At any time a licensed premise is open, there must be an appointed Certified, Temporary or Acting Bar Manager on duty and in control of compliance with and enforcement of the provisions of the Actand the conditions of the licenceand the conduct of the premise with the aim of contributing to the reduction of liquor abuse. On duty doesn’t specifically mean on the premises, but it does mean in control and responsible for sale and supply. So at quiet times you may be in the back office, on the toilet or at the bank for example, but if you are found to be away too long there is the risk of an offence being committed.
Conditions
Firstly, the Duty Manager is responsible for ensuring that the conditions on the licence are complied with. These will vary from licence to licence but are likely to include some version of the following:
Food
A substantial range of snack food meals must beavailable and promoted at any time an On, Club or Special licence is in operation. This includes such foods as nachos, pizzas, pies etc. Chippies and nuts will not be sufficient to meet these criteria. The food must be as obviously available as any liquor. Obviously, the requirement for a restaurant is greater as their principle purpose is the sale of food. If the main kitchen closes during the evening, some food preparation facilities must still be available for making snack meals of some sort. This is not a requirement for Off licences.
Low and non-alcoholic drinks
It is a condition of every licence type that a reasonable range of low and non-alcoholic drinks be available and promoted at any licensed premise. These options must be as obviously available as any liquor. You may want to have special deals for designated drivers or establish a “buddy system” for people who are assisting with transporting drinkers to avoid drink driving.
Transport Options
Transport options to assist patrons in avoiding drink driving must be available and promoted at any time an On, Club, or Special licence is in operation. This could be a courtesy van, a free taxi phone or the display of business card of a "dial a driver" scheme.
Hours of operation
All licenses will have restricted hours of operation on them concurrent with the local DLA policy. For instance; in some cities, 24 hour licences are available, in others, licences are limited to certain hours. In South Taranaki most On licences are limited to a maximum of 7am to 2am the following day. Some licences may be even more restricted. For example, if they are operating under a Resource Consent with conditions limiting hours further.
Regardless of the hours of operation, a licensed premise is deemed to be a licensed premise 24 hours a day. That means that you cannot have "private functions" on a licensed premise after hours without the need for a Special licence. Sale and supply of liquor and being on licensed premises after the hours of operation are serious offences.
Restricted days
Hotel and tavern style On licences may not sell or supply liquor to any person unless that person is on the premise for the purpose of dining, or is an accommodation guest of the Hotel;
AND
Off licences may not open for business on any of the following days:
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Christmas Day
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Good Friday
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Easter Sunday
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ANZAC Day up until 1pm
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Sundays except between 9am and 10pm unless a variation of hours has been granted. Most licences will have been varied to allow Sunday trading by now.
(a restaurant will already be only serving to persons on the premise for the purposes of dining and an entertainment style licence will only be serving to persons who are on the premise for the purposes of entertainment.)
These restricted days begin at midnight. So for example, where you might usually be licensed to 2am, on the Thursday before Good Friday you must close at midnight. This obviously applies to the other restricted days also.
Designation of areas
Certain types of licence may be designated with certain restrictions as to whom can be present there. For instance:
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In an undesignated area, persons of any age not otherwise prohibited may be present.
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In a supervised area, persons of less than 18 years may only be present if accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.
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In a restricted area, no person under the age of 18 years may be present at all.
Liquor sales staff of less than 18 years of age may be employed in an undesignated or supervised area but not a restricted area. Entertainment staff must always be of over 18 years regardless of the designation.
Prohibited people
By definition, prohibited people under the conditions of the Act are:
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Minors - persons under the age of 18 years
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Intoxicated persons
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Unauthorised persons - that is, any person to whom you are not authorised to sell or supply liquor under the authorisations section of the licences or any of the conditions of the licence. For example: a non-club member or anyone after hours.
There may also be other people who are effectively prohibited, but don't legally come under the definition of prohibited persons. These are people whom you have banned under the Trespass Act, and persons demonstrating insulting, violent or abusive behaviour, as this is an offence.
Host Responsibility
It is a requirement of any On, Club or possibly Special Licence to have in place a Host Responsibility Policy to contribute to the reduction in liquor abuse.
This subject will be covered in depth in the second half of this text , but the basic inclusions in a Host Responsibility Policy are:
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Provision of food
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Provision of low and non-alcoholic drinks
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Transport options
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A strategy to prevent sales to prohibited people
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A strategy to ensure a safe drinking environment
Signage
Although you may have many different types of signage at your licensed premise, there are certain signs which you must have and certain places they must be, to comply with the Act. They are:
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The licence - this must be situated in the principle entrance.
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Duty manager's name - to be prominently displayed.
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The hours of operation – these must be visible from outside the premise.
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Availability of Host Responsibility provisions which includes promotion of safe drinking environment - to be prominently displayed.
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Instructions regarding prohibited persons - to be prominently displayed
