Q&A
Licence may not be needed
Q. I've worked in the licensed trade for a number of years and have now applied for a job as steward with a large social club. I hold the NCPLH and a personal licence. What is the legal position if I go to work for the club? Will I hold the club licence, or become the designated premises supervisor (DPS)? There are other staff which I will be responsible for.
A. The first thing you need to
find out is what kind of permission for the supply of alcohol this club has.
If you have worked exclusively in the pub trade, you may not be aware that apart from a premises licence there is also what is known as a club premises certificate. This took over from club registration on transition, and it is effectively the same system that members' clubs previously had. The main difference is that the licensing authority is now responsible for such clubs, instead of the local magistrates.
A club that holds a club premises certificate is exempt from the requirement to have a DPS or to have sales made or authorised by the holder of a personal licence. It is considered that the committee collectively is responsible for the supply of alcohol to members, guests and visitors, and no further technical qualification is needed.
However, a number of stewards do have personal licences, and there is an increasing number of clubs that have switched to licensed status and now have a premises licence instead of a certificate. If this is the case, then your personal licence will be vital to the job for which you have applied.
Children in off-sales department
Q. Does the new under-16 rule about unaccompanied children apply to the whole pub? We have an off-licence/shop section where children often come for soft drinks, snacks and sweets.
A. The under-16 rule is specifically aimed at bars, although the word is not used in the Act. It merely says that it applies to premises "exclusively or primarily used for supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises".
This clearly cannot mean the whole of the physical premises, whether alcohol is supplied for consumption or not. It means the bars. An off-sales department is not used for consumption, it is distinct and separate from the bar, and unaccompanied children may, therefore, be allowed entry, at the behest of the licensee.
But the law on selling alcohol to such minors is strict and strictly enforced. If you do have youngsters in during the day, you would be wise to have stringent precautions in place.
Home address of DPS
Q. Following a recent exchange with the police about premises supervision, we have been told that the home address of the designated premises supervisor (DPS) must be available to officers at all times. We find this an invasion of privacy, especially if they expect it to be posted up in the pub for all to see. Is this a legal requirement?
A. This situation seems to have got slightly out of hand. The role of the DPS is to be a first point of contact if there is any problem over the management of the premises. It follows that the police may well wish to talk to the DPS as soon as they can, so some form of contact details need to be available.
However, this is very different from suggesting those details have to form part of the statutory notices, or should be posted up, unless that has been made a condition of the licence, which seems highly unlikely. The police are given information about the DPS and any changes as a matter of law, so they should have contact details already, as I have recently commented.
