The Guard Who Was Told to Collect Parking Fees

1. Untrained deployment (most serious). A guard is expected to have completed training at an institute recognised by the state Controlling Authority and to carry an identity card issued by the agency before being placed on a client site. An untrained guard at a public-facing post exposes himself, the client and the agency's licence. He should ask in writing for his training slot and ID card and keep the message.

2. Non-security duty. Sitting on a boom barrier and collecting parking fees is the mall's revenue collection, not a security function. The guard's role is protection of persons and property, and the agency's licence and client contract are built around that.

3. Uniform. Peaked caps with red shoulder tabs and rank-like markings can read as a police or military uniform. Security uniforms must be distinct and must not resemble the police; this is a licence condition, not a fashion choice.

4. Inter-state posting. A licence is granted by one state's Controlling Authority and is valid in that state. Deployment in the neighbouring state without a licence there is unlawful for the agency.

What to do, in order: first refuse the parking-cash duty politely and in writing, while continuing the access-control duty; second, press for training and ID in writing; third, refuse to wear rank-like insignia and ask for the approved uniform; fourth, do not accept the out-of-state posting until the agency shows a licence for that state. If nothing changes within a reasonable time, write to the Controlling Authority with dates and copies of messages. He should not walk off post without informing anyone - abandoning post is misconduct, while refusing an unlawful instruction and recording it is not.

No. PSARA regulates agencies that provide security-related services, and a security guard is the person paid to perform those duties. Collecting parking charges is the mall's commercial revenue function, not a security function. Four risks follow:

• Authority: he holds no written authority from the mall to handle its money and no receipt system under his control.
• Liability: any cash shortfall will be pinned on the lowest-paid person on site. Guards rarely have indemnity for handling client money, and deductions from his ₹9,500 wage could be challenged as unauthorised.
• Security: counting change and arguing over receipts takes his eyes off vehicle and pedestrian movement - the exact tailgating and unauthorised-entry risk the post exists to prevent.
• Licence scope: the agency cannot quietly expand the service beyond its contract, and a Controlling Authority can act against an agency that uses guards for non-security work.

How to refuse: politely, in writing, with an alternative. For example: "Sir, I am not authorised to handle the mall's cash and have no receipt book in my name. Please give written instructions and a cash-handling procedure, or assign this to mall staff; until then I will continue with access control." Keep a copy of the message. If the pressure continues, report to the agency's principal officer, then to the Controlling Authority. The key discipline is to keep performing the lawful part of the duty while refusing only the unlawful part, and to put everything in writing so the record shows he objected and was not merely disobedient.

He is wrong. PSARA is administered state by state: each state government designates a Controlling Authority, which grants licences to agencies operating in that state and can suspend or cancel them. A licence issued by one state does not authorise the agency to run security operations in another; the agency must apply for a separate licence there, assuming that state has notified PSARA. Deploying an unlicensed guard across the border exposes the agency to action and leaves the guard as an unauthorised security provider, with an ID card that does not match any licensed agency on that site.

What to check before deciding:

• The agency's licence certificate: issuing Controlling Authority, state, licence number and validity dates. Licences run for a fixed term and must be renewed.
• Whether the new site is in a state where the agency actually holds a licence, and whether the client there has a contract with a licensed agency.
• His own photo identity card issued by the agency, and his police character and antecedents verification.
• A written transfer order stating the wage rate at the new site, duty hours, accommodation and travel.

If any of these is missing, he should ask in writing and not accept the posting until they are produced. If the agency moves him anyway, the written requests protect him: they show he asked reasonable questions and was not refusing duty. He should also note that a lower or unrecorded wage at the new site is a separate grievance he can raise with the labour authority.