Licensing
Renewing Your Liquor Licence, Preparing for the 2012 Deadline
24/01/2012
Basic Renewals
The deadline for the renewal of the vast majority of Liquor Licences in Northern Ireland is approaching once again. The 5-yearly cycle ends in September 2012 by which point all current Liquor Licences ought to have been through the Magistrate’s Court renewals procedure. The renewal application itself must be prepared and served on the Courts and the other statutory bodies an absolute minimum of 3 weeks in advance of 1st September 2012, and therefore we would strongly recommend that in or around March next year steps are taken to begin the process by...
Late Opening Hours
14/06/2011
The continued demand amongst customers for later opening hours has led to some unintended consequences for pub and hotel operators in recent months. Aside from the understandable annual confusion caused by the variable opening hours at Easter and Christmas each year, the range of different arrangements available in terms of their regular weekly opening hours means there is often a lack of clear guidance for those concerned to keep on the right side of the legislation and avoid the serious penalties that can accompany a breach of the rules.
The Basic Hours
The basic opening hours (for...
Is there a legal age for booking a hotel room ?
11/05/2011
There is no specific legislation preventing a 15, 16 or 17-year-old booking a room in a hotel. As with any guest the hotel will owe a duty of care to the young person to protect them from suffering injury, loss, damage etc. However, the way in which the hotel industry accommodates children and young persons under the age of 18 is potentially quite a tricky area, particularly from a liquor licensing perspective. There is nothing in the Licensing Order which explicitly prohibits a person below the age of 18 from booking a room in a hotel, however hoteliers would need to be wary of allowing...
Tips, Service Charges and Troncs
11/05/2011
Since 1st October 2009, the division of tips and service charges ceased to count towards an employee’s salary for the purposes of attaining the minimum wage threshold. For employers in the hospitality sector, a grasp of the interaction between wages and ‘tips’ is essential. To that end some useful information on how to manage the payment of gratuities efficiently is set out below.
National Insurance Exemption
There is an exemption from employers’ and employees’ national insurance (“NIC”) on payments to staff of tips and discretionary...
Occasional Licences
11/05/2011
One increasingly popular avenue for introducing new income streams into licensed businesses is the retail sale of liquor at outside events such as festivals, Christmas markets, social evenings, barbecues and other such functions. In order to legitimately avail of this avenue, Licensees must make an application for an Occasional Licence application to the appropriate Magistrate’s Court prior to the event for which the Licence is required. A minimum of two weeks before the application is made, notice must be served on the relevant Court, District Council and PSNI...
"Under 18s" at licensed premises - know the rules.
11/05/2011
For those in the licensed trade who rely on or are seeking to attract the ‘family’ customer, it is essential that in catering for kids and teenagers they do not endanger their licence by ignoring the relevant legislation in this area. Furthermore, in light of the increasingly common occurrence of “under 18s” discos and social events being held in hotel function rooms and other licensed premises, a brief overview of the rules and requirements relating to the presence of “under 18s” at licensed premises is set out below, together with comment on the...
