A new book for licensees aimed at tackling the red tape surrounding health and safety laws has been launched.
The Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations (FLVA) has put together the 58-page book in order to help licensees cope with the increasing amount of legislation they deal with on a daily basis.
And it is also planning a training programme to supplement the book and assist licensees in passing the important information on to their barstaff.
"It's to clarify things for the licensees," said Tony Payne, chief executive of the FLVA.
"They have responsibility for a lot of things now and this is to help them pass the right information on to their staff."
The book begins with information on risk assessments and health and safety policy. It explains the licensees' responsibilities and also has information such as useful phone numbers and general arrangements for health and safety.
As well as general information, however, the book contains vital details about specific situations licensees and their staff could find themselves in.
The health and safety of young people as well as pregnant women and new mothers is covered and there is extensive information on smoking policy to protect both staff and customers.
Food hygiene, kitchen safety, electricity and manual handling are all included in the book which also contains information about other areas specific to the licensed trade.
There is a list of potential hazards that licensees should be aware of and facts about cleaning beer pumps, the cellar area and carbon dioxide guidance, beer gardens and bars and barstaff.
Essential forms, such as those for hazards and risk assessments, are also included.
The book will be released in the next few weeks and in the meantime the FLVA is busy developing the training course that will run alongside it.
"It will be an in-depth training course to go with the book," said Mr Payne. "We want to design it so licensees can train their own staff in-house, which will save them time and money."