2 years of uninterrupted service in the same enterprise and believe you were dismissed without good and sufficient cause, you can file a written complaint with the CNESST within 45 days of your dismissal (s. 124 of the Act respecting labour standards). This recourse does not apply if another remedial procedure is provided elsewhere, for example in a collective agreement: a unionized guard then generally goes through a grievance. The CNESST can offer mediation and can require the employer to give the reasons for the dismissal in writing (s. 125).
Complaint for a prohibited practice
It is forbidden to dismiss, suspend, transfer or punish an employee because the employee exercised a right provided for by the Act respecting labour standards, because the employee gave information to the CNESST, or because the employee is pregnant, among other reasons (s. 122). This recourse does not require 2 years of service. The complaint is filed with the CNESST within 45 days of the practice complained of (s. 123). If you were the victim of an assault at work, our article on the rights of a security guard who is assaulted explains the steps involving the CNESST.
Complaint for unpaid wages or indemnity
For money owed under the Decree (wages, overtime, notice indemnity, the Decree's premiums), the Comité paritaire des agents de sécurité is the body that sees that it is applied. It offers a complaint form on its website and answers at 514-493-9105 or 1-800-361-5442. Keep your pay stubs, your schedules and the notice of termination of employment.
Does the employer have to notify the BSP that my employment has ended?
Not in every case. The regulation requires the person for whom the holder of a temporary agent licence works to notify the Bureau de la sécurité privée (BSP), Quebec's private security regulator, when that person stops using the holder's services (s. 21 of the Regulation under the Private Security Act). For all its guards, the agency must also keep a register showing the date employment ended, kept for at least 2 years after that date (s. 25).
You are the holder of your agent licence: you keep it if you lose your job. Keep it valid and renew it on time. See what it costs and how not to lose your BSP licence. If you work with a temporary licence, check with the BSP before accepting a position at another agency.
What about employment insurance?
To apply for benefits, you need a Record of Employment. According to the Government of Canada, an employer who issues it electronically must generally do so within 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption of earnings occurred. Another deadline may apply to the paper record. A temporary layoff and a dismissal both give rise to a Record of Employment. Do not wait to file your application with Service Canada.
If your claim is refused or you cannot find your way through it, organizations can help. In Montreal, the Mouvement Action-Chômage de Montréal is a group that defends the rights of unemployed people: it gives information sessions on employment insurance and helps contest a decision. Its service line is 514-755-9240.
What should you do as soon as you are told?
- Ask for the decision to be confirmed to you in writing, with the end date or the expected length of the layoff.
- Calculate your uninterrupted service and the notice you are entitled to.
- Require your work certificate and check your last pay.
- Write down the date: the 45-day deadlines for complaints to the CNESST run out fast.
- Keep your documents: contract, schedules, pay stubs, emails.
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Frequently asked questions
My agency lost the contract: am I entitled to notice?
If the agency ends your employment or lays you off for 6 months or more and you have at least 3 months of uninterrupted service, yes: written notice or a compensatory indemnity (ss. 3.08 and 3.09 of the Decree). The loss of a contract is not in itself a serious fault on your part.
I have less than 2 years of seniority: do I have a recourse?
The recourse for dismissal without good and sufficient cause requires 2 years of uninterrupted service. But the complaint for a prohibited practice (ss. 122-123) and the claim for money through the Comité paritaire remain possible without that minimum.
Can the work certificate mention why I was dismissed?
No. Under section 3.10 of the Decree, it can mention neither the quality of your work nor your conduct.
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Sources
- LégisQuébec: Decree respecting security guards, ss. 3.08 to 3.11
- LégisQuébec: Loi sur les normes du travail, ss. 82, 82.1, 83, 122, 123, 124 and 125
- LégisQuébec: Regulation under the Private Security Act, ss. 21 and 25
- LégisQuébec: Private Security Act
- Comité paritaire des agents de sécurité: file a complaint
- Canada.ca: Relevé d'emploi (RE)
- Mouvement Action-Chômage de Montréal