I have heard it said that the Olympics may be a bit like the Millennium Bug, which actually turned out to be not as dramatic as everybody first anticipated. However, making sure that your staff and your licence are all present and correct for trading is a sensible idea.
Going through your licence one last time to check it gives you the necessary permissions and hours you want would be prudent. Housekeeping is key: make sure your designated premises supervisor is correct and check all the other details. Ensure your licence is on display and make sure all the team know what days you have temporary event notices (TENs) for and how you intend to operate during the Olympic period.
While it might be too late to apply for some changes, there are still opportunities out there given the Olympic period runs until 9 September when the Paralympics close.
The Government’s recent legislative changes on temporary event notices means that there are still opportunities to obtain TENs for the latter part of the Games. While it is too late to get TENs for the first week of the Games late TENs, which only need five working days’ notice, may provide you with an opportunity for extra trade.
Now that it is a legal requirement for all premises selling alcohol to have policies in place in relation to underage sales, it is worth having a discussion with your staff and your local police licensing officer as to how to deal with the fact that there will be many visitors to the premises who are from overseas and may not understand what a Challenge 21 policy is.
Further, staff will need to be given training on how to deal with accepting foreign identification as they may not be used to seeing passports from all over the world. Many premises licences have specific conditions requiring identification to be in the form of passport or UK driving licence and, therefore, the exact wording should be checked.
In addition, don’t forget the other mandatory conditions and make sure you have free drinking water available and small wine measures. Any drinks promotions will need to ensure that they do not fall foul of the irresponsible drinks promotions conditions.
The issue of night-time deliveries has already been in the spotlight as it affects many premises in London, but suffice to say if your premises falls on the Olympic Route Network and you are forced to have night-time deliveries, it is strongly recommended that you comply with the best practice guide for quiet deliveries, which was developed in partnership with the Noise Abatement Society and the Freight Transport Association.
With potentially higher footfall both into and past licensed premises, in particular near Olympic venues, additional risk assessments may be needed to ensure that you have everything in order to deal with potentially larger capacity crowds. Also make sure your fire risk assessment is up to date and that all your staff understand the safe capacity limits.
Finally, the Olympic Games may well displace the many workers who travel in and out of London who will work from home during the games period — so watch out if your premises is in the London commuter belt, as there may well be further opportunities to be had.