Alcohol

What does the law say about the sale of alcohol to young people?

1. It is an offence for anyone to sell alcohol to a person under the age of 18.
2. A store manager or person in charge of the premises where a sale has been made to a person under the age of 18 can be held responsible if he knowingly lets the sale go ahead.
3. A person who buys or attempts to buy alcohol on behalf of a person under the age of 18 commits an offence.

Who enforces the law?

The Trading Standards Service and the Police work together to enforce the law on sales of alcohol to young people.

Should I display any notices for customers?

There is no legal requirement to display a warning notice, however, you may want to consider displaying them conspicuously as part of your system for avoiding illegal sales. A suitable form of wording might be:

What are the penalties for breaking the law?

If an illegal sale is made, you could be prosecuted and face a fine of up to £5000. If a member of staff makes an illegal sale of alcohol they could be served with a £80 penalty notice for disorder (on the spot fine). Additionally licence holders could face prosecution, and if found guilty a fine of up to £5000. Depending on the circumstances, you may also find that the licence is called for review / revocation.

What should I do now?

The licence holder has overall responsibility for all sales of alcohol that take place on the premises, regardless of whether he, an employee, a family member or any other person makes the sale. You should set up a system to ensure that you have done all you can to prevent an illegal sale of alcohol to a young person. You should now read the Preventing underage sales section of this pack for practical guidance on how best to do this.

If you are unsure how old a person is, ask for proof of age. If any doubt remains, always refuse the sale.