Legal advice: Disorder fantasies

On-the-spot fines for barstaff serving drunk customers can have serious implications for a pub's future licence.

By Niall McCann of thePublican.com's team of legal experts from London solicitors Joelson Wilson.​

Imagine this scenario. In early spring, Tony, head in hands, heard Big Ben chime. "Four am," he thought, "and the only people awake at this hour are either enjoying facilities provided by way of a public entertainment licence, gaming licence or private members' exemption." Yet here he was worrying about the polls and gains being made by the Conservatives.

It was left to Charles to break the news the next day. "Are you thinking what we're thinking?" he enquired. Tony looked blank. "What does the public love and the Daily Mail craves?" asked Charles. "Apart from amendments to the new Licensing and Gaming Acts that is?"

Suddenly, the rest of the assembled team cried out in unison: "A bloody good crackdown of course!"

"Of course!" Tony cried. "But surely we've cracked down on every section of society who can't or won't vote." Then it came to him. Crack down on teenagers - universally disliked for their questionable body odour and too apathetic to vote even if of sufficient age. And why not have a pop at binge-drinkers at the same time - the scourge of the working classes who are so important in maintaining low interest rates and a strong economy?

And thus, through that moment of inspiration, additional policies were born.

Or, alternatively, and the more likely scenario, through careful consultation with the relevant bodies and after thorough discussions at the Home Office, two new penalty notices for disorder came to be introduced on April 4, 2005. These are:

• A £50 on-the-spot fine for under-18s who buy alcohol. This is an attempt by the government to strengthen the current "No ID no sale" policy. Quite how teenagers will be able to afford £50 fines when they can barely afford cigarettes to accompany their alcopops I'm not quite sure.
• An £80 on-the-spot fine for anyone who sells alcohol to a drunken person. Needless to say this is once again putting the onus on those in the licensed trade to ensure good practice and neatly ties in with Tony Blair's recent drive to curb "yobbish" behaviour.

These two new penalty notices add to those introduced by the Criminal Justice & Police Act 2001. This Act was passed in an attempt to deal with anti-social nuisance offences in a quick and efficient manner and covers a wide range of offences from throwing fireworks to making false 999 calls.

Once a penalty notice has been issued the recipient must, within 21 days, pay the amount shown on the notice or request a court hearing.

As payment of the fine does not lead to a criminal record, an incentive to pay is believed to exist. However, any barstaff served with a penalty notice should consider taking urgent legal advice because there may well be good grounds to resist paying.

And paying the fine will be regarded by the police as an admission that alcohol was sold to a drunk, which could endanger the justices licence itself - or, in due course, licences issued under the new Licensing Act.

It is essential for licensees to have a policy in respect of who can and cannot be served, and then to ensure that policy is followed, not only to avoid a penalty notice but also to ensure that a valuable licence is not put a risk.