Are You Complying with Your Premises Licence Conditions? Practical Checks
By Jim Sollars, Senior Licensing and Compliance Advisor at Complete Licensing
Your premises licence provides details on the activities your venue is authorised to provide and the conditions under which it can operate. But, how do you know whether those conditions are being followed during day-to-day shifts?
The answer is to work through your actual licence, turn each condition into a task that can be checked, and compare it with what happens at your premises. In this blog, we outline a practical premises licence conditions checklist that will help licence holders and managers review whether its conditions are being followed in practice.
For more on the value of regular checks and compliance, read Jim’s guide: why licensed premises should carry out compliance checks.
Review the licence that is currently in force
Find your latest premises licence, including its conditions and approved plan. If you’ve varied the licence, ensure you review the updated documents and not an older copy kept on site.
Before reviewing the individual conditions, check the basics:
● Which licensable activities are authorised?
● What hours apply to each activity?
● Are there conditions that apply only on particular days or after a certain time?
● Does the approved plan still reflect how the premises is laid out and used?
Read the wording carefully. For example, the hours during which alcohol may be sold may differ from the opening hours of the premises. A condition about an outside area may only apply while that area is in use.
If alcohol sales are authorised, remember that mandatory licensing conditions must also be considered. Some apply even if their full wording does not appear on the face of your licence. If you’re unsure what applies, seek advice rather than relying on assumptions.
Create a premises licence conditions checklist
Run through each of the conditions on your licence and add them to a working document. Each requirement should be understandable and testable by the people running the premises.
For each condition, record the following:
- What the condition is: Keep the exact wording available for reference
- What staff need to do: Describe the practical task clearly
- When it applies: Record the relevant days, hours, activities or areas
- Who carries it out: Assign a role that is covered on relevant shifts
- How you will check it: Decide what you need to observe or review on a regular basis
- What evidence is available: Note any record required by the condition or used by the business to demonstrate that the task was done
For example, a condition that requires door supervisors at specific times could be checked against the staff rota, attendance records and what happened during those shifts. A condition about an outside area should be checked while customers are actually using the space.
The conditions listed on your premises licence will determine the tasks on your checklist. Do not assume that a requirement applying to another venue also applies to yours.
Give each condition a clear owner
For each condition outlined in your checklist, identify who carries out the task and who checks that it has been completed. You may have different people responsible for different conditions across your business but ensure the arrangement still works if the usual person is off, a shift changes or an external contractor is involved.
If a condition only applies at particular times, choose someone to be responsible during those times. A daytime review of staffing arrangements will not establish who manages a requirement that starts later in the evening.
Check the condition during the activity it controls
Creating a document to review the conditions included in your premises licence is a great start but some conditions can only be properly tested during trading.
If a condition concerns customer dispersal, observe the end of a relevant shift. If it concerns an outside area, look at how that area operates when it is busy. If it requires a particular arrangement during entertainment, review it while that activity is taking place.
We recommend looking at what is required by the licence, what the business has told staff to do and what actually happens to get a good understanding of whether the conditions are being met.
Any gap between these elements requires further attention. Staff might be following a written procedure that does not reflect the premises licence or your procedures might not be followed consistently during a busy shift.
Ask staff to explain their part in complying with licence conditions
Speak to the people who carry out the tasks and who must follow the procedures you have in place. Ask questions linked to the specific conditions on your checklist.
For example, if a condition relates to incidents, ask the relevant staff member what they would record and who would review it. If a condition relates to an outside area, ask who takes responsibility when the duty manager changes.
The answers you receive can show whether the conditions and relevant actions are clearly understood, whether responsibility is clear and whether staff have the information they need during a shift. If answers differ, revisit your procedure and provide additional guidance or training to relevant staff members.
Where staff knowledge needs strengthening, regular trainingcan help keep procedures understood across shifts.
Check records against what happened
If a licence condition requires a record, check that it is being recorded as required. Review whether entries are complete, whether staff are able to find them and whether managers review the matters that require follow up.
There may be incident records but they may fail to show what actually happened. For example, an incident entry may note that an issue occurred without recording the action taken or the person informed. Equally, a record kept in the back office is of limited use if the manager on duty is unable to access it when required.
Record findings and check that fixes work
The purpose of the checklist is to find out whether your premises is complying with your licence and to act on anything that needs attention. A missing record or an uncertain staff response does not, by itself, establish that a particular condition has been breached. Check the exact wording and what happened before reaching a conclusion.
For each issue, note:
● The condition concerned
● What you found
● Any immediate action taken
● What needs to change
● Who is responsible
● When the action should be completed
● How and when it will be checked again
It’s important to find out the exact cause of the issue. Try to understand whether the condition was unclear to staff, whether anyone was assigned to the task or if a change to the premises made the procedure difficult to follow.
After addressing the issue, check on the relevant shift or activity again. Following up will help you understand whether the change has become part of the way the premises now operates.
What if a condition no longer fits your business?
Following a refurbishment or change in how your business premises operates, a condition on your premises licence may become difficult to follow. Do not simply stop following it because it appears outdated.
Check the wording and the approved plan that forms part of your current premises licence and then establish whether your proposed change requires an application to vary your premises licence. It is best to review this before introducing a new layout, activity or operating arrangement.
Need help checking your premises licence conditions?
Complete Licensing provides ongoing licensing compliance support for licensed premises across England and Wales. Our team can review your licence and working practices through on-site inspections, unannounced night time visits, incident reviews and premises specific training.
You will receive clear findings and recommended actions to help you address any gaps.
About the author
Jim Sollars is a Senior Licensing and Compliance Adviser at Complete Licensing. He has 35 years of Metropolitan Police experience and formerly managed the Westminster Police Licensing Team. Jim specialises in interpreting premises licence conditions, identifying compliance issues and helping licensed businesses put practical solutions in place.
