Don’t leave your front line exposed

24-Feb-2012 - Last updated on 11-Mar-2017 at 18:18 GMT

Related tags Door supervisors License Supervisor

'Make sure you have full-time door staff in place before the Olympics', says Michael Kheng

It is interesting that the Security Industry Authority (SIA) is visiting licensees and authorities warning of the possibility of a shortage of door supervisors during the 2012 Olympics. As reported in last week’s PMA, G4S looks set to recruit around 10,000 registered door supervisors (who must have been registered for two years) for around six weeks.

Although many hosts may get assurances from their door supervisor suppliers, the attraction of a high rate of pay may see some supervisors opting for the quick buck.

If your premises licence states you must have door supervisors and you are unable to obtain any, your only legal option is to close.

Could a variation of your premises licence be negotiated? I doubt it. All police leave has been cancelled during the same period so police resources may also be deployed to Olympic sites, leaving the local beats stretched, so the police will be looking for all the support they can get.

You might be able to threaten your current door supervisors by saying if they leave you for the best part of the summer you will not employ them again, but if you are in an area where there is not an abundance of door supervisors then you might not have much option but to re-employ them.

An SIA representative attended a recent Pubwatch meeting in Skegness and licensees were horrified at the prospect of being left with no door supervisors and not having any options but to close if they could not find replacements.

One licensee said he was thinking of putting some of his barstaff through the door supervisor training, with Kurnia, to ensure that, should a problem arise, he could cover it.

Remember though if you decide to do this then, as an employer, you will have to be registered as a non-front line door supervisor as a minimum. All this adds costs and paperwork to your business.

What does seem crazy is that the Government is introducing a scheme called ‘Bridging the Gap’ that will permit students that have received training and undergone a CRB check to work at Olympic sites.

What the Government is saying is it’s OK for a student to do some rush training and get a CRB and then work, but a qualified, registered door supervisor who has only been licensed for a year and a half and has maybe worked in some of the busiest venues in the UK can’t. Is that right?

If you employ door supervisors you need to be seriously thinking about this potential problem now, as July will soon be upon us.