Guarding runs around the clock, so hours, overtime and rest are part of every roster decision. Getting them wrong leads to pay disputes, tired officers and findings at inspection.
This guide explains which documents set security guard working hours in South Africa and what the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) says. It ends with how to build rosters around them. To plan shifts in software, see our security guard shift management and rostering module.
Which rules set security guard working hours in South Africa?
Two documents matter: the BCEA, and the Main Collective Agreement of the National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector. The Minister has extended that agreement to employers and employees who are not party to it.
The version extended in February 2020 covered guarding or protecting property, premises, goods or persons, including alarm monitoring and response. It said it superseded all of Sectoral Determination 6 for the private security sector.
The agreement has been extended and amended since then. Notice 3446 of 2025, for example, extended an amending agreement to non-parties in August 2025. We could not read the full current text on an official site, so we do not quote its figures here.
The agreement can set different limits from the BCEA. The 2020 version, for example, allowed security officers 48 ordinary hours a week and 12 on any day, where the BCEA sets 45. That version has been replaced, so check the current agreement with the council or the Department of Employment and Labour. This is a summary, not legal advice.
What are the BCEA's ordinary hours and overtime limits?
Under section 9 of the BCEA, ordinary hours may not exceed 45 a week. The daily limit is 9 hours for someone working 5 days or fewer a week, and 8 hours for someone working more.
Overtime may only be worked by agreement, and is capped at 10 hours a week. Since the 2002 amendment, an overtime agreement may not require or permit more than 12 hours of work on any day. Overtime is paid at least one and a half times the wage, or by paid time off if agreed.
A collective agreement may raise overtime to 15 hours a week, but for no more than two months in any 12. Chapter 2 does not cover senior managers, travelling sales staff, or people working under 24 hours a month. It also excludes employees above an earnings threshold the Minister sets.
What meal intervals and rest periods must security officers get?
Under the BCEA, an employee who works more than 5 hours continuously gets a meal interval of at least one continuous hour. A written agreement can reduce it to 30 minutes.
During the meal interval, the employee may only do duties that cannot be left unattended and cannot be done by someone else. That fits a single-officer post. If the officer must stay available, the interval must be paid.
Between shifts, the BCEA requires a daily rest of at least 12 consecutive hours. There is also a weekly rest of at least 36 consecutive hours, which includes Sunday unless agreed otherwise.
What are the rules for night work?
The BCEA defines night work as work after 18:00 and before 06:00. It is allowed only by agreement, with an allowance or reduced hours, and when transport is available at the start and end of the shift.
Extra duties apply to regular work after 23:00. That means more than an hour in that window at least 5 times a month or 50 times a year. The employer must explain the health and safety hazards and offer a medical examination on request.
How is Sunday and public holiday work paid?
Under the BCEA, Sunday work is paid at double the wage. If the employee ordinarily works on Sundays, the rate is one and a half times.
Work on a public holiday needs agreement. If the holiday falls on a normal working day, the employee who works it gets at least double the ordinary daily wage. The sector agreement may set its own rules, so check it too.
What does the BCEA say, at a glance?
The table below summarises the BCEA baseline. The private security agreement may differ, and where it lawfully does, it applies to employers and employees it covers.
| Topic | BCEA rule | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hours | No more than 45 hours a week; 9 hours a day if working 5 days or fewer, 8 hours a day if more | s 9(1) |
| Overtime | Only by agreement; no more than 10 hours a week, and no more than 12 hours of work on any day | s 10(1), (1A) |
| Overtime pay | At least 1.5 times the wage, or paid time off if agreed | s 10(2), (3) |
| Meal interval | At least one continuous hour after 5 hours of continuous work; can be cut to 30 minutes by written agreement | s 14 |
| Daily rest | At least 12 consecutive hours between ending and starting work | s 15(1)(a) |
| Weekly rest | At least 36 consecutive hours, including Sunday unless agreed otherwise | s 15(1)(b) |
| Night work | Work between 18:00 and 06:00; only by agreement, with an allowance or reduced hours, and transport available | s 17 |
| Sunday work | Double the wage, or 1.5 times if the employee ordinarily works Sundays | s 16(1) |
| Public holidays | Work only by agreement; paid at least double the ordinary daily wage if it is a normal working day | s 18 |
| Short shifts | Employees below the earnings threshold who work under 4 hours in a day are paid for 4 hours | s 9A |
| Records | Keep a record of time worked and pay for three years; no false entries | s 31 |
This is a summary, not legal advice.
