Unit 23 Law for Licensed Premises Assignment Sample

Introduction

The implementation of law in business operation is important for every kind of business especially for premises where alcohol and tobacco sales and consumption is permitted. For the effective operation of licensed premises it is extremely important to amend laws. For a company that has the permission of alcohol sales and tobacco consumption will have to implement laws and regulations in order to operate smoothly. The laws and regulations of the licensed premises was mainly developed in UK to safeguard the owner and his liability from severe damage. As most of the licensed premises have huge risk of getting affected due to antisocial behavior of the some consumer after a drink or so and hence it was important to safeguard the licensed premises from these potential threats. The role of licensing bodies becomes highly important in ensuring success in enforcing rules to these licensed premises. The licensing authorities in UK come into the picture when an enclosed space is provided with the opportunity to sale alcoholic beverages as well as tobacco (Brown et al., 2013).
There are number of aspects which are important for a company to abide by if it is a licensed premises and the law for licensed premises discuss that efficiently. The law involves the licensee and provides safety and security to all the consumers and should also take full responsibility of selling addictive substances in the shop. This is going to ensure that each and every section of the operation is properly handled and nothing hinders the operation of the organisation. The rationale of the present study lies in the fact that licensed premises do have potential risks and hence it is important for them to ensure that laws and legislations are effectively enforced in the business in order to get all kinds of protection that the business requires to operate smoothly. The present study will be done with reference to The Mayflower Pub a local pub in London which is known to be a renowned licensed premises proudly standing on the bank of Thames (Brennan et al., 2011). The premise is known to provide world class and vintage alcoholic drinks paired with authentic British breakfast and other delicious food items that contribute to its perpetual excellence.

Task 1

1.1 Kinds of Licensed Premises

There are different types of licensed premises available in UK. All of the these premises are bound to abide by the laws and regulations of the government and are also obliged to listen to the licensing authorities in terms of implementation of laws and legislations. The government of UK do have effective laws and regulations that fulfil the main objective of safeguarding the environment and the property of the licensed premises. The laws for different licensed premises are almost same. All the licensed premises do not only sale alcohol or tobacco and hence the broad categorisations of licensed premises are as follows:
Club: This kind of premises mostly gets their licenses for providing better night life to the consumers. The clubs are premises where people go to enjoy drinks and for dancing with the partners. The clubs organise different kinds of entertainment events for the consumers like plays, dance, DJ night, film shows, and dance parties, music concerts and also indoor sporting events all the through the year. They are supported with food and drinks mainly alcohol and beer and also sales of tobacco (Newton and Hirschfield, 2009).
Hotels: Hotels are bigger form of licensed premises that gets the authority of licensed premise and this is able to organise different programs and could have discotheque that holds music nights and has a separate drinking space. Hotels are allowed to have all kinds of hospitality services for adults like Casinos and gamble spots which need special licenses.
Premise license: This kind of places have the permission of sales of tobacco and also all kinds of drinks. It is important to say that the licenses are provided based on the capacity of the company to hold guests. In case a particular company has the capacity to hold around 50 guests it will have small scale license premises.
Personal license: this kind of license is comparatively small and could be provided for ten years. This is an individual license that allows the individual to trade in alcohol and other addictive substance (Bunn and Guthrie, 2010).
Wholesale and producer: The wholesaler and producer is another kind of licensed premises which allows the organisation to sale and store alcoholic beverages. As the wholesaler the company is able to stock large amount of alcohol to be distributed to different companies.
Pubs: Pubs are mainly a public house are smaller in size and holds a capacity of around 100 customers. These are similar to bars except bars are little bigger in size. The pubs are able to sale normal tobacco in the form of hookah, weed, and all kinds of alcoholic beverages. The pubs could have a small dance space which would help to generate ample sales. For example the present case study company taken for the assignment is a renowned pub in London that is the Mayflower Pub. It is a completely licensed premise with liquor license which helps the company to make transactions for the sale of liquor.
Bars: Bars are bigger public houses which have the same operational structure and same kind of offerings and are also provided license (Lockwood., 2011).

