By Niall Hassard
Consider this your annual reminder about staying on the right side of the law this Festive Season.
Previous articles have reminded licensees to check their Licensing Board’s Festive Extensions Policy. Often decided and published online in September/October the extensions vary significantly from Board to Board.
Some are blanket General Extensions whilst others require applications or notifications to the Licensing Board. The Festive trading period is so important for premises – make sure you know what your maximum trading hours are.
The main focus of this article is handling the hospitality headaches that come with peak Festive trading.
Customers in high spirits
Tis the season to be jolly but the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 creates a number of offences around drunkenness and disorderly conduct. You and your staff need to be trained to spot the signs of over intoxication and have policies in place to refuse service.
There is no legal definition of ‘drunkenness’ but visible indicators include challenges with – speech, balance, coordination, physical appearance and attitude.
Remember it is an offence to sell alcohol to a drunk person. Accordingly, you should refuse service to patrons who are, based on your assessment and application of your policies, drunk.
It can be challenging to refuse service but follow the three steps below:
Empathise – Blame the Law – Offer Alternatives.
“I understand you’re having a great night, but under our licensing laws, I cannot legally serve you any more alcohol tonight. I can get you a soft drink or help you book a taxi.”
Once service is refused spread the word to all staff and management. Log it in the refusals register and monitor the individual and any persons they are with.
If another member of their party tries to buy alcohol for the drunk person they are committing an offence. It may therefore require you to refuse service to the entire party to avoid proxy purchases. Alternatively, the individual or group may need to be asked to leave.
Refusal to leave licensed premises when asked to do so by a member of staff or management is an offence and, as such, Police Scotland can be called to assist if required.
Staff drinks
Two main pitfalls can arise when the generous customer says “have yourself a merry little Christmas – and get yourself a drink…”
Firstly, it is an offence for the premises manager and anyone else who is working on the premises to be drunk on the premises. For this reason, most venues have a zero tolerance for alcohol consumption on shift.
The second pitfall is having the staff drink after the premises is cleared and closed. It is an offence to allow either the sale or the consumption of alcohol outwith licensed hours. Accordingly, any consumption (including staff drinks) should only be during the permitted licensing hours.
Family groups
It’s the most wonderful time of the year to go out for a meal with family and celebrate. When family groups are in for a meal parents/guardians may wish to order their young person a drink. The law permits 16 and 17-year-olds to drink beer, wine, cider, or perry with a meal. It must be bought by an adult and is subject to the manager’s discretion.
Christmas party nights
Rocking around the Christmas tree can generate noise complaints from neighbours especially if the premises is trading later than usual. Be proactive rather than reactive.
• Check your licence for any conditions or restrictions on noise or events
• Notify neighbours of your events and provide a direct dial number which is monitored so you can deal immediately with concerns
• Create a noise management plan and if you are having significant entertainment consider obtaining advice from an acoustic expert. Having the right equipment to control and monitor noise can be less costly than you think. Much of the equipment can be hired
• Record any complaints and the actions taken contemporaneously in case the issues escalate to the LSO or EHO.
Special Christmas activities
Last Christmas a number of clients wanted to host special events. Two that needed some preplanning were Christmas markets and film screenings.
For any market activity which sees multiple sellers coming together to retail goods/services to the public a Market Operators Licence is required. Christmas craft markets are a great driver of footfall for premises but speak to your licensing solicitor well in advance as the application process can take 8–12 weeks.
Showing The Muppet Christmas Carol or It’s a Wonderful Life can add a dimension to the atmosphere in December but generally you need a cinema licence if you are going to offer public screenings. There is an exemption for ‘occasional screenings’ if a venue is used for film exhibitions exceptionally and on no more than six days in any calendar year. However, advance notice must be provided to benefit from the exemption.
Christmas is a great time for the licensed trade but brings its challenges. By planning ahead and knowing the law it should be a case of Merry Xmas Everybody!
The advice offered in SLTN is published for information only. No responsibility for loss occasioned by persons acting or refraining from action as a result of material contained on this page or elsewhere in SLTN can be accepted by the author or publisher.
