Security guards in Canada can be entitled to up to 24 months’ severance pay when they’re fired or laid off. Losing a security contract, changing employers or being removed from a worksite doesn’t automatically eliminate your right to compensation.
Whether you work in building security, mobile patrol, retail loss prevention or site supervision, your severance rights depend on your employment circumstances, length of service and contract.
💡 Security Guard Severance: If your security company loses a contract or removes you from a site, don’t assume you’re owed nothing. Special rules also protect eligible Ontario security guards when a new security provider takes over a building.
On This Page:
- Who Gets Severance?
- How Much Severance?
- When Security Companies Change
- Layoffs & Reassignments
- Frequently Asked Questions
Are Security Guards Entitled to Severance Pay?
Yes. Non-unionized security guards can receive severance pay when their employment ends without cause.
This includes full-time, part-time and hourly employees working for private security companies, subject to their legal entitlements and enforceable employment contracts.
Your employer can’t automatically avoid paying severance by claiming it lost a client, closed a location or no longer has work at your assigned site.
Learn more about severance pay in Canada.
How Much Severance Pay Do Security Guards Get?
Security guards can receive up to 24 months’ pay when terminated without cause. Your full entitlement depends on:
- Age: Your age when employment ends
- Length of service: How long you worked for the employer
- Position: Your duties, responsibilities and seniority
- Job availability: The opportunity to find comparable work
- Employment contract: Whether enforceable terms limit your compensation
There is no automatic one-week-per-year formula for full severance. Your package can include regular wages, benefits and other employment compensation.
Use our free Severance Pay Calculator to estimate your entitlement.
What Happens When Your Security Company Loses Its Contract?
Losing a security contract doesn’t automatically end your severance rights. This is particularly important for guards working at offices, condominiums and commercial properties.
In Ontario, special Employment Standards Act rules apply when one building security provider replaces another.
- If the new company hires you: Your previous service is recognized when calculating applicable employment standards entitlements.
- If the new company doesn’t hire you: The new provider can be responsible for statutory termination and severance pay.
- If an exception applies: Responsibility can remain with your previous employer.
These rules include specific conditions involving your work history at the building, continued employment and reasonable job offers.
A change in security providers can also raise separate contractual and common-law compensation issues.
Source: Ontario’s Employment Standards Act guide: Building Services Providers.
What If You’re Laid Off or Reassigned to Another Security Site?
Security guards are often moved between buildings, assigned fewer shifts or temporarily laid off when a company loses a contract.
Your employer can’t automatically make major changes to your employment without legal consequences.
Significant reductions in hours, pay or responsibilities can amount to constructive dismissal, giving you the right to pursue termination compensation.
An employer-directed temporary layoff can also trigger compensation rights if it isn’t permitted by your employment agreement or applicable law.
Don’t resign or refuse a new assignment before reviewing your rights. The details of the offer and the changes to your job matter.
Security Guard Severance Pay: Frequently Asked Questions
Do Part-Time Security Guards Get Severance Pay?
Yes. Part-time and hourly security guards can qualify for termination compensation. Your pay, length of service, age and employment circumstances determine your entitlement.
Can a Security Company Fire You Because It Lost a Contract?
Yes, a company can eliminate positions after losing a contract. It must still meet its applicable termination obligations. Ontario also has special rules when a new building security provider takes over.
Does Your Length of Service Reset When a New Security Company Takes Over?
Not automatically. Ontario’s building services rules recognize eligible employees’ previous service when they’re hired by a replacement provider. Other legal rules affect continuity and compensation rights.
Do Unionized Security Guards Get Severance Pay?
Unionized guards’ termination rights are governed by their collective agreements and applicable law. Employment disputes are handled through the union’s grievance process. Our employment law team represents non-unionized employees only.
Fired or Laid Off From a Security Job? Find Out What You’re Owed
If your security company has lost a contract, reduced your hours or ended your employment, don’t assume you’re owed nothing.
The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP help non-unionized security guards in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia review severance offers and recover compensation they’re owed.
Have your severance package reviewed before signing a release.
Before you sign, always check first.