Personal Licence for Alcohol. Who can use it.

dori2o

My wife has a Personal Licence for the sale of alcohol. She got it from her current employer who paid for the training. When she was manager at the previous shop she worked at she was the licence holder for the premesis. She left those premises in September. Being the licence holder means you have certain responsibilities regarding sales of alcohol and ensuring that the rules are adhered to.

She still works for the same company but there are no alcohol sales at the store she works at now.

She has been to the old shop today to collect some post sent to her and has found outh that the shop is still using her personal licence as the licencee of the shop. This has been done without any knowledge or any authority from my wife permitting them to use her as the live licencee.

I know the employer paid for the course but the licence belongs to my wife. It is in her name only. She is solely responsible for the actions carried out in that shop with regards to alcohol and it is her that could be in serious trouble if there are any problems.

Any advice on this matter would be appreciated. My wife wants to know if it is possible to demand that the company stops using her as the licencee for the premises.

Could she contact the local council as they are the ones who licence the properties?

Guest101

There's two things here:


1: The personal licence, which is hers of course.
2: The designated licensee for the premises, which the company have said is her.


They are using her name, not her personal licence. She is qualified for the position by virtue of her licence. - I appreciate that's as clear as mud but what I mean is, she needs to talk to her employer.

Savvy_Sue

I could be wrong, but I'd have expected this to have been covered in the training and / or the small print on the licence itself ...

I don't think I'd 'demand' anything, but I would probably contact the employer and ask what steps are in hand to cover the licensing requirements at her old shop. They may not have registered the need.

andygb

Definitely approach the local council, because licensing laws can be very exact/specific.

System

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/alcohol-licensing#personal-licence

The personal licence is designed to ensure that anybody running or managing a business that sells or supplies alcohol will do so in a professional fashion. Once you receive your personal licence, you can act as the designated premises supervisor for any business that sells or supplies alcohol.

So it looks like they are not doing anything wrong. As has been said, I would have thought this would have been explained somewhere along the line.

agrinnall

!!!!!! wrote: »

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/alcohol-licensing#personal-licence
So it looks like they are not doing anything wrong. As has been said, I would have thought this would have been explained somewhere along the line.

Surely the point is though that she is not doing the activity that you've higlighted, rather the company is using her licence without having asked her if she wishes to take that responsibility, and presumably without offering any payment for doing so. If it were me I would advise them that I would be relinquishing my personal licence and they have x weeks to find someone else to get one.

System

The details of the conditions that the company applied in exchange for getting the licence for the OPs wife need to be investigated.

Kez1983

As the named DPS your wife should be in a position of responsibility over the sales of alcohol in that store - she doesn't have to be there all the time, but should still be involved with that premises.


She should speak to her employer and make them aware they need to change the DPS.


I have found very different reactions from different councils/police forces in managing changes in DPS. One police force I dealt with gave an enforcement notice to stop selling alcohol 30 mins after the DPS was deemed no longer in a position of responsibility in that store (a store manager who was suspended pending disciplinary and had called into the police station next door on her way home!) and at the opposite end of the spectrum I left a business and found 6 months later I was still the named DPS on 3 stores after reminding my employer on leaving they needed to change it. The local enforcement just told me to write to them and ask them to change!!

Takeaway_Addict

agrinnall wrote: »

Surely the point is though that she is not doing the activity that you've higlighted, rather the company is using her licence without having asked her if she wishes to take that responsibility, and presumably without offering any payment for doing so. If it were me I would advise them that I would be relinquishing my personal licence and they have x weeks to find someone else to get one.

And if it is part of her job role she could well risk her job...

agrinnall

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

And if it is part of her job role she could well risk her job...

Well it would have to be a secret part of her job role as she had no knowledge that her licence (not the company's licence) was still being used.