Licensee will reward staff who pass test-purchasing test

A licensee claims he is "turning the law on its head" by rewarding staff who pass test-purchasing stings with £80 in cash.

When barstaff refuse sales to under-18s during test purchasing, licensee Graham Mustow says he will frogmarch them to the nearest cashpoint, and pay them the sum ­ equivalent to the fixed-penalty fine for selling to children ­ as a reward.

And he is actively urging police and trading standards officers to carry out an underage testing operation at his Punch tenancy, the Masons Arms in Frome, Somerset, so he can put the policy to the test.

Graham told thepublican.com: "We're all being threatened by the Big Brother attitude these days, and no-one's saying anything positive about pubs. So I said to my team, let's turn this thing on its head ­ if you catch them trying to catch you out, I'll pay you the £80!"

Graham said the theatre of going straight to the cashpoint would have a real impact on staff ­ and added that he was fully committed to the policy after putting it in writing in his latest newsletter to his 15 full and part-time staff.

"To make it work I want test purchasing to be carried out in my pub. It¹s important to show that this is not an empty promise," he added.

Jason Kirkwood, team leader for licensing at Mendip District Council, praised the licensee for thinking positively about the issue.

"It's very clear that the management of the Masons Arms is making the issue of not serving alcohol to children a really high priority," he said.

"This is a great incentive for staff to take the issue equally seriously. It should be an effective deterrent against such sales happening in future."