Legal Q&A: Recruiting 16 year olds & personal licence issues

Do I need to be at pub? ​

Q. I am the designated premises supervisor of my pub and therefore hold a personal licence, as does my son. Two staff at the pub are over 18 and quite experienced. But neither holds a personal licence. Does a personal licence holder need to be on the premises when we are open? ​

A. Every premises licence that authorises the sale of alcohol requires that every supply of alcohol be made or authorised by a person who holds a personal licence.

However, subject to any conditions on your premises licence to the contrary, there is no requirement that the presence of the designated premises supervisor or any other personal licence holder is required on the premises at all times.

A personal licence holder, in this case you or your son, may authorise members of staff to make sales of alcohol but may be absent at times from the premises when a transaction takes place.

The authorisation does not have to be in written form, however, I would strongly recommend that personal licence holders give specific written authorisations to individuals whom they are authorising to sell alcohol.

A single written authorisation, identifying each staff member who is authorised, is sufficient to cover multiple sales over an unlimited period.

This would assist personal licence holders in demonstrating due diligence if issues arise with enforcement authorities; and it would also protect your staff if they are challenged in respect of their authority to sell alcohol.

Recruiting 16-year-olds

Q. My wife and I own a restaurant and we are looking for new staff. The premises has a restaurant section and a separate bar section. We are due to interview some candidates and two of them are 16. I have checked with the council and there are no relevant by-laws about employing children in licensed premises. However, can you confirm whether there area any restrictions to employing young people under the Licensing Act 2003 and if there is a distinction between employing them to work in the bar or restaurant section?​

A. Under the Licensing Act 2003, any person under the age of 18 is permitted to sell alcohol at a licensed premises as long as the sale has been approved by a 'responsible person' such as the premises licence holder, the designated premises supervisor or any other individual over the age of 18, who has been authorised by the premises licence holder, or the supervisor.

But if the person under 18 is only working in the restaurant section, no specific authorisation will be required (beyond the usual authority given by a personal licence holder) as long as alcohol is sold or supplied to customers who are consuming a table meal.

Conversely, if the person under 18 is to be employed in the bar area as well as, or instead of, the restaurant area, specific approval will be required for any sale or supply of alcohol in the bar area. Specific approval means each time a sale is made, the responsible person must give authority.