From Halloween to New Year’s Eve, it is important for pubs to consider whether their existing premises licence covers the activities they intend to have.
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Not only should an operator check the premises licence permits the licensable activities and timings, but it is crucial licence conditions are also checked to ensure there is nothing that could possibly prevent the event from being run under the licence.
Should the permissions an operator is seeking not be covered under their premises licence, then a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) could be submitted to cover the one-off events.
Before submitting TENS, operators should also review their licences to check for any non-standard timings which may be permitted.
For example, many licences often include non-standard timings for New Year’s Eve, which allows them to trade later than usual. Operators should check these timings as it may mean that they do not require a TEN, thus saving their allowance.
There are strict rules of when a TEN must be submitted and how many TENS a single premises can have per calendar year. It is therefore important operators plan ahead to ensure they do not miss out.
Clear timeframe
A standard TEN must be submitted at least 10 clear working days before the event. This timeframe does not include the day the TEN is served, the day of the event, any weekends or bank holidays.
Should any representations be received by either the Police or Environmental Health Officer (who are the only “relevant persons” that may object to a TEN), then there is a right to a hearing before the Licensing Committee.
An operator may also submit a late TEN, which must be served at least 5 clear working days before the event. However, should any representations be received to a late TEN, there is no right to a hearing and so the event will not be able to go ahead.
Due to the nature and popularity of the events held during the festive season, we would suggest operators lodge any TENS they may need sooner rather than later. This allows sufficient time to address any queries or concerns raised by the relevant authorities ahead of the planned event.
An operator should also consider how many customers they expect to attend the events as only a maximum of 499 people (including staff) are permitted to attend any event under a TEN at any one time.
That being said, it is possible to define the “premises” on the TEN. For example, a single room could be defined as the premises for the purposes of the TEN.
Therefore, two rooms within the same building could be used as two separate premises, both of which could accommodate a maximum of 499 people.
Another crucial point to note is a single premises is currently permitted to have up to 15 TENS per calendar year, for a maximum of 21 days (it is whichever runs out first).
Sufficient allowance
The maximum duration of a single TEN is 168 hours and there must be at least 24 hours between each TEN.
With the 2026 World Cup being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, many operators across England and Wales may have used more TENS than usual to accommodate the match screening times.
Operators must therefore review how many TENS they have used so far this year to ensure they have sufficient allowance to cover any planned events during the festive season.
As well as the usual festivities, the highly anticipated Fury v Joshua boxing match is also expected to take place on Friday 11 December 2026 with the main event reportedly expected to start in the early hours on the Saturday morning.
While showing live television broadcasts is not a licensable activity under the Licensing Act 2003, operators may still require a TEN to allow them to provide licensable activities, such as the sale of alcohol or provision of late night refreshments, beyond their permitted hours as specified on their premises licence.
A single premises is currently only permitted to have a maximum of 15 TENS covering a maximum of 21 days.
Sarah Jones, Minister of State recently laid before Parliament the Licensing Act 2003 (Permitted Temporary Activities) (Amendment) Order 2026. This Order proposes to increase the number of TENS that may be given in respect of a single premises to 20 TENS and 26 days per calendar year.
The permitted number of TENS and days were temporarily increased in 2022 and 2023 in order to support the hospitality sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the benefits seen during these periods, the Government are therefore looking to reintroduce this permanently. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Order is planned to come into force on 1 January 2027 and so watch this space as operators may be permitted to give more notices for the 2027 festive period.
- Paige Viaene is a trainee solicitor at Popplesten Allen.
