Why Carry Out Ongoing Licensed Premises Compliance Checks | Complete Licensing.

Obtaining a premises licence is only the beginning. It’s essential for premises to continue to operate in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the mandatory licensing conditions and the individual conditions attached to its licence on an ongoing basis.

Maintaining the standards required by the premises licence can become more difficult over time as managers change, new employees join the business, and procedures start to slip. Before you know it, a routine inspection occurs and staff have no idea that something is wrong with the way your premises operates.

Ongoing licensed premises compliance checks help you to assess how your business operates and uncover problems before they lead to authority intervention and helping the licence holder demonstrate a consistent commitment to responsible trading.

Licensed premises cannot rely solely on regular authority inspections

Traditionally, police or the local authority would employ individuals to inspect licensed premises on a regular or ad hoc basis.

During these visits, deficiencies in the way a premises was being operated or managed could come to light. This would give the business an opportunity to address any issues with records, staff training or premises licence conditions.

However, with many police forces and local authorities facing years of cutbacks and resource pressures, licensed premises now often go for long periods without receiving a routine inspection.

It’s important that licence holders and designated premises supervisors do not assume that the business is still compliant simply because no concerns have been raised by the police or relevant authority.

If the authorities do attend because of a serious incident, complaint or allegation, missing documents, incomplete records or staff who do not understand the licence conditions may suggest that the premises lacks effective management.

Having a compliance expert visit your premises on a regular basis provides a fresh set of eyes on your premises, procedures and policies and allows you to find and correct any issues before an incident places its management under scrutiny.

 

The benefits of ongoing licensing compliance checks

 

Uncover overlooked problems

When working in the same environment every day, it’s easy for management teams and staff to stop noticing problems. It is similar to a cobweb in the corner of a room. Because you see it so often, it eventually blends into the background and becomes forgotten.

The same can happen with licensing compliance. Gaps or poor trading practices can become the norm and go unnoticed.

For example:

· Staff may stop completing the refusals log consistently

· Incident reports may contain insufficient information

· Required notices may have been removed, damaged or placed somewhere they cannot be seen

· New employees may not have received appropriate licensing trading

· Managers may assume someone else is checking the CCTV system

· Changes to closing procedures may conflict with the premises licence

· Outside areas may not be supervised in the way required by a licence condition

· Records may be completed, but not stored somewhere they can be found easily

If these practices become familiar to everyone in the team, managers may no longer recognise them as potential compliance failures.

A compliance visit can help to identify mistakes that might have become part of day-to-day operations and provide practical advice on how to address them. This helps the premises to continue operating efficiently, in accordance with the licence and in support of the four licensing objectives.

 

Identify and correct routine mistakes

Compliance failures can often occur as a result of a mistake made by managers, a misunderstanding of a condition or a working practice that has been introduced without considering its licensing implications.

Once the mistake becomes part of the everyday operations of the premises, it may be followed by every member of staff.

A regular licensed premises compliance check can identify these problems and provide recommendations for correcting them. Depending on the premises, an inspection may examine:

· The premises licence and licence summary

· Mandatory and premises-specific conditions

· Permitted activities and operating hours

· Incident and refusals records

· Challenge 25 and age-verification procedures

· Staff training records

· CCTV arrangements

· Door-supervisor records

· Required notices and signage

· Welfare and vulnerability procedures

· Noise-management arrangements

· Customer dispersal procedures

· Security arrangements

· Outside areas and smoking areas

· Relevant policies and risk assessments

A good compliance check should outline the exact changes that need to be made by the business, any matters requiring attention and recommended corrective actions. This provides a clear and prioritised plan for improving its compliance.

 

Ensure the DPS and management understand the premises licence

It’s essential that the designated premises supervisor (DPS) and management team know the premises licence inside out, along with the conditions attached to it. Keeping a copy of the premises licence in the back office is not enough. The conditions need to be translated into practical procedures that are understood and followed throughout the business.

Regular compliance checks can establish whether licence conditions are being followed in practice. This is particularly important after a change of DPS, general manager or other senior personnel.

Ensure right-to-work records are checked and organised

Right-to-work checks are another important responsibility for licensed businesses. Employers must check that each employee has the legal right to work in the UK before the employment begins. For some employees, the employer may need to inspect acceptable original documents and retain a clear copy. For others an online check must be completed through the Home Office service using a share code, with evidence of the completed check retained.

A visit from a licensing expert can help premises to keep these records up to date, organised an easy to locate in the event of a visit from the authorities.

Organise important compliance documents so they are easy to find

When visited by the police, licensing authorities or other responsible authorities, licensed premises may need to produce important documents. If the documents are incomplete, unorganised or inaccessible, the premises will struggle to demonstrate that it is being properly managed.

A visit from a compliance expert can provide advice on how these records should be organised so they can be easily located during a compliance visit.

For premises using physical records, a compliance expert may suggest keeping box files for the following:

· Licensing, policies and risk assessments

· Staff training records

· Food safety records

· Staff right-to-work documentation

· Cleaning records

· Fire and gas safety records

Regular compliance checks help premises stay prepared for authority visits

An authority visit can take place with little or no warning. This means staff won’t have time to organise records, revise procedures or refer to a senior manager when questions are being asked.

Therefore, a premises should be ready to demonstrate its compliance during ordinary trading conditions.

Ongoing compliance support can highlight where the business would struggle during an unannounced inspection. Management can then address these gaps before the police or licensing authority attend.

 

Regular reports provide evidence of good trading practices

One of the key benefits of regular compliance checks is the evidence acquired over time.

Regular visits allow the business to build up evidence and regular reporting of good trading and good trading practice so if the authorities later claim that the premises is not being managed properly, documented evidence can be produced.

Although these reports cannot prevent regulatory action or guarantee the outcome of licensing proceedings, they can help your premises demonstrate that you are actively monitoring standards and have taken reasonable steps to address problems.

 

Make licensing compliance an ongoing process

Licensed premises should not wait for a serious incident or authority visit before checking whether licensing policies and procedures are being followed and monitored.

Regular compliance checks and ongoing support provides a fresh set of eyes to help identify poor practices before they become routine and help managers and staff understand their responsibilities. They also ensure records are kept so you have a documented history of responsible management, should a visit occur.

At Complete Licensing, we provide ongoing licensing compliance services for premises such as pubs, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, entertainment venues and other licensed premises across England and Wales.

Our services include scheduled on-site compliance inspections, unannounced night-time visits, incident-reporting review, undercover observations and premises specific staff training.

Contact our team and we will recommend a proportionate programme for your premises and provide a clear monthly quotation.