THE GUV'NOR

Bernard Brindley

The BII's code of practice benchmarking scheme is a real landmark, says the licensee of the White Lion in Pailton, Warwickshire

As you have already seen on the front page of the Morning Advertiser, the long-awaited accreditation of Codes of Practice has been launched by the independent and unbiased BII.

This is a real landmark for today's licensees and pubcos and should be embraced by all those that it affects.

Four companies have so far had their codes accredited, initially as part of a pilot scheme and then for full approval. The whole process has taken about 18 months to go live as it was essential to get it right the first time as this will be the most important basis for a fair and transparent business relationship between pubcos and licensees, especially for newcomers into the industry but also equally important for existing licensees.

To make the scheme work satisfactorily, clarity and transparency are the two main ingredients. Best practice has been used to create a template for all codes of practice and can be added to at any time with approval from the accreditation panel.

The main function of the panel, which is made up of leading industry experts but not pubco employees, has been to make sure all transactions from rent negotiation, dilapidation, assignments, training, the tie and the split of machine income have all been clearly written and a full transparent explanation has been given. It will then down to the BDMs, of whom some will have to be retrained, and the licensees, who also will have to be transparent, to work together to create a successful business partnership for both parties.

If however, you feel that this cannot be achieved or you are being let down by your company you should seek an immediate appointment with a regional director and if the problem can still not be resolved and you feel that the code has been broken then you are entitled to bring it to the attention of the accreditation panel who will in return police the process and advise accordingly.

As a lease holder myself I am fully aware of the many pitfalls in our industry and, therefore, hope that this accreditation of the codes and the policing of it will go a long way to make our hard work and dedication to our trade and customers a lot fairer and profitable for all.

But don't forget transparency and fairness is essential from both parties.