Licensed premises online course

Underage sales prevention

Underage sales prevention for everyone who serves or sells alcohol

£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.

Each person does the course on their own phone, takes a test marked automatically, and gets a certificate with a QR code you can scan to check. You pay £22.50 a place. You see who has passed, and you get a sheet for signing them off to sell.

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

What gets asked for. Trading standards can make test purchases. If a child is sold a drink, the owner's defence is that they took all due diligence, and a dated training record for each person who sells is part of showing it. The DPS is personally responsible for staff knowing and applying the age verification policy.

Who it is for

  • Bars, shops and restaurants in England and Wales
  • Bar and pub staff who serve alcohol
  • Shop and off-licence staff who sell it
  • Restaurant and hotel staff who take drinks orders
  • New starters, who should be trained before their first shift on alcohol
  • Licence holders and designated premises supervisors (DPS) who want a dated record for every person who sells
What it covers
  • Who commits the offence when alcohol is sold to someone under 18
  • Two sales in three months, the closure notice and the licence
  • The defence for the seller and the due diligence defence for the owner
  • Challenge 25, and what the law actually asks for
  • Checking ID in the hand, working out the date of birth that makes someone 18 today, and digital ID
  • Refusing a sale and the refusals register
  • Proxy sales, when an adult buys for a child
  • Authorisation by a personal licence holder

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
  • Selling alcohol to an individual aged under 18 is an offence by the person who sells. Licensing Act 2003, section 146. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • The seller has a defence only if they believed the customer was 18 or over, and either took all reasonable steps to establish age or nobody could reasonably have suspected from the customer's appearance that they were under 18. An owner charged because of someone else's act has a defence only if they exercised all due diligence. Licensing Act 2003, section 146. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Unlawful sales to under 18s on two or more different occasions within three consecutive months at the same premises are an offence by the premises licence holder. Licensing Act 2003, section 147A. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • On conviction for persistent selling a court may suspend the alcohol part of the licence for up to three months. Licensing Act 2003, section 147B. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • A senior police officer or a trading standards inspector can give a closure notice proposing a ban on alcohol sales. Licensing Act 2003, section 169A. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Every sale of alcohol under a premises licence must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder. Licensing Act 2003, section 19. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Every licence that sells alcohol carries a mandatory condition: an age verification policy, with the DPS ensuring supply follows it. Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) Order 2010, Schedule, paragraph 3. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • Trading standards inspectors enforce the offences of selling to children and can make or authorise test purchases. Licensing Act 2003, section 154. Source: legislation.gov.uk
  • The Licensing Act 2003 extends to England and Wales only, so the course covers the law in England and Wales. Licensing Act 2003, section 201. Source: legislation.gov.uk

What you get

  • Ten lessons for each person, about 30 minutes in all, on their own phone
  • A test of 15 questions, marked automatically, with a fresh set of questions on every attempt
  • A certificate with a QR code that anyone can scan to check it is real
  • A page showing you who has passed and when
  • A sign-off sheet for the authorisation your personal licence holder gives

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

The lessons

  1. Why a sale to a child lands on you3 min
  2. The offences in plain words3 min
  3. Two sales in three months, and the licence3 min
  4. The defence, and what makes it work3 min
  5. Challenge 25 and your venue's policy3 min
  6. Checking ID in your hand4 min
  7. Saying no, and writing it down3 min
  8. Proxy sales: an adult buys for a child3 min
  9. Tills, signs and the refusals register2 min
  10. Authorised to sell: your sign-off3 min

Read the first lesson free

Free preview

Why a sale to a child lands on you

This course covers the law in England and Wales.

The law is short and it points at one person. A person who sells alcohol to someone under 18 commits an offence. The person is whoever made the sale. If you served the customer and took the money, that is you.

The court decides the fine and there is no cap on it. The owner of the business can be charged too, for what a member of staff did. A supervisor who knowingly lets a sale to a child go ahead can be charged as well.

Who checks

Trading standards have a duty to enforce this rule. Their inspectors can make test purchases, or have someone make them on their behalf. A young person who tries to buy alcohol at the request of a trading standards inspector or a police officer commits no offence. So any young customer could be a test.

How this course works

You do the ten lessons on your phone. Then you take a test, marked automatically. Pass, and you get a certificate with a QR code. Anyone can scan the code to check it is real, and your boss can see that you passed.

The certificate shows that you did the course and passed the test. Permission to sell alcohol comes from a personal licence holder at your workplace, after the course. Lesson 10 explains how.

Selling alcohol to someone under 18 is an offence by the person who makes the sale. Be sure of their age before you sell.
Practice question

A customer under 18 is sold a bottle of wine. Who has committed the offence of selling alcohol to a child?

Questions

How do my staff get in?

After you pay, you get an order page with one link to send to your staff. Each person opens it, puts in their name and starts the course on their own phone.

How long does it take?

About 30 minutes for the ten lessons, then the test. Each lesson takes about three minutes, so staff can do one on a break and finish over a few days.

How long is the test?

15 questions. A person passes with 12 right.

What is the certificate?

It says the person completed the online underage sales prevention course and passed the test, with the date and a certificate number. It carries a QR code. It is evidence for your files. Authorisation to sell alcohol is given separately, by a personal licence holder at your premises.

Who should take it?

Everyone who sells alcohol or authorises its sale at your premises, including new starters before their first shift on alcohol, supervisors and the DPS.

How can anyone check a certificate?

Scan the QR code on the certificate. It opens a page that confirms the certificate is real. A licensing officer or trading standards can check it without asking you to find a file.

What happens if someone fails?

They are told which lessons to read again, and they can retake the test as many times as they need. Each attempt has a fresh set of questions