1.2 Contrast between Premise and personal license

There are significant differences between premise and personal license. The differentiation of premise and personal license is given below:

Premises License	Personal License
1) This provides authorisation to an individual to sale alcohol in its premise that is licensed.	1) It is a license that helps to operate relevant activities including sales of alcohol within the specified premises (Hubbard and Colosi, 2013).
2) This doesn’t have any stipulated time to do business and could be valid as long as one wants.	2) The time period of the personal license is only 10 years and hence it could not be carried after that and has to be renewed.
3) This license could be received by payment of fees but the license is not renewable.	3) This involves payment of fees and could be renewed with the payment of certain amount of money.
4) The license is portable in nature	4) The provision of license depends on the kind of work one would do.
5) There is no barrier to get this license like age, qualification et cetera (Graham et al., 2014).	5) This license is issued to those who are above 18 years age and are properly qualified relevant to the subject or field specified in the license or applied for.
6) There is a right to operate a specific action and this can be shared.	6) The right of doing a specific activity lies with only one person and it is non -transferable in nature (Liang and Chikritzhs, 2011).

1.3 Comparison of License Application procedures

There is a particular procedure for every kind of license application done for licensed premises. The individuals shall have to use a particular procedure to apply for a license. For the application done to get a personal license it is important for the individual to pick up a form where the person has to fill up all his personal details and submit it to the licensing authority. This form will help the licensing authority to know the basic information of the individual like the name, address, personal information, professional information including qualification and experience as well as the basic information that the authority requires to know about the spot or location where the licensed premises is about to be set. It is also important for the individual to submit a character certificate which will include professional records and criminal record in case any. Providing all these relevant information will help the person to get the license after paying a particular amount as a fee to get the license if everything goes well (Liang and Chikritzhs, 2011).
Organisations looking for license for a premise will have to first inform the licensing authority about the kind of service they want to provide and accordingly the authority will proceed with the process. The submission of the form in this case will have to be done by providing all the basic information of the project as well as the location and the structure of the format. It will also include the information about the timing and scheduling of the services provided.  Finally the form will be submitted with the declaration from the owner or the manager of the premises along with the payment prescribed by the licensing authority (Costello et al., 2011).

1.4 Guidelines for the staffs on conduct of licensed premises

The Licensing Authority 2003 lays down the basic regulations to conduct the business within the licensed premises. It is essential for the employees as well as the upper management of the organisations in this case Mayflower pub to conform to the rules and regulations of the LA Act 2003 ( Warpenius et al., 2010). The different aspects which are laid down by the legislation are:

• The company Mayflower Pub will have to provide proper training and development programs to its employees so that they could provide the best possible services to the consumers.
• The license will only be provided if the company has a person to guarantee the operations of the organisation and it is important for the person to be eligible to guarantee it.
• The company Mayflower Pub should ensure that all the employees working in the country especially those who will serve alcohol are above 18 years old so that there is no legal implication.
• It is extremely important for the pub to ensure that the operations are done as per the standards of the licensed premises.
• The employees should strive to be particular about not revealing confidential information of its consumers to anybody ( Spence et al., 2009).

Task 2

2.1 Assessment of the results of providing misleading information to consumers

The licensed premises in its operations is not supposed to furnish information that can mislead the customers in any manner as the perpetration of such acts can result in imposition of severe penalties under the purview of Consumer Protection law  on the owners of the premises as a measure to mitigate the unfair trading practices in the hospitality sector. The Act considers the circumstances of the commitment of such practices in case of evaluating the reason and gravity that has been the cause of the action. The actions and omissions caused in the conduct of the Mayflower Pub that could have possibly instigated the commitment of unlawful actions by the customers would be taken into consideration by the consumer protection law to monitor the impact of the Pub’s business strategy and practices. In case the guilt of the Pub can be proved it would result in the imposition of a legal liability on the premises based on the outcome of the events and the victim in the form of customers could bring legal suits seeking remedial measures and also claiming compensatory damages from the organisation.
The Pub if in case takes recourse to any kind of misleading advertisements or deceptive communication tactics for promoting the Pub among the masses or to attract the customer’s attention that would tantamount to contravention of the law and would result in a penalty worth $ 16000 per day on the enterprise (Hawkins et al, 2009). In case of violation of norms, penalties of civil nature to the tune of millions can get imposed on the Pub with regard to the extent of such violation. In the event of loss of money suffered by any customers, not only the Pub would attract penal compensation as per the norms of regulatory authorities, but also need to provide the sum of damages for the perpetration of such wilful conduct.

