Safety fears over shift managers' attitudes

by John Harrington

Managed pub and bar operators are risking the safety of their venues by employing up to five managers working in shifts, rather than live-in licensees.

That is the view of National Pubwatch operations executive Bill Stone. He said managers on shifts were less likely to report incidents of disorder because they have less of a vested interest in the pub than the live-in licensee or manager.

'The old-style licensee had a vested interest to make sure the premises were well controlled.

'Because of the structure of shift managers, if trouble starts half an hour before they leave they think, 'I'm not going to deal with it'.

Stone blamed the high number of instances of disorder at a managed pub in his home town of Folkestone, Kent, on the increasing use of managers working in shifts.

The use of shift managers could rise if the European Union succeeds in its plan to scrap Britain's opt-out from the Working Time Directive, which limits the working week for employees to 48 hours.

Stone's view was supported by National Association of Licensed House Managers president Dave Daley, manager of Laurel's Cahoots bar in Blackpool.

'In some places you can have four or five shift managers and not one knows what the other is doing, Daley said.

'It waters the job down by having three shift managers. There's a 'couldn't care less' attitude. They hand over a bunch of keys and say, 'I'm off'. They don't do their job properly; it's just, '48 hours a week, £20,000 a year, thank you very much'.

But British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) director of communications Mark Hastings said: 'I don't think there's any evidence to support [the claim] at all. Shift managers work in many other sectors where they take their responsibility seriously. There's no reason why they shouldn't do so in pubs.

Bar Entertainment & Dance Association chief executive Jon Collins said it was normal for nightclubs to have a single manager on shift during peak hours.

'It a slightly different issue for us because we trade for fewer hours, he added.