Licensing Responsibilities
In order to work shifts at certain venues, those hirers need to ensure you understand your responsibilities under licensing laws by asking you to complete a short quiz. Here is the guidance to help you do that.
How licensing law works👇
Legal drinking age
Customers must be 18 years old in order to buy alcohol. 🙅🏻♀️There are no exceptions to this.
Who is responsible
👉 You (the server of alcohol) is responsible for ensuring that you do not serve alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.
So what?
If you serve alcohol to a person who is under 18, you commit a criminal offence. Both you and the hirer you are working for could be prosecuted. If you are caught selling alcohol to someone underage, you could receive a minimum of a 💵 £90 fine (but this is unlimited by law) and end up with a criminal record. The business you are working for could also be closed. 😨
How to prevent underage drinking and gambling👇
Challenge 21 🆔
If you believe someone could be 21 or under, then ask them for ID.
What ID can you accept?
You can accept any of the following ID provided it shows that the holder is over 18: (a) International passport; (b) UK/EU driver's licence; (c) proof of age card with the PASS hologram; or (d) military ID card. All of these IDs need to show the holder is over 18, must not be tampered with and show a photograph of the person attempting to buy the alcohol. ❌🥸
What if the customer cannot show valid ID?
You must refuse service 👎. If you need the support of another member of staff, then you should not hesitate to ask for it.
What about groups of customers?
It is still an offence to allow someone to consume alcohol on licensed premise if they are not 18. That means, you must ask for ID from anyone in a group who may be consuming alcohol who looks 21 or under. 👦🏼
What is proxy selling?
Proxy selling is where someone over the age of 18 buys alcohol for someone under the age of 18. If you see someone consuming alcohol on premises who looks under 21, you should ask for their ID as if they were buying the alcohol from you. If they are unable to provide that ID, then you should inform the manager of the venue. 🙋🏻♀️
Preventing underage gambling🎰
It is against the law for people under the age of 18 to play (or participate with an adult in playing) on gaming machines and their use must therefore be supervised; if a player looks under 21 you must ask for proof of age ID.
Preventing drunkenness👇
👩⚖️The law
It is illegal to sell alcohol to someone who is drunk and you have a legal duty to refuse them service. If you serve someone alcohol who is already drunk, then you could face a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.
How do you tell if someone is drunk?
There are some common examples or symptoms of drunkenness: loss of co-ordination, slurred speech, shouting, slow reactions, staggering and glazed eyes 😵💫. However, please remember that some of these symptoms could also be connected with a condition or disability so make sure you consider this when dealing with customers.
How to refuse service ✅
You should calmly refuse service and explain why. If you need support from other members of staff, then you should not hesitate to ask for it. At all times, you must inform the duty manager on the shift where you have refused service.
Guidance on measures
There are legal requirements surrounding the measures that specific alcoholic drinks can be served in. Gin, rum, vodka and whiskey are sold in 25ml or 50ml measures. Wine 🍷 sold by the glass is sold in 125ml, 175ml or 250ml. Fortified wine such as port or sherry is sold in 50ml measures. Draught beer and cider is sold in pints or half pints.
Always serve a correct measure. It is an offence to serve an under measure. For beers and lagers 🍺, the head must be no more that 5% of the total liquid. If a guest requests a “top up” due to the amount of head after being served their drink, you should fill up the glass until they are satisfied. If using a thimble measure for wine or spirits, it must be full to the brim and poured in the guest’s view. Do not add anything to a drink unless a guest requests it.
Passing off is illegal – this is where a guest may ask for a specific product (e.g. Coca Cola) and they are given something different without knowing (e.g. Pepsi). 🥤You must always tell the guest if their requested brand isn’t available and offer an alternative.
Licensed premises must always offer the smallest available measure of alcohol where the customer does not specify. For draft beer and cider, that's a half pint. For glasses of wine, that's 125ml and for spirits 🥃, that's 25ml. You should always, once a customer orders a drink, ask for clarification if they have not stated the measure. For example, if a customer says "a lager please", you should ask if they'd like a pint or half.