Door opens to a new era of responsibility

Alongside the huge changes in licensing, recent months have seen a virtual revolution in an industry that is becoming increasingly important to the trade.

For many, the age of the sometimes thuggish "bouncer" working the door is finally on its way out. This is thanks to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) doorstaff registration scheme that became compulsory across the country almost a year ago.

Meanwhile, later pub opening ushered in by the Licensing Act has created more demand than ever for the boys (and girls) in suits.

SIA scheme was a fraught affair

The implementation of the SIA scheme was something of a fraught affair, and many in the trade feared swathes of doorstaff would leave the industry. This was either as a result of the high cost of a getting a licence - around £450 for three years, including training - or because applicants had to pass a criminal-record check.

Administration also caused a headache. When the scheme became compulsory last April, the SIA said it had received 64% of applications from its estimated total of 46,000. Only 34% of doorstaff held a licence.

The SIA blamed the industry for dragging its feet, while security companies and the licensed trade pointed to big delays in processing applications and sending out badges.

In several areas, delays in issuing badges meant police chose not to prosecute doorstaff who had not received their licence, so long as they could prove they had applied.

But for SIA spokesman Robert Buxton, any initial teething problems are over.

The body has now issued 41,000 licences to door supervisors. Buxton says the backlog is being cleared and around 24,000 licences are being processed each week, up from a low of 8,000.

New people are also being attracted to the industry, with around 4,000 applications received each week.

Buxton adds the launch of the SIA's Approved Contractor Scheme - in which chosen security firms can deploy up to 15% of SIA-accredited doorstaff while their applications are being processed - will also speed up the administration process.

Phil Burke, spokesman for the Manchester Pub and Club Network, says the acute shortage of licensed doorstaff in the city has now abated.

PR war is being won by doorstaff

Last summer Burke said around 40% of doorstaff had not received their badges. But he told the MA this week: "All badges have been issued."

The aim of the registration scheme was to make doorstaff more professional and improve their image in the eyes of the public - and Buxton says the PR war is being won.

"Very rarely are door supervisors called bouncers now," he says. "We usually hear very positive stories about doorstaff working with licensees and in taxi ranks. And there is more interaction between doorstaff and police.

"The industry is certainly changing."

Bar Entertainment and Dance Association (BEDA) chief executive Jon Collins supports Buxton's view that the worst is over. The issue has not been raised by BEDA members in recent months.

Although Collins says delays are still occurring, he adds: "Certainly from talking to the guys around the committee table it looks pretty calm out there."

Collins also notes the evolution of the doorstaff away from the "bouncer" image has been helped by the SIA scheme.

"Different types of people are being attracted - there are more students and female door supervisors. In the past five years there's been an up-lift. The SIA has helped build on that trend."

Collins says wage increases for door staff generally varied from around 10% to 20%. There was, though, a chronic shortage in some areas, where wages doubled almost overnight.

However, Steve Hawkins, chairman of the Leeds City Licensing Association and owner of the city's Oracle bar, says the rise of the new-style door supervisor is a double-edged sword.

"We are getting a larger cross-section of people being doormen. It's not a bad thing in some ways, but you can end up with people who are very inexperienced. We are getting rid of the old guard who know how to do the job but don't fit into the new regime."

Licence delay still on-going

Security companies are still reporting delays in being sent licences. Fred Steward, director of Cambridge-based Hyline Security, says 65 of the firm's doorstaff have been approved for an SIA licence but have not received their badge.

Buxton says it takes six weeks to be sent a badge, but Steward says the wait varies between eight and 12 weeks.

"The quality of staff is better. It's the waiting time that is killing us," says Steward, whose company supplies 450 doorstaff nationally.

Steward highlights a major change as a result of the dual revolutions of the SIA scheme and licensing reform - higher doorstaff wages.

The shortage of licensed doorstaff has meant security firms can charge higher hourly wages. And more venues opening late means greater demand, which again pushes up prices.

Steward says hourly wages for doorstaff now range from around £7 to £12 an hour, an increase of between £1.50 and £2.50 on pre-SIA levels.

Licensees and operators contacted by the MA also pointed to steep wage hikes for supervisors.

Dave Daly, manager at Cahoots in Blackpool, says door supervisors in the town typically cost between £14 and £16, up around £2 to £3. Doorstaff currently cost the venue around £1,000 a week - but the amount is expected to double when it opens until 4am from the spring.

Daly reckons the SIA licensing scheme has forced around 30% of doorstaff out of the industry. He welcomes the fact "thugs" are being weeded out, but admits: "Some towns are suffering through lack of security."

He adds: "The jury is still out on whether

they are a better class of doorman than they were last year."

For Roger Parker, managing director of Wigan-based Marbury Restaurants and Taverns, the cost of doorstaff has increased by 30%. One of the company's outlets saw doorstaff costs rise by £450.

Parker puts the increase down to later opening, with some of the company's pubs trading an extra two hours at weekends.

The company mitigates the cost of doorstaff by charging admission fees.

Interpub retail director Eddie Passey says Brighton is the most expensive place for doorstaff but in general "there is not a lot of variation". He bemoans the fact a lot of the company's good doorstaff disappeared as a result of the SIA scheme.

"It's a seller's market now," says Passie. "We are looking to put all security in-house but I don't think it's feasible."

Hosts counting the cost in premises licence battle

Licensees at small, trouble-free pubs have been left stunned to discover they must hire doorstaff as a condition of their new premises licences.

Josh Dunkley, freehold licensee of the Crown in Penzance, Cornwall, was told he must deploy a door supervisor 12 hours a day throughout the whole six months of British summertime.

He got the condition overturned by magistrates after a £6,500 legal challenge.

The council wanted the doorman to ensure customers keep quiet in the garden.

"It is ridiculous," says Dunkley. "At no point in the SIA training does it talk about noise control."

Two hosts in Marple Bridge, near Stockport in Greater Manchester, were told they must hire doorstaff if they wanted to open after 11pm.

Karl Guare, of the Royal Scot pub, got the restriction overturned by magistrates last month, although the case cost him more than £2,000.

"It's only a small pub. We are lucky if we get 60 people in here and we don't get trouble. Fortunately the magistrates looked at the facts."

But Mark Singleton, of the nearby Hatters Arms, says he couldn't face the cost of a legal challenge.

Singleton estimates doorstaff would cost him £15 an hour, and because they would want to work for at least a four-hour shift, the overall cost could reach £100 per night.

So he decided to get himself an SIA licence, and operates the door after 11pm.

The host says he has no