All licensed private security officers must get a minimum gross wage of Ksh. 30,000 per month from the government, with a net pay of Ksh. 26,415 per month.
This coincides with the government’s efforts to establish a centralized database that includes the whole private security workforce by registering, licensing, and issuing Guard Force Numbers (GFN) to all private security companies in the nation.
The Private Security Regulatory Authority’s Director General, Fazul Mahamed, notes in a notice dated November 2, 2023, that the Ksh.30,000 gross pay consists of a home allowance of Ksh.2,849.11, an overtime allowance of Ksh.8,156.81, and a basic wage of Ksh. 18,994.08.
Employers must deduct the following statutory amounts from the security guards’ income: Ksh. 1,080 for the NSSF, Ksh. 825 for the Social Health Insurance Fund, Ksh. 1,229.75 for PAYE, and Ksh. 450 for the Affordable Housing Levy. This leaves Ksh. 26,415.25, as the net pay.
The notification states that anyone, whether a private or public entity, who neglects to pay a licensed security guard the legally required basic minimum wage faces fines, jail, or both for individuals and two million shillings (Ksh.2 million) for businesses.
In the meanwhile, all private security companies need to complete security-related training from a facility authorized by the government to receive a Guard Force Number (GFN).
This notice states, in part, that “the Authority has commenced nationwide registration, licensing, and issuance of Guard Force Numbers (GFN) to individual private security service providers who include but are not limited to; private security guards, corporate security officers, and all persons providing private security services, either employed or otherwise engaged by Government institutions, agencies, or bodies; and/or by any individual.”
“The only evidence that a Private Security Officer has been properly registered and licensed by the Authority by the provisions of the Act” is the further statement made in the addition.
The notification states that anyone operating as a private security service provider without having a current training certificate from an organization recognized by the Authority has committed an offense and faces the possibility of fines, jail time, or both.
On the other side, a business that hires an unlicensed private security guard faces a Ksh. 2 million penalty.