2.2 Evaluation of the extent of liability of the employer for consumer protection

The Mayflower Pub in its operations must ensure that the conduct of its employees propagates a culture of risk prevention towards the clients complying with the consumer protection laws. The Pub must incorporate requisite measures and steps in its operations that can be conducive towards customer protection. The price of the products and the service quality offered by the Pub must reflect fairness in all aspects as instances of exorbitant pricing of the goods and services that are offered by the Pub, whether such an act has been committed out of negligence or wishful thinking, can be labelled as a liability of misconduct against the Pub on its customers (Burgess and Moffatt, 2011). Information regarding the statutory warnings must be furnished appropriately by the Pub mandatorily along with the composition of the ingredients and the quantity to the consumers as a part of prescribed laws of the Act of Consumer Protection.
Mayflower Pub must take into consideration the implementation of appropriate policies in its operational procedures which are fundamentally aimed towards the protection of the interests of the customers. As the customers accept the products and services of the enterprise the enterprise in turn must be obliged to protect their interests. This approach makes the Pub keep strict vigil in the areas which involve the acceptance of services and goods from the various kinds of providers in the supply chain and therefore a thorough inspection to curb risk of any sort must be conducted, so that the customers can be spared from any possible injuries and damages. The details of the customer must in all forms be kept confidential and the Pub should not in any manner utilise for any kind of gains as per the law of the protection of consumers. The Mayflower Pub must make provisions for offering a hygienic and safe environment to its customers and also keep monitoring the actions of its employees to identify areas that can prove grievous to the customers (Hadfield, 2009).  If the Pub fails then it can attract the liability of vicariousness and would have to pay the customers for damages suffered by the conduct of its employees. Any kind of misconduct within the premises of Mayflower Pub could bring penal obligation on the owners in accordance to the European Union directives.

2.3 Policy planning for implementation of legislation of measures and weights

Various kinds of policies have been made in the law pertaining to the operations of the licensed premises so that the prescribed aspects of weights and measures are made a part of the practice within the licensed premises. The policies have certain injunctions under the limitations of HM Revenue and Customs and Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations Act, 2006, that considers laying provisions with regard to the delivery of the appropriate amount of liquor to the customers that cannot result in damages to their health (Forsyth and Lennox, 2010). It is in its own business interest that the Pub must guarantee that the availability, sale and production of the liquor and other beverages within the licensed premises must be have a fair price tag that complies with the HM Excise and Customs. These regulations are structured to control and monitor the standard of the quality of the beverages and other food items that are in supply within the licensed premises. The customers are also made aware about the measures and are protected for shortfalls in quantity through the provision of information which has been laid down by these regulations. These regulations are in force so that the patrons are prevented from deceptive information about the various products they acquire within the licensed premises. These policies ensure that the customers can match and compare the ingredient notifications with the actual product that they take in use. The implementation of this policy within the licensed premises of Mayflower Pub ensures that the customers are delivered the adequate quantity, appropriate quality and the right price for all kinds of beverages and packaged foods that they acquire during their visits to the premises. The implementation of the policies are checked at regular intervals by the legal authorities to monitor whether there is match between the declared information on the products and the actual goods and whether there has been any kind of documentation of inappropriate conduct in the course of sale and supply of beverages and alcohol products within the licensed premises, so that measures of control can be implemented as per legal norms (Palk et al, 2010).

Task 3

3.1 Discussion on the key elements of various regulations

In the hospitality sector, the premise that holds a operational license is required to be quite meticulous about the various kinds of regulations. The Mayflower Pub has been operative since long and has the local people’s support by its side. It has been serving the riverside customers of London from a long time and is possibly the oldest Pub in that region. As it has been in operation for over 30 decades, it is quite meticulous in complying with the varied forms of regulations which has helped the organisation in protecting the safety and health aspect of the customers and the employees as well. As a part of the sector of hospitality it has to be doubly sure in making provisions for safety and health to the customers as well as its workforce so that while the latter is in a state of continual contentment, the former keeps coming back to the Pub, compared assured as they are of its service quality and maintenance of the standards of safety and health (Beckingham, 2012).
The Mayflower Pub has been quite exemplary in following the directives of The Management of health and safety at Work regulations 1999 at their workplace so that they can conduct a risk assessment in favour of its employees and take action in the required areas at the earliest to evade the possible fatalities within the workforce. In accordance with the policy sketch the Pub has appointed an overseer who would be responsible to supervise the safety and health aspect of the enterprise. Under the purview of the Workplace Regulations Act 1992, the Pub has maintained an all round cleanliness in the operational zone and has kept the arrangement of adequate heating and lighting at place for the employees. The area of kitchen and technical zone has been kept in the best hygienic manner so that the employees never have to undergo mental or physical suffering in the course of their employment. The passageways are kept dry and free of water or spillage of any other slippery material and the toilets are cleaned at regular intervals throughout the day to ensure a basic hygienic work environment to the employees of the Pub. The premise has also been properly ventilated to release toxic fumes, unwanted gases that can render bouts of nausea or claustrophobia amongst the workforce. The Pub employees exposed to the display screens are given proper protection in compliance with the Health and Safety Regulations 1992, and risks of any sort gets scanned continuously by DSE that not only identifies but also addresses the areas of risks effectively making the environment safe for the employees to carry on with their activities (Martineau et al., 2013).
The employers are advised against the use of manual handling of equipments and other heavy objects causing a risk to the physical health of the employees under the purview of The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. The Mayflower Pub in its operation has also taken into consideration the legislation of The Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995, through the dispersal of advises to its employees to report any kind of diseases, fatalities and injuries suffered by any member of the workforce to the executives of the health and social care, so that amendments can be arranged to that effect, accordingly (Stockwell & Chikritzhs, 2009).  The following of these important regulations by the Pub would ensure safety and health within the workplace and the performance of the employees would always remain effective thereby bringing success to the enterprise.

