Switching security company with no gap in cover

• Notice period: how many days, and from when it runs.
• Form: whether notice must be in writing, by what means and to whom.
• Duties at the end: returning keys, equipment and documents, cooperating on the handover.
• Minimum term or penalties: whether a commitment has not yet run out.

If the contract is unclear or you do not have a copy, speak to a lawyer before terminating. The order is always: new provider signed with a start date, then notice to the old one.

1. Post orders: current, written and approved by you — not “whatever the last guard did”.
2. Keys and cards: logged item by item, handed over against signature, recovered from the old provider.
3. Alarm and access codes: change them on the day of the switch. Nothing the old provider knew should still work.
4. CCTV access: new accounts for the new provider, old ones removed.
5. Open incidents: anything pending (damage, complaints, repeat visitors) in writing, with dates.
6. Contact and escalation list: whom the guard calls, in what order, for what.
7. Parallel day: the new guard works at least one shift alongside the old guard or one of your own people.

The Hellenic Data Protection Authority states that Directive 1/2011 applies alongside the GDPR and Law 4624/2019, and that no permit or notification to the Authority is needed. Directive 1/2011 sets out:

• Retention (art. 8): if no incident occurs, footage is deleted within 15 working days at most. Footage of an incident against the controller may be kept 30 days, and of one involving a third party, 3 months.
• Signs (art. 12): clearly visible before anyone enters camera range, naming the controller, the purpose and who to contact about data-subject rights.
• No monitoring of employees: cameras may not be used to monitor or evaluate employees (art. 27 Law 4624/2019).

In practice: do not ask the old provider for “the whole archive”. Ask in writing which incident footage is being kept and why, how it is handed over, and for confirmation that the old access accounts were removed.

• Which guards will cover the post, and what are their work-licence numbers? Security staff need a personal work licence, category A or B, and the company reports to the police every month who works where (Law 2518/1997, arts 3 and 4).
• Which supervisor is responsible for the handover, and how do I reach them?
• When will the written post orders be ready for my approval?
• How will I see patrols, shift reports and incidents from the first day?
• What happens if the guard does not turn up on the first night?

More questions are in the guide questions to ask before signing, and the licence check is in how to check a security company’s licence.

• Week 1: did every shift start on time? Did a report arrive for every shift?
• Week 2: do the patrols cover every checkpoint, at every hour?
• Week 3: how did the guard handle the first real incident? How fast did you hear about it?
• Day 30: meet the supervisor, correct the post orders, agree the next quarter.

OVIT gives clients one live picture of patrols, incidents and reports on the Guardly platform, so the review runs on the same evidence the operations team sees. If you are planning a switch, ask for a proposal.