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No licence to display
QCan we be prosecuted if we are not displaying our premises licence because we have not yet received it from the council?
AAlthough it is a legal requirement under the new Act to display a summary of the premises licence, this particular document can only be supplied by the relevant licensing authority. If they have not done so, for whatever reason, you cannot comply with the law and you would have a valid defence to any charge of this type.
But who is going to prosecute you? I know that in some areas the police have made announcements to this effect, but not where they know the council has delayed issuing them. It would be a pointless exercise.
Signing rights away
QWe have been offered what appears to be a good tenancy, but the company's estate manager has informed us that in order to take this tenancy we must sign away our rights under the landlord and tenant laws. Surely we cannot do this as we would have no redress. Isn't this against human rights law?
ANo, this arrangement would not in itself breach human rights legislation as it is part of an arrangement requiring the consent of both parties to disapply certain provisions of the law, for what is perceived to be a benefit to both sides.
Section 38 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 specifically provides for the court to assent to a joint application by the landlord and tenant to disapply the protection of the Act in certain circumstances. It is widely used in the licensed trade, so that the terms of the actual lease with regard to renewal and the giving of notice are paramount.
It is up to you as the tenant to ensure that there are necessary safeguards in the lease itself, and you may think it wise to consult a solicitor with regard to the actual terms being offered.
Youngsters behind bar
QWe have recently been told that the over-18 rule has been scrapped with regard to bar staff and that we could employ youngsters, including our own son, who is 16, to serve drinks in certain circumstances. Is this right?
AThe previous Licensing Act prohibited young persons under the age of 18 from working in a bar, whatever kind of work they carried out. So many people in the trade continued with the notion that even collecting glasses or stocking shelves was not allowed for most youngsters. The only exception was for those aged over 16 who were on an approved training scheme, of which the Modern Apprentice Scheme was the most common.
But your informant is correct. This has all been scrapped under the 2003 Act. There is no direct prohibition on the employment of young people under 18 in a bar, mainly because the word "bar" has also been removed from the legislation. What replaces it, to some extent, is a section headed "Prohibition of unsupervised sales by children" which makes it an offence for a young person to sell alcohol, or supply it in a members' club, unless the sale has been "specifically approved" by a relevant adult.
The use of that wording means that each and every sale made by the young person must be approved. It is not possible to give a form of blanket permission at the start of the session, or to leave the young person alone to make any sale of alcohol. As in supermarkets, the actual "nod" must be given by the responsible adult.
The prohibition does not apply to young waiters and waitresses in restaurants or restaurant areas of pubs, who may wait at tables, take drink orders and serve them to tables.
