Licensed premises online course

Designated Premises Supervisor: Your Responsibilities

Teach your designated premises supervisor the job. £22.50 a place.

£22.50 a place, the whole price

This is PHW training with a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, so it is for you to decide whether it is enough for your business.

Your DPS, and anyone you leave in charge, does the course on their own phone in about 30 minutes, passes a test marked for them, and gets a PHW Services certificate with a QR code that anyone can scan to check. You see who has passed on your own page. A one-page sheet lists what you check on your own premises and sign off. It covers the Licensing Act 2003, which applies in England and Wales.

About 30 minutes on a phone, tablet or computer. Test marked by the system.

What gets asked for. Selling alcohol when there is no DPS named on the licence breaks a condition of the licence, which is a criminal offence: up to six months in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. At a licence review the council can remove the DPS, suspend the licence for up to three months or revoke it.

Who it is for

  • Designated premises supervisors, and managers about to be named as one.
  • Deputies and shift managers who are left in charge when the DPS is off the premises.
  • Licence holders who want a record on file that the person they have named has been taught the job.
  • Any business that sells alcohol: pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, off-licences and shops.
What it covers
  • What a designated premises supervisor is, and why no DPS means no alcohol sales
  • The personal licence: what ends it, and what the holder must tell the council
  • Who may sell alcohol, and how staff are authorised
  • The four licensing objectives and the age policy, including Challenge 25
  • Sales to under 18s and to drunk customers
  • Being in charge when off site, with a deputy and an absence register
  • Changing the DPS, and visits from the police and licensing officers
  • Licence reviews, and the records that show how the premises is run

How it works

  1. Buy places. Pay by card. Your order page is ready as soon as the payment goes through.
  2. Send the join link to your staff. One link covers everyone. Each person types their name and starts.
  3. They do the lessons on their own phone. It takes about 30 minutes in all, and they can stop and carry on later.
  4. They sit the test. It is marked by the system. Anyone who misses is told which lessons to read again. After a miss there is a wait before the next try, and after six tries in a row the lessons are read again.
  5. A pass gives a certificate. It has a QR code anyone can scan to check it, and your order page links to every one.
  6. You sign off the practical. Each certificate comes with a sign-off sheet. You check the items on your own premises, tick each one and sign. The online course teaches the knowledge. You decide who is authorised.
The law behind it
  • The sections of the Licensing Act 2003 used in this course apply in England and Wales (section 19 is marked E+W). Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • A premises licence that authorises the supply of alcohol must include the condition that no alcohol is supplied when there is no designated premises supervisor, or when the supervisor has no personal licence or it is suspended (Licensing Act 2003, section 19(2)). Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Every supply of alcohol under the licence must be made or authorised by a person who holds a personal licence (section 19(3)). Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Failing to comply with any condition attached to a licence is a criminal offence, punishable by an unlimited fine or up to six months in prison (Home Office guidance). Source: gov.uk
  • Carrying on a licensable activity outside the licence is an offence, punishable by up to six months in prison, a fine, or both (section 136). Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • The Home Office guidance says the fine for that offence is unlimited (paragraph 3.27). Source: gov.uk
  • The designated premises supervisor must ensure that alcohol is supplied in line with the premises age verification policy (Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) Order 2010, schedule, paragraph 3(2)). Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • A responsible authority or any other person can apply for a review of a premises licence, and the licensing authority can remove the designated premises supervisor, suspend the licence for up to three months or revoke it (sections 51 and 52). Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • The Home Office guidance says it is normally the premises licence holder's responsibility, as employer, to ensure that managers are competent and appropriately trained (paragraph 2.5). Source: gov.uk

What you get

  • A PHW Services certificate for each person who passes, with a QR code that anyone can scan to check it.
  • A page showing which of your people have passed, and when.
  • The practical sheet, filled in with the person's name, the course, the date and the certificate number, for you to complete on your own premises.
  • Unlimited retakes for the learner, each with a new mix of questions.
  • £22.50 a place, the whole price.

