Swiss security firm accused of thousands of labour law breaches

Securitas: thousands of labour law breaches reported Keystone-SDA

Securitas, a Swiss company operating in the security services market, is alleged to have forced employees to work many excessively long shifts for years.

Some experts have told the Swiss public broadcaster SRF that the group’s practices constitute systematic breaches of labour law.

According to an analysis of internal data carried out by SRF Investigativ, SRF’s investigative journalism unit, there were reportedly around 20,000 breaches of the Labour Act between 2023 and 2025.

Around 900 employees are said to have been affected. The main issues are reported to have been excessively long shifts and insufficient rest periods. Staff concerned are said to have been employed in prisons, hospitals and asylum seeker centres.

All of this “is a sign of systematic practice”, Denis G. Humbert, a lawyer specialising in labour law, told SRF, calling for the authorities to intervene. “It is not permissible, it is unacceptable. This constitutes the exploitation of staff and is not allowed.”

Kurt Pärli, a professor of law at the University of Basel, echoed this view. Wat has come to light “cannot be explained away as a simple planning error. The problem with this situation goes far beyond that”.

Securitas has issued a written statement admitting that, in some cases, the practices adopted did not comply with the principles of labour law or the company’s values.

Measures taken in recent years have led to a reduction in problematic cases. The company disputes the total figure of 20,000 breaches.

While not ruling out the possibility of errors, the company said that there has been no general and systematic breach of the Labour Act.

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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.