3.2 Discussion on the responsibilities and duties for managing licensed premises

The effective handling of the operations of Mayflower Pub is significantly dependant on the deft management of the licensed premises by its managers. The importance of a certified manager cannot be negated in the process of handling of the operations of the Pub. The Mayflower Pub makes it a mandatory practice for the manager to be present in the process of sale of alcohol to the consumers. The manager ensures that the operations of the Pub are in strict adherence with the regulated standards acceptable in the functioning of the business in the hospitality sector (Burgess and Moffatt, 2011). The management must oversee the compliance of the Pub with the provisional and licensing conditions of the Supply and Sale of Alcohol Act 2012, thereby ensuring security and safety and also prevention of threats in the process of supply and sale of alcohol and related products. The statutory actions that are in focus of The Licensing Act 2003 are:

• Reduction and prevention of disorder and crime
• Safety of the public
• Nuisance prevention and,
• Protection of children from harm

The management of Mayflower Pub must take into consideration the appropriate compliance with the above statutes so that an enhance degree of security and safety can be ensured to the visiting people. A licensed premise can have several elements of risk and it is the efficiency of the management in strategising such elements of risk in a manner that proves conducive in the operation of the Pub. The crucial role that the management of licensed premises are required to deliver is the assurance of safety and health for the consumers as well as the employees of the enterprise (Rowe et al, 2010).
There must be a constant line of communication between the customers and the managers as well as the employees of the Pub so that the focus remains on the delivery of premium quality services which is regarded as the prima facie responsibility of the management of any licensed premises. The Mayflower Pub management is focused on the acquisition of the talented and skilled employees and arrange for their suitable training provisions so that they can effectively cater towards the service improvement of the enterprise. The management also must keep a strict vigil on the performance and the profit level and accordingly modify and alter the performance strategies to meet the demands of the competition. The Mayflower Pub management needs to keep a sound rapport with the police authorities, the licensing authorities and the customers too. There should be clear cut communication between the management and the employees so that they the latter feels extremely motivated and inspired at all times and thus gets encouraged to work at their optimum best in order to deliver improved and enhanced levels of service quality to the clients (Davis et al, 2013). The role of the management of the licensed premises thus involves ensuring safety, security and a progressive work ambience and that of relaxation and enjoyment too, both to the consumer and the employees in the day-to-day operations of the Pub.

3.4 Evaluation of the effect of legislation of hygiene and food safety

The licensee premises under the hospitality sector must follow the regulations concerned with hygiene and food safety as a mandatory practice like that of the Mayflower Pub in London. The aspect of hygiene and food safety is covered by the framework of Food Safety Act 1990, and falls under the control of Food Standards Agency of FSA in the presence of the local authorities for ensuring that the standard of hygiene and food safety is maintained in compliance with the Food Safety Act. The element of risk has been considerably minimised in the processing and preparation of food since there has been a spur in the activities of the licensed premises’ to implement and comply with the regulations of food safety and thereby ensure efficient services to the clients (Jones et al, 2011).
The acknowledgement of the Food Standards Act 1999 by the royal assent has helped in its free operation across the beverage and food industry for handling and developing beverages and food products by complying with the fundamental standards that could assure against any harmful effects arising from its usage. Certain processes have also been laid so that gloves are made mandatory in the handling of the food products to minimise the risk of contamination or infection of any kind to the products. The protection of public health has been the mainstay of Food Standard Act and this outlook has helped in maintaining the quality of the food and has also kept the hygiene factor in consideration thereby ensuring public health. Hence in other words the legislation of hygiene and food safety has been instrumental in assisting the pubs and other such similar licensed premises to provide services that are conducive to public health and welfare (Jones and Robinson, 2012).

