any security workers out there?

[bf15]

SO am in NC, and wife just started working in a security job, being a security job stationed at a location. Now they are telling her she will be doing hours at a second site, but they will only pay her 8/hr at that site vs the 10. she makes at site A.

so shes working x amount of hours at site A for 10/hr, and then x amount hours at site B for 8/hr.

Been in IT all my career, and this seems pretty shady to me, and possibly illegal? Even as a contractor, this would not fly from my experience.

Thoughts?

I told her i'd tell them if they pay me 10/hr to be a security guard at company a, then they can pay the same at b or else refuse to work at company b.

[Samurai of 2day]

When I was younger, I used to work for a private civilian security company. Nothing fancy or particularly dangerous, just a security company that had contracts on specific sites around Brooklyn.

Pay wasn't great, but it was enough to get me by at the time. However, no matter what site I worked for the week, the hourly rate for pay was the same. The hourly pay rate should not change depending on the site if it's the same security company fielding the contract.

Now, if your wife is working for two separate security companies, then that could be the reason the pay rate varies.

I agree with you. If it's the same company covering two separate sites, then they should not be offering varying pay rates just because the locations are different. As long as she's not working off the books, then maybe see could approach this grievance from a legal perspective.

[bf15]

yea its the same company, she says its happening becuase they low bid to get the contracts, so they cant afford to pay the same / hr.

I told her how these contracts really work at least if they are like IT ones, where you figure for ever dollar you get paid the contract agency gets paid 2. and that they need to take the the loose off their cut and not punish her due to them lowballing.

she told them she'd only go if they pay her the same pay everywhere and that it would be the higher rate. We'll see what happens.

[Rat3d ///M]

I worked security in Greensboro when I was 20 or so. This is how they operate and it's 100% legal. It depends on different factors, I.e. is one site an armed position and the other unarmed? Armed positions pay more. Higher qualifications equal more money. It sucks but that's just how it is.

Might I ask the name of the company? You can pm it if you want to

[CANGRKE70]

I have a feeling the contract at site B has a tighter margin and hence why they are offering her a lower payscale to maintain margin %. I'd tell them to go fly a kite. Security jobs are a dime a dozen. Find something better if they tell her it is what it is.

[Rat3d ///M]

Originally Posted by CANGRKE70

I have a feeling the contract at site B has a tighter margin and hence why they are offering her a lower payscale to maintain margin %. I'd tell them to go fly a kite. Security jobs are a dime a dozen. Find something better if they tell her it is what it is.

This is just how security companies are. Unless she works for the same company I worked for (very possible) they operate exactly the same way as described here, so I suspect most, if not all (at least in NC) run this way.

Not to state the obvious, but the way security works is, the business that requires a security service goes to the security company and tells them what they are looking for (i.e. hours they require a guard on site, whether they want an armed position or unarmed, if they need an actual certified LEO, how many positions they need to fill, what the guard will be doing during shift, etc.) The security company then offers their services @ X# of positions for X# of hours, which is usually in the neighborhood of $20-$40 per man hour (i.e. 2 guards per shift for 8 hours would equal a cost of $320-$640 per shift). Then the company pays the guard their "cut" from the money they bill the business, and it's usually anywhere from 30% to 50% of what the security company takes in.

Bottom line, not all sites are equal. They all have different requirements and each contract pays the security company a different amount of money, which unfortunately means the guard working gets paid differently for each job site.

When I worked security in Greensboro for example, the company had 3 different types of "guards". Unarmed, armed, and CPO (company police officer). The CPO's were sworn LEO's for the state of NC, and were certified as such, going through the police academy just like city, county or state law enforcement officer's. They were used for securiing sites like college campus's, federal buildings, etc, where you couldn't legally carry a firearm as a private citizen. They had arrest powers, a badge, blue lights on their cars (reserved only for LEO), etc. They made around $15/hr, armed positions paid around $10 I believe, and unarmed were around $7-$8. It all depended on the site you worked at. Some called for an armed position, some unarmed. I worked at a site as an unarmed guard when I first started and got paid $8 an hour, and the armed guard who worked there with me was getting paid $10 or $11, doing basically the same thing. That's just how it is, and I suspect it's a similar situation with OP's wife. Telling the company you won't work for them unless you get paid $10 an hour at every site isn't going to get you anywhere.

The good thing about security in NC (at least where I worked) was that if you stuck with it, did a good job, and worked hard, you would move up quick. I started working at 3 or 4 different sites as an unarmed guard making between $8 and $9/hr depending where I worked. Then I got a permanent site with fixed pay after a month or so of bouncing around, and after 5 or 6 months I was going to school to become an armed guard where I was again bouncing around between sites making between $10 and $12/hr before again getting put in a permanent position at a site. My ultimate goal was to get a position as a CPO, but I ended up moving to AZ before that happened (glad I did to be honest).

I hope that helps OP. The situation sucks, but tell her to stick with it, and she will eventually find stability in her pay (and job site) and will rank up quickly. My company even had sergeant positions, captain positions, lieutenant positions, etc where the pay was higher and you basically ran a site and were a "site supervisor". If she is unhappy there, then there is always the option to quit, but complaining to the company is the worst idea she could have.

[jaye944]

Here's the deal, (UK experience)

I did security and though I didn't I had the option of overtime on different sites, no mention was of different rates of pay.

THAT said, it's logical that different sites could have different rates of pay because as you said the contract is different. BUT here is the real deal.

IF a security guard is getting $15/hour, client is more than likely paying $35/hour, company takes markup. Uniform training pay etc etc

IF a site is paying overtime, stat hols the company USUALLY pass it on.

NOW, if said company only pays $30 there STILL making double, so in theory the % difference should not mean they are loosing by paying you less, they loose profit but not money.

I "think" it was long ago, some sites paid more and you would get more if you where on that site, I guess it's possible if covering another site you may get less.

But that is security....

Originally Posted by bf15

SO am in NC, and wife just started working in a security job, being a security job stationed at a location. Now they are telling her she will be doing hours at a second site, but they will only pay her 8/hr at that site vs the 10. she makes at site A.

so shes working x amount of hours at site A for 10/hr, and then x amount hours at site B for 8/hr.

Been in IT all my career, and this seems pretty shady to me, and possibly illegal? Even as a contractor, this would not fly from my experience.

Thoughts?

I told her i'd tell them if they pay me 10/hr to be a security guard at company a, then they can pay the same at b or else refuse to work at company b.