Most of you as licensees will have received your premises licences by now. Are you aware of what they actually allow you to do? It is of vital importance that you consider these documents very carefully to ensure that you have permission to carry out all the activities you want to offer on your premises. In the past you could do virtually anything you liked as long as you only sold alcohol during trading hours (for off sales shop premises) or permitted hours and any extensions granted (for on sales premises).

In the pre 1 September 2009 days if you had a pub or a hotel licence you could sell alcohol for off sales at any time during the hours you were open for the sale of alcohol to the general public.

Now there are some interesting changes to the times you can sell alcohol and carry on activities on your premises.

Core Hours On Sale - these are the hours during which you can sell alcohol for on sale and can be any permitted length of time eg: 11am - Midnight daily.

Core Hours Off Sale can only be granted between 10am and 10pm daily and can be cut back by you depending on what you requested in your operating plan or by the Board making a policy decision. Not all pub and hotel owners applied for these hours so please check before you make any off sales at your premises. Shop keepers will be used to restrictions on times during which they can sell alcohol but publicans and hoteliers must be aware of the change and note that they can no longer sell that closing time carry out. The key is to make sure your customers are aware of the change. For example if you are offering wine or whisky tastings, let the tasters know that if they want to buy the product they have to do so during the off sales core hours applying to your premises. Have a poster up explaining when off sales must cease and indicating that they must be bought before that time. More importantly make sure your staff are aware of the rules as a review of a premises licence can be very costly.

Many businesses carry on activities before and after core times.

Supermarkets can open round the clock. Newsagents and convenience stores for example can open from 5a.m. for papers and often close after 10p.m. for the sale of groceries and sometimes hot food. These hours have to be permitted by the licensing board.

On sales premises might open for sale of morning coffee, breakfasts, leisure activities in gyms and pools and for many other purposes. A shop or post office service might be offered in a rural pub.

You can now only offer these activities if they are identified on your operating plan and if the non core hours during which these activities are offered are defined and of course if they have been granted by the Board.

What a nightmare!

James & George Collie are here to help you. Tony Dawson, Senior Partner, and Janet Hood, Consultant, are specialists in liquor licensing, they will be delighted to talk to you to help you get the most out of your business.

If you need expert advice on these matters, we will be pleased to go over your licences with you to ensure you are operating to full capacity in terms of what has been granted and what you can apply for locally.

Looking forward to helping you drive your business forward in these challenging times.

For further information or advice please contact either Tony or Janet by email on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. respectively.