Licensing advice for pubs in summer

February is a thing of the past and the spring sun is beginning to shine through, one cannot help but start getting a little excited about summer.

The seaside, barbeques, ice cream and a packed out beer garden; the Great British Summer has a lot to offer, and is an absolutely roaring period for our wonderful pubs.

Preparing for summer

And while some of us might be looking forward to a trip across the ocean for a holiday or two, for those in the trade, there will be no rest in ensuring customers are having a great time.

I fully appreciate there may be many of you saying ‘it’s not summer yet, Felix!’, but being prepared is key to keep that custom flowing from spring until autumn.

To paraphrase a quote famously attributed to Benjamin Franklin, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’.

Top tips

So to help you get the most out of your summer trade and ensure you don’t upset the locals or the authorities, here are some top tips:

With the warm weather comes the temptation for customers to drink a little more quickly than they would normally. Warmer weather can increase the effects of alcohol, so ensure you have a good selection of soft drinks available for those who might be there a while and tap water freely and readily accessible.
Good times, good drink and good weather can turn quite loud very quickly and raucous punters can escalate into complaints from neighbours. Consider putting notices up asking customers to be mindful of your neighbours and encourage them to partake in lower volume revelry. It is also prudent to ensure to monitor customer behaviour and ensure customers do not cause a nuisance, especially in external areas.
Sunburnt customers are unhappy customers. Where possible, provide parasols and shaded areas for your alfresco visitors.
Family fun days are a great way to increase footfall during the nicer weather. Ensure your staff are vigilant to the possibility of under-age drinkers and proxy sales when welcoming younger visitors.
Check your licence to see if you have any conditions relating to the use of outdoor areas. You don’t want to be caught by surprise by a condition preventing the use of glassware outside or restricted hours.
Also check your licence to see if there are any restrictions on windows or doors being open during regulated entertainment. As the mercury rises, the temptation to open the windows and doors is clear but this could involve a visit from your local Environmental Health Officer.
If you are planning on having any special events at your premises, consider whether you will need a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). You will need a TEN for any licensable activities not covered by your licence or in areas of the premises which are not licensed. Remember that you need to give the notice to the licensing authority at least 10 clear working days before the day of the event for a standard TEN or 5 clear working days for a Late TEN.
If you want to put on entertainment for your customers, remember that not all entertainment needs to be licensed, due to a relaxation of licensing laws for music over a decade ago. For example, you can have live (but not recorded) music between 8am and 11pm for an audience of up to 500 people in your unlicensed beer garden (subject to any conditions on your premises licence). Recorded music is not authorised on your licence, and can only be played in your outdoor area if it’s included within your licensed areas
Tempted to light up the barbecue? If your venue does not offer food and is not registered as a food business, you may need to consider registering. You can operate for 5 days in a 5-week period without registration but if you decide to register, you must do so 28 days before sparking up the coals.
And from hotdogs to hot dogs, be prepared for the possibility of four legged customers attending your outdoor areas with their owners. A bowl of cool water would be well received by man’s best friend.