£22.50 a place is the whole price. It costs the same for one place or fifty.

The lessons

  1. What a designated premises supervisor is3 min
  2. Your personal licence3 min
  3. Who can sell alcohol3 min
  4. The four licensing objectives and the age policy3 min
  5. Sales that put your name in court3 min
  6. When you are not on site3 min
  7. Changing the DPS3 min
  8. When the police or a licensing officer calls3 min
  9. Licence reviews3 min
  10. The records that prove it3 min

Read the first lesson free

Free preview

What a designated premises supervisor is

The job

A pub, bar, restaurant, hotel or shop sells alcohol under a premises licence. That licence names one person as the designated premises supervisor. Everyone calls it the DPS. This course covers the Licensing Act 2003, which applies in England and Wales.

The DPS is the person with day-to-day responsibility for running the business. The licence holder can be the DPS, or can name someone else. Only one DPS can be named on a licence.

The licence holder is the person or company whose name the premises licence is in. It is often the pub company or the business that runs the pub, and it can be you.

The licensing authority is the licensing team at your local council. This course says the council or the licensing authority, and means the same thing.

One DPS can look after more than one premises, but only if they can really run each one properly.

No DPS, no alcohol

Every licence that allows alcohol sales carries this rule, apart from community premises, such as a village hall or church hall, that have been granted an exemption. No alcohol may be sold at a time when there is no DPS on the licence. The same goes for a time when the DPS has no personal licence, or when their personal licence is suspended.

It catches people out when a DPS leaves. A DPS who gives notice the right way stops being the DPS when the council receives the notice, or at a later time if the notice names one. Until a new DPS is on the licence, or named on an application that asks for immediate effect, there is no DPS, and so no alcohol sales. A new manager standing behind the bar changes nothing.

What it costs

Selling alcohol outside the licence is an offence under section 136 of the Licensing Act 2003. The penalty is up to six months in prison, or a fine, or both. The fine has no upper limit.

Breaking any condition on the licence is also a criminal offence, with the same penalties.

No DPS on the licence, or a DPS whose personal licence is suspended, means no alcohol sales.

What you do

Find out whose name is on the premises licence as DPS. If it is not yours, you are not the DPS yet.

Practice question

A pub's DPS has her personal licence suspended for a month. A colleague who holds a personal licence is on shift. Can the bar sell alcohol while the suspension lasts?

Questions

How long does it take?

About 30 minutes. There are ten short lessons of about three minutes each, then a test of 15 questions. The pass mark is 80 percent, which is 12 right.

What happens after I pay?

You choose how many places and pay by card. You get one link to send to your people by text or email. Each person opens it on their own phone, puts in their name and starts, and that uses one place. You see who has passed on your own order page.

What is the certificate?

It records that the person completed the online course and passed the test, with the date and a QR code that anyone can scan to check it. You keep it on file as evidence that your person has been taught the job. The practical sheet is completed on your own premises, by you.

Who should take it?

The designated premises supervisor, any manager about to be named as one, and anyone you leave in charge when the DPS is off the premises. To be named as DPS a person holds a personal licence first. The exam for that is a separate exam, not this course.

Does this cover Scotland and Northern Ireland?

No. It covers the Licensing Act 2003, which applies in England and Wales.

Can staff do it on a phone?

Yes. The lessons, pictures, practice questions and test all work in the phone's browser.

How can anyone check a certificate?

Scan the QR code on it. It opens a page that confirms the certificate is genuine and who holds it.

What happens if someone fails?

They are told which lessons to re-read and can retake the test as often as they need. Each retake draws a new mix of questions.

What if someone loses their link?

They can ask for it again by email on the "Lost my link" page, as long as they gave an email address when they started.

Ready?

£22.50 a place, the whole price

This is PHW training with a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, so it is for you to decide whether it is enough for your business.