How should security rosters account for working-hours rules?
Rosters should be built from the rules, not checked against them afterwards. Work through these steps for each site and each officer.
- Confirm which rules apply. Check the current bargaining council agreement and any exemption, and note the version you are using.
- Set shift lengths within the daily limits. Include any overtime when you check the longest day.
- Count hours per officer, not per post. An officer who covers two sites in a week is still one person with one weekly limit.
- Build in rest. Leave the daily and weekly rest periods between shifts, especially when switching an officer from nights to days.
- Plan meal intervals and relief. Decide who covers single-officer posts during meals, and whether the interval is paid.
- Flag premium hours. Mark night work, Sundays and public holidays on the roster, so payroll can apply the right rates and allowances.
- Follow the Code of Good Practice. It recommends rotating shifts forward (morning, afternoon, night), keeping night shifts no longer than day shifts, displaying the roster, and giving reasonable notice of changes.
- Compare planned with actual. Check rosters against clock-ins each pay period. Keep the records for three years, as section 31 of the BCEA requires.
For handovers between shifts, and what to do when relief does not arrive, see our security shift handover checklist. For PSIRA records more broadly, see the PSIRA compliance checklist.
What records of guards' hours must you keep?
Section 31 of the BCEA requires every employer to keep a record of each employee's time worked. The record must be kept for three years from the date of the last entry.
- The employee's name and occupation.
- The time worked by each employee.
- The pay given to each employee.
- The date of birth of any employee under 18.
No person may make a false entry in that record. That is why clock-in methods matter: a record built on shared cards or back-filled registers is hard to defend. Our guide to stopping buddy clocking covers the controls.
Keep the planned roster and the actual clock-ins together. When a pay dispute or an inspection comes, you can then show both what was planned and what was worked.
How does Worxit help with guard rosters and hours?
Worxit Shifts, supplied by Zamatrack, lets supervisors create and manage shifts across all sites from one dashboard. Scheduled, active and completed shifts are shown in real time.
- Each shift can carry a customisable handover form, with an audit trail of submissions.
- Worxit Time & Attendance records clock-ins with facial recognition and NFC.
- Breaks, shift summaries and overtime are tracked, with reports of time worked by location.
- Shift records export to Excel or PDF.
These records give you the actual hours to check against the rules that apply. The dashboard licence is R600 per month including one admin user. Extra dashboard users are R75 per user per month, and each app device is R350 per month, all ex VAT.
Frequently asked questions
What are the legal working hours for a security guard in South Africa?
Security officers' hours are set by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act together with the private security sector's bargaining council agreement, which the Minister extends to non-parties. The agreement sets sector-specific limits, so check its current version. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Does Sectoral Determination 6 still apply to security guards?
The bargaining council's Main Collective Agreement, extended to non-parties in 2020, stated that it superseded all of Sectoral Determination 6. Later extensions and amendments followed. Check the current agreement with the council or the Department of Employment and Labour. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Can a security guard work 12-hour shifts?
Twelve-hour shifts are common in guarding, but they must fit the rules that apply. Under the BCEA, an overtime agreement may not require more than 12 hours on any day. The sector agreement has its own limits on daily and weekly hours, so check the current version.
How is Sunday and public holiday work paid?
Under the BCEA, Sunday work is paid at double the wage, or one and a half times for employees who ordinarily work Sundays. Public holiday work needs agreement and is paid at least double. The sector agreement may set its own rules. This is a summary, not legal advice.
How long must we keep records of guards' hours?
Section 31 of the BCEA requires a record of each employee's time worked and pay, kept for three years from the last entry. No person may make a false entry. Keep rosters and clock-in records together so you can show hours actually worked, not only hours planned.
Sources
Read on 22 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997. Government Gazette 18491, published on gov.za. Sections 6, 9, 10, 11, 14 to 18, 31 and 55(7).
- Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 11 of 2002. Government Gazette 23539, published on gov.za. Section 3 amends section 10 (overtime).
- Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 7 of 2018. Government Gazette 42059, published on gov.za. Section 3 inserts section 9A.
- National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector: extension of the Main Collective Agreement to non-parties. GN R193, Government Gazette 43036 (20 February 2020). Clauses 1, 6 and 38. Since replaced.
- Extension to non-parties of the Main Collective Amending Agreement. Notice 3446 of 2025, Government Gazette 53225 (26 August 2025), listed on gov.za.
- Code of Good Practice on the Arrangement of Working Time. Department of Employment and Labour. Items 5.4, 5.5, 6.3 and 6.4.