another crap company

Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 8:01 pm

hi, ive currently gone back into security and work at a large retail park in lancachire...my company are telling us that we have to pay for our licence plus another licence for cctv..total of 240 pounds..we are on bad pay as it is...has anyone had the same problems....just wish i could work for a decent company..also the old observe and report...when we do observe and report , no one follows up on the incidents..so what is the use of having security...just for low insurance i think..at work i have encounted loads of drug deals but our company isnt bothered nor the client so whats best to do.....turn a blind eye..i need to work somewhere were i can make a difference and rid the place of scum so people can enjoy themselves

Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 10:26 pm

Hello Mark,

A warm welcome to the Guild of Security website .......... but not such a warm welcome back to the security industry it would seem.

There are few, if any, words of comfort I can offer regarding your current licensing predicament.

As it stands at the moment, you are required to hold two licenses.
The Security guarding licence and the cctv licence (assuming that the use of such equipment is part of your duty).

The best advice I can offer is to seek employment with one of the companies that will actually pay for your licenses.

There are a few around that will also pay for the required training.

Best of luck mate.

Mike.

Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 10:59 pm

Hi Mark and welcome.
It would seem you have not had the best experience when you re-joined the industry and I'm sorry for that.

Just because the client and your employer doesnt seem to care, I hope that will not prevent you from carrying out your duties in a professional manner - thought I appreciate it can be exremely discouraging.

You're working on a retail park so I'm guessing the local plod will do drive-throughs now and again? If thats the case, it might be worth having a word in their ears, explaining the incidents you are observing, in particular, any patterns of behaviour you have observed.

Keep filling those incident reports in etc, believe me, there will come a day when you are going to be so glad you did!

With regard to the licensing problem, I would agree with CorSec, there are other companies who will pay for their employees licence and training - even though it may be conditional.
My concern here is, what happens if you obtain your licences and then they lose the contract - you might not want to go into public CCTV monitoring so thats good money wasted.
On the other hand, there must be many more in your position, so what is the company going to do if the majority of employees turn around and say they are not going to buy their license?

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 5:52 pm

thanks chaps at least someone is listening ...thanks

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:01 pm

Any time Mark, thats what we are here for.

Newbie Joined: Aug 03, 2005 Posts: 5

I pay for my guys licenses however i do have a clause that if i do that and they leave with out there proper notice periods i can get them to pay me back i have always had an in house trainer however i went through a period a while ago that people were comming to me getting their certificates and going back to there origional companies as they were slacker operationally than me(ie they could get their heads down take tv,s or their girlfriends on site not wear uniform or work all the hours god sends or generally not carry out their ia,s) that upset me when i found that i had piad for the training of several other companys.

Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 10:27 am

Hi derrick (again) I think a lot of companies have clauses in their contracts of employment or have produced supplemental agreements regarding training, licence fee's etc.

Whilst I had my reservations some years ago regarding what I considered 'unfair' clauses such as these, my views have changed.
I had initally investigated such clauses as a breach of health and safety i.e. it is the employers duty of care to ensure its workforce are trained so that they may carry out their duties in a safe and efficient manner and legislation does not permit the employer to charge for this training in order to discharge its duties under HSAW etc.
In fact, my scathing article first appeared on the Security Park website.

HOWEVER - it appears that the more unscrupulous types have now got wind of this and are acting in a far more sensible manner by not using it as an excuse to over charge its employees for training costs to supplement the companies income due to its own financial mis-management.

Whilst I dont want to come across as some moral crusader, as with most issues facing the industry, the has to be some middle ground and more importantly, everyone has to be seen to be 'fair'.

With the advent of licencing and therefore the compulsory training of staff, it completely removes any argument over whether or not an employer should or can charge for training under H&S - appropriate training is now a 'tool of the trade'.

If an employee leaves its company within a reasonable time period, I think it is only fair that the employer be able to recoup its expenditure in terms of licence costs, training etc provided it is on a pro-rata basis. In fact, I would think it would be 'reasonable' for the employer to recover ALL costs if the employee leaves, say within six months.

Churn is still a major issue with something like 75% of staff changing jobs every 2 years (Source BSIA) and it will be interesting to see how this changes in the near future.

I say, keep up the good work!

Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 9:17 pm

hi derrick yes that sounds fair payin for the licence then if they leave in a certain time period they pay it all or some back.....we have not been offered this...the site where i work is ok..just wish another company would get the site....so derrick any jobs going lol

Newbie Joined: Jan 30, 2006 Posts: 1

As a small security company we would have a problem with paying for all our officer licencing, i discussed this issue with the guys and they were happy for me to pay for the training (around £140) and they would pay for the badge. Afterall this belongs to them and they are then free to move companies as they wish with no contract for 3 years to me.

Neil

www.northernsecurity2005.co.uk