Task 4

4.1 Justification of employer’s responsibility in staff employment

The employment of the staffs is an area that has to be taken care of in the most appropriate manner by the employer since after all it is the process which involves induction of human resources within the enterprise. As the workforce of any organisation is considered its lifeblood hence the focus of the employer must be on its development so that the operational capability of the enterprise gets enhanced. Staff employment is a crucial aspect of the operations and therefore the employer must not undermine the significance of the factor of staff employment. To ensure that the recruitment process remains effective the employer is required to conduct research in relation to the hiring of capable man power to run the enterprise. It is the responsibility of the employer to make an assessment of the capacities and talents of the aspirant employees before the process of selection is initiated so that the process of staff employment results in an effective outcome (Brennan et al, 2011).
It is the legal right of the employees to ensure that the workplace is safe and secure and is free of any kind of health hazards which must be guaranteed by the employer. The employer must make a note of the potential risky zones within the workplace and work towards reducing as well s controlling the element of risk within the workplace. The employer must maintain a safety and health policy in support of elimination of hazards arising in the course of delivering work as well as for making provisions of safety for the workforce (Bunn and Guthrie, 2010). In certain sectors like that of iron and steel, chemicals, radioactive materials etc it is the duty of the employer to provide the employees with all kinds of safety and protective gears and equipments free of cost for the smooth execution of their designated responsibilities. There must be adequate training and educating facilities for the employees so that they can be aware about the potential risks which they could face in the tenure of their employment.
The employer must not as per law forcefully delegate responsibilities on its employees in an unsafe working condition and the employees would be required to follow and adhere by the discipline of the workplace (Brown et al, 2013). In cases where the employee feels his safety and security is under threat from the employer and his basic needs are not being addressed adequately, he may seek redress from the local health and safety authority of the region. The employer must also ensure that the employees are provided salaries, wages and remunerations as per their respective positions in compliance with the national legislation of minimum wages and they must also be provided with meal breaks at stipulated intervals every day along with the package of weekly and yearly holidays as has been prescribed by the regulatory legislation of the rights of the employees (Hughes et al, 2009).

4.2 Discussion on the components of legislation on discrimination

The aspect of discrimination is a major issue in the domain of employment in the current times, across various nations of the globe. The licensed premises must not practice any kind of discriminatory culture within the workplace and must ensure that an ethos of equality pervades within the enterprise in all its activities. The recruitment and the employment procedure must at all times give equal opportunity and scope to the candidates irrespective of their sex, age, gender, race, ethnicity, colour or disabilities. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 plays a major role in ensuring that gender and sex discrimination is eradicated from the workplace in all respects and the employer encouraging such discriminatory practices within the workplace are subjected to penal action by the law (Beckingham, 2012). Also the adherence of the Equality Act 2010 guarantees that the workplace is free from the influence of discrimination related to race, caste, religion or ethnicity. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 brings to the table the aspect that the employer of the licensed premises does not have the legal right to reject the application of employment on the basis of physical disability of the employee unless it is proved that such an impairment is posing hurdle to the employee in delivering his duties and responsibilities within the workplace. It can be therefore said that the various kinds of legislation of discrimination that are witnessed at the workplace are directed to eliminate the evils of inequality and foster a sense of camaraderie within the diverse form of human resources that are engaged to drive the enterprise towards the realisation of its goals, aims and objectives.

Conclusion

The study in its course has highlighted the aspects of various forms of legality that ensures the smooth functioning of the licensed premises. The discussion entailed different kinds of licenses and the application procedures involved, along with the guidelines that are needed to be followed by the staff members of such premises, and the consequences that could bring liability on the owners of such premises for keeping the customers misinformed and unsafe by the conduct of the enterprise. The elements of assessment of risk and effective management of the licensed premises have also been part of the study and so has been the area of implications of legislations in the conduct of such premises.

References

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Brennan, I., Moore, S.C., Byrne, E. and Murphy, S., 2011. Interventions for disorder and severe intoxication in and around licensed premises, 1989–2009. Addiction, 106(4), pp.706-713.
Brown, S., Bessant, J.R. and Lamming, R., 2013. Strategic operations management. Routledge.
Bunn, A. and Guthrie, R., 2010. Alcohol Consumption and Harm: A Consideration of Legal Liability Relating to the Service and Promotion of Alcohol. Legal Issues in Business, 12, p.57.
Burgess, M. and Moffatt, S., 2011. The association between alcohol outlet density and assaults on and around licensed premises. NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.