by John Harrington
Bar and nightclub operators could be on collision course with their bar managers after the manager's union defied the views of most nightclub firms by coming out in favour of the British Beer & Pub Association's (BBPA) code of conduct for drinks promotions.
Dave Daley, president of the 3,500-strong National Associa-tion of Licensed House Managers (NALHM), has warned of "serious repercussions" for operators that try to force managers to run deals that break the BBPA code.
Last week, the Morning Adver-tiser reported that the Bar Enter-tainment & Dance Association (BEDA), which represents mainly late-night operators, is set to defy the BBPA by not signing up to its "unworkable" code.
Daley said that a number of NALHM members had contacted him expressing fears that their licence could be in jeopardy if they run a promotion that goes against the code. This follows warnings last month from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Local Government Association (LGA) that they would target venues that didn't adhere to its edicts.
Daley said: "Why should we risk our licence [by not sticking to the code]? It's as if the personal licence doesn't matter. But we are on the front line. We are the first people to get cautioned by the police. We are squarely behind the code. We want to be included in the process but they are leaving us out."
He added: "Some businesses are disregarding the position of those holding personal licences. We are working closely with the councils and police because we know our personal licence is in jeopardy if we don't."
Although he ruled out the use of strike action at this stage, Daley said the union would offer "total support" to a manager who is sacked or disciplined for refusing to run a drinks promotion that goes against the BBPA code. "NALHM members will not be bullied into discounting drinks," he said.
BBPA defends new code
The British Beer & Pub Association has defended its code on happy hours and promotions after coming under fire from the Sunday Times for being ignored by some its members.
The paper visited 100 pubs around the country and found that 39 still had drinks promotions and claimed 17 were defying the new guidelines. This included BBPA member Regent Inns. The paper claimed that one Walkabout was offering half-price snakebites before 7pm on Sundays. It also said Jongleurs in Reading was offering students a two-for-one offer on buckets of bottled beer and jugs of draught beer on Thursday nights.
However, director of communications Mark Hastings said that the paper had not fully understood the code. "I think they misunderstood the fact that it was not a ban on all promotional activity," he said.
"I asked the Sunday Times to bring me details of where there were breaches so we could investigate them. So far, I have not received any evidence. It shows, in effect, it is not an issue. It is just promotional activity."