Rights as a security contractor?

flyton5

I work in security and am paid by a large well known security company.

I am subcontracted to another company and wear a uniform with that company's logo. I have nothing to identify me as an employee of the security company who pay my wages. I was trained on site by the subcontractor and have never worked security anywhere else.

There is no site manager from the security company who pay my wages. I deal directly with management from the company who's logo I wear and where I am based.

The management of the company I am subcontracted to regularly threaten to have people moved to a different site if something doesn't suit them. They will say upfront that they don't need to give a reason to have you moved off site. Recently someone was moved off site because a manager found it easier to do this than apologise to the individual for being verbally abusive and insulting to him in front of his colleagues. The manager believes as we are subcontracted he can do and say what he wants to us.

After all that my question is, does anyone know what rights a subcontractor has when it comes to dealing with staff from the company they are subcontracted to? From what I can see the attitude is that someone such as myself is a nobody and has no rights in our workplace as we are technically not employed by the company. I must stress again that we wear a uniform with the company logo which to a passerby would erroneously identify us as employees of this company.

Apologies if it's hard to follow where I'm going but for obvious reasons I can't be overly specific.

Love2love

flyton5 wrote: »

I work in security and am paid by a large well known security company.

I am subcontracted to another company and wear a uniform with that company's logo. I have nothing to identify me as an employee of the security company who pay my wages. I was trained on site by the subcontractor and have never worked security anywhere else.

There is no site manager from the security company who pay my wages. I deal directly with management from the company who's logo I wear and where I am based.

The management of the company I am subcontracted to regularly threaten to have people moved to a different site if something doesn't suit them. They will say upfront that they don't need to give a reason to have you moved off site. Recently someone was moved off site because a manager found it easier to do this than apologise to the individual for being verbally abusive and insulting to him in front of his colleagues. The manager believes as we are subcontracted he can do and say what he wants to us.

After all that my question is, does anyone know what rights a subcontractor has when it comes to dealing with staff from the company they are subcontracted to? From what I can see the attitude is that someone such as myself is a nobody and has no rights in our workplace as we are technically not employed by the company. I must stress again that we wear a uniform with the company logo which to a passerby would erroneously identify us as employees of this company.

Apologies if it's hard to follow where I'm going but for obvious reasons I can't be overly specific.

There's a couple of tests that the WRC apply to decide if someone can be classed as an employee or a contractor. The control test : master / slave - who dictates the terms of the contract? Are you able to work for another organisation etc. The integration test: uniform, are you treated like an employee, did you go to the Xmas party? - it seems very grey by what you are describing. (Google the Denny case - landmark ruling) There are definite perks to be considered an employee especially if the company were to go bust. However, I don't know what type of contract is in place etc - maybe talk to citizens advice if you want more specific information

Mrs OBumble

But in this case, we already know you are an employee of the security company, not the client company, so that test may not be relevant.

You have the same rights as any other employee - but if they are not being delivered, you would complain to your manager in the security company, not to their customers.

Really, it sounds like this might be a good site to get moved off. Does your employer have any other sites where you could be deployed?

Mrs OBumble

But in this case, we already know you are an employee of the security company, not the client company, so that test may not be relevant.

You have the same rights as any other employee - but if they are not being delivered, you would complain to your manager in the security company, not to their customers.

Really, it sounds like this might be a good site to get moved off. Does your employer have any other sites where you could be deployed?

flyton5

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

But in this case, we already know you are an employee of the security company, not the client company, so that test may not be relevant.

You have the same rights as any other employee - but if they are not being delivered, you would complain to your manager in the security company, not to their customers.

Really, it sounds like this might be a good site to get moved off. Does your employer have any other sites where you could be deployed?

To be honest the whole setup is a mess. The security company manager who deals with the site wouldn't be recognised by 95% of staff as he has no dealings with us and is practically uncontactable by phone.

I'm sure there are other sites but I was hired directly to that site. The client company exercise a fair bit of power when it comes to hiring as they would often hire directly and then send employee details to the security company. It's a clever way of hiring people you want and then washing your hands of them when something goes wrong. The usual response when something goes arse over tit is, "Well they don't work for *client company* they work for *security company*."

Anyway thanks for the input. Much appreciated.