Law for Licensed Premises in Hospitality Management - Assignment Example

1 Types of Licensing Premises Hotels This only relevant and applicable to those premises whose primary role is to supply and sell alcohol. This incorporates a range of hotel avenues including accommodation hotels. Small and large bars also fall under Hotel License. A general bar hotel license applies for bars that do not engage in provision of gaming and/ or sale of takeaway alcohol. Such licensing restricts time for trading. Club License These is applicable to registered clubs which engage in sale of liquor and their provisions for restriction are provided for in Liquor Act 200. Only registered clubs are referred to as liquor clubs. Such a license server to outline requirements for management and governance of the liquor clubs as outlined in Registered Clubs Act 1976. The license restricts the trading period for the cubs (5 am to midnight on Monday to Saturday and 10 am to 10 pm on Sunday). Restaurant license This entitles the Licensee to sell drinks and food for consumption on the licensed premises only. The license is submitted only if the licensee have proved that he/she can provide safe food and drinks to the public. Pub A pub is a place where alcohol is sold at a small scale. It can accommodate around 5-30 guests. Under the new Licensing Act 2013, an individual would have to undertake a Criminal Records Bureau check in order to be granted the pub license. The average licensing cost is $300 and the license is valid for 10 years. Manage house A house manager need a broker license if at all he or she is paid by commission, and is handling rental premises on behalf of others. Event licensing Generally, any public event should such as sporting events, conferences, outside events and many others. This licensing include environment license and loud music license. However, private events such as weddings also requires licensing. A private family special occasion is limited to family and friends. Any event that will serve liquor must obtain an entertainment and liquor licenses be it private or public. 1.2 Personal and Premise License Premise License A premise license entails the regulation and restriction that relates to the sale of alcohol and a range of different kinds of entertainment rendered in a particular premise. Its purpose is to protect against public safety, protection of children harm, prevention of crime and disorder as well as prevention against public nuisance. After a proper application with no representation from a responsible authority or any person, the licensing authority grants application in line with operating schedule and relevant mandatory requirements as per the Act (Holder 1998). In case of representation, the licensing authority is solely mandated to rule on the relevancy of representation in line with licensing objectives without being vexatious and/ or frivolous and hearing is held in their considerations. Personal License A personal license is focused on those independent individual who are allowed to trade and sell alcohol but delegate the duty to others under authority of premise license. An accredited qualification must be obtained before being authorized to obtain a personal license. A personal license can be obtained from a local or licensing authority. It is worth noting that not every person at an establishment that supplies alcohol requires a personal license but several premises licenses need every sale of alcohol to be authorized by a personal license holder. This is vital since all the premises that are characterized by premise license must also have a designated premise supervisor. The supervisor must hold a personal license. In addition, those who hold personal license are able to make greater number of temporary event notices. One important factor to note is that, personal license is renewable after 5 years. 1.3 Procedure for License Application: Local Authority For application process, the local authority is responsible for granting the license after a premise or a personal meets the requirement. The procedure for license acquisition starts by the accessing and filling the application form. Once application has been completed, it is sent to the local authority along with the fee (as shown in the table below) with copies sent to police and other authorities. Full variation licensing is also same to new application of the license and attracts same fees as new application. Full variation may apply if a premise or an individual want to extend the trading hours contrary to the initial number of hours licensed. For a person to be granted a license, then he or she must be 18 years or over and must hold a licensing qualification. In addition, the individual must obtain an accredited qualification before applying for the license. The qualification is aimed at ensuring that license holders are aware of licensing law and the wider social responsibilities. Main Fee Levels Band 1 2 3 4 5 Non domestic ratable value None to £4,300 £4,301 to £33,000 £33,001 to £87,000 £87,001 to £125,000 £125,001 plus Premises licenses New application and variation £100 £190 £315 £450 £635 Multiplier applied to premises used exclusively or primarily for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises (Bands 4 & 5 only) N/A N/A N/A X2 (£900) X3 (£1,905) Annual charge £70 £180 £295 £320 £350 Annual charge multiplier applied to premises used exclusively or primarily for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises (Bands 4&5 only) N/A N/A N/A X2 (£640) X3 (£1,050) Club Premises Certificates New application variation £100 £190 £315 £450 £635 Annual charge £70 £180 £295 £320 350 There are additional fees for premises license applications, and the annual fee for exceptionally large scale events (5,000+), unless certain conditions apply.  1.4 Conduct of Licensed Premise Protection of Children from Harm For premises and persons that want to sell alcohol products, they must obtain a license in order to curb children from being intoxicated by unscrupulous traders. The license is a contract bending and legally enforceable and restricts premises and individuals from selling them to children. The licensing constraints sellers from selling alcohol to personas under-age (18 years and below) and allowing children into their premises (City and Guilds of London Institute. & Alcohol Focus Scotland (Charity) 2008). This clearly proactively weeds out the chances of selling alcohol to children hence upholding their safety. Public safety Public safety is also a factor for the licensing Act, registered premises and persons must ensure that they conduct themselves in a manner not to harm the public by selling alcohol responsively and to ensure no sale of intoxicated brands. In so doing, public safety is achieved as children and adults are not harmed (Great Britain 2012). The license also ensure responsible drinking by restricting time frame hence curbs excessive drinking. The provision of signage regarding practices and laws ensure public safety besides weeding out the sale of undesirable liquor brands to the public. Public nuisance Public nuisance is a broad concept that reflects on how activity of an individual affects that of another person. Licensed premises can greatly impact on communities through public nuisance that arise from their operation. In order to avoid that, the licensing authority normally permit the hours during which alcohol is sold to match the normal trading hours. Prevention of crime and disorder According to the Licensing Act 2003, the licensing authority will ensure that the premise meet these requirements: public safety, the protection of children from harm, the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance. According to the ACT, several measures should be undertaken by the premise. These include: Door supervisor; should have proof of registration, display correct name badge, should be registered to a known security firm, a female supervisor should be available to search women, and will be used at a ratio of 1:75. CCTV; must be installed and working and this must satisfy the law enforcers, appropriate maintenance of the recording, notice of CCTV surveillance on the entrance, and the police must be informed in case the CCTV malfunctioned. Proof of age cards; a proof of age to the satisfaction of the law enforcers. Capacity limit; the premises should not exceed its required capacity Reference City and Guilds of London Institute. & Alcohol Focus Scotland (Charity). (2008). Workbook for staff of licensed premises. London: City & Guilds. Great Britain. (2009). The Licensing Act 2003: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence. London: TSO. Great Britain. (2012). Amended guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. London: The Stationery Office. Holder, H. D. (1998). Alcohol and the community: A systems approach to prevention. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press. Read More