With Christmas fast approaching, it’s time to start preparing for the festive season. Stocking up on food and drink may be top of the to-do list, but Walaiti Rathore, from Fraser Brown’s Licensing Team has some additional jobs that should be completed before December comes round.
“Christmas is a busy time of year and it’s obviously important that menus, staffing and offers are all in place in plenty of time. However don’t forget to check your Licence to ensure it authorises:
· All the activities you’d like to provide over the festive period and
· Permits you to open for as long as you require over Christmas.
“Anything that you don’t usually offer, such as live music or dancing for example, may not be covered by your current license. Consider whether you’d like to provide these things within your venue – if so you need to apply for either a permanent variation to your Premises Licence, or issue a Temporary Event Notice.
“When you’re checking what activities are covered in your Licence, remember to also confirm that the hours specified for licensable activities and opening will meet your requirements over this year’s festive period. All hours are contained in the Premises Licence and if they’re not there, you will not have them.
“If there has been a change in staff, make sure that a current Personal Licence Holder is named as the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS). If they have left, put in an immediate application to replace them – this can be made to take effect straight away. And although it is unlikely, remember that if the DPS is going to be away for a prolonged period over Christmas, they must leave written authorisation delegating responsibility for day to day management of the premises to someone else.
“While we are on the subject of staff, if you are going to be taking on additional temporary employees over the next few months then you must make sure they are given written authorisation to sell alcohol by a Personal Licence Holder.
“Equally as important is ensuring that any new members of staff, temporary or permanent, are given sufficient training. With the current crackdown on underage sales and serving drunks, they should understand the need for responsible retailing of alcohol – as well as related legislation such as the smoking ban. Failure to do so could result in a fine, and in the worse case even closure – something that no-one wants at this busy time.
“Also important is the issue of noise, something that has been touched on in this column earlier in the year. Anyone smoking outside, or leaving premises late at night should be encouraged to keep noise down. If you haven’t already, it may be advisable to display notices asking customers to respect the rights of those living in the area, and also try to build relationships with your neighbours, especially any particularly sensitive residents.
“If you decide to offer live music or other entertainment, then remember you have a legal duty to protect your workers’ hearing, either by restricting their exposure to the noise or providing hearing protection.
“Christmas should be a busy time for licensees – by preparing fully and checking in advance you can make sure it’s busy for the right reasons.”
For more information about Fraser Brown’s licensing services, visit www.fraserbrown.co.uk , or telephone 0115 9 888 777.
Fraser Brown is a dynamic law practice working at premises in Nottinghamshire through its branches in Nottingham, Radcliffe on Trent and Bingham.
Its philosophy is to deliver superior legal advice through a personal and highly professional service for both commercial and private clients. Since 1990, Fraser Brown has acquired eight established and respected local firms as part of its major growth strategy for doing business in the 21st Century.
Fraser Brown is one of the region's longest established firms of solicitors. Over the last 12 months, it has experienced significant growth in areas such as property, contract work, construction and general litigation.