Vending machine responsibility
An article in the Morning Ad-vertiser last week described the trial of a vending machine for alcoholic drinks in a Whitbread restaurant chain.
I do not know full details, but I am sure the company has look-ed at the legal implications of this kind of sale, which has been tried in the past.
If a licensee installs a vending machine it does not relieve him from his obligations to comply with the various restrictions contained in the Licensing Act, regarding permitted hours and sales to children.
The machine should not be made available for sales outside the permitted hours that apply to the premises. In other words, it must be switched off at the terminal hour. If left on and a sale is made, the licensee is just as responsible as if he or one of his staff had served the customer personally.
The same applies to children, and it should be remembered that vending machines of this type cannot be selective about their patrons. The mere fact of posting a notice forbidding use by persons under 18 would not, in my view, be sufficient to let a licensee escape prosecution if the machine was used by children. The court would probably say that lack of supervision amounted to "turning a blind eye", which would in itself constitute an offence.
As far as I am aware, there is no direct permission necessary from the licensing committee to install such a machine, although they may have powers to forbid and restrict the use of such machines in premises over which they have control.
The case of hotel vending is different. Where vending machines are situated in parts of the premises reserved for residents, such as bedrooms or a residents' lounge, the restrictions on permitted hours do not apply.
These machines may, therefore, be used at any time of day or night by genuine hotel residents.
Hotel vending machines often do not require the insertion of money, and this, too, is perfectly legal. An automatic registering device monitors "purchases" in hotel rooms and these are added to the guest's bill at the end of his stay, which is perfectly legal under the licensing laws.
Remember, too, that if the premises only have a carry-over licence with restaurant or residential conditions, such machines may not be appropriate, bearing in mind their ability to be used by any person, whether resident, diner or casual visitor.
Q&A
Discrimination rules OK
Q. I have recently put up a notice in my pub concerning a golf competition, which is being run at a local club. On the notice it says that entry is restricted to male customers. Now I have been challenged that this is against the law. The golf club has different rules for male and female players. Am I OK? We also have a men's cribbage competition.
A. It must be remembered that the Sex Discrimination Act does affect the licensed trade in a number of ways with regard to the provision of goods or services, and also in advertising for staff. The Act does not apply completely to private members' clubs, but that is not strictly an issue here.
But there is a distinction made in the Act between certain types of activity, which does affect what you are currently doing. While the game of cribbage is not one where there is any degree of physical strength involved, golf is a sport where this would come into play and where, on average, the strength of a man would be considered different from that of a woman. Therefore, section 44 of the Act would apply to make a single-sex golf competition allowable. Your notice is, therefore, not against the law.
In contrast, cribbage competitions in the pub itself should be open to both sexes, because there is no logical reason, on grounds of different strength or any other exemption, to keep the sexes apart in this instance.
Red light warning
Q. At the licensing sessions we used to be asked who we could not serve and we were taught to say prostitutes and police in uniform. The magistrates seemed to think that was right, but I remember an article of yours a couple of years ago that said it wasn't true about prostitutes under the new law.
A. You remember correctly. The law in this regard has been widely misunderstood for many years and in spite of several articles on the subject it seems to be going on even now.
The old law said that prostitutes should not be allowed to "assemble" on licensed premises, and that the licensee should not knowingly allow the pub to be "the habitual resort or place of meeting" for such persons, whether or not they were actually soliciting at the time.
But there was a specific concession in the same section, which effectively made it lawful to serve prostitutes with refreshments. The section stated that it did not prohibit the licensee "allowing any such persons to remain in the premises for the purpose of obtaining reasonable refreshment, for such time as is necessary for that purpose".
In spite of this, incoming licensees used to chant the prohibition as if it was law, and the same with police officers.
I am glad to say that both restrictions are now buried in the past. They were not repeated in the 2003 Act and so there is no direct offence involved in serving refreshments to either police or prostitutes.
Patio not a bar
Q. We have recently covered and heated a patio outside the main bar. Is it the case that families can use this area, even with children under 14?
A. I assume from what you say that your licence still contains the "child restrictions" carried over from the previous law, which is a great shame. The current law would allow any accompanied children under 16 to be both in the bar and your new extension without any special permission. However, if the under-14 restriction still continues on your licence, you are right to say that families can use the new area, not being part of the bar, and can bring drinks through to sit with their children.
Now might be the time to consider removing the obsolete under-14 condition under the minor variations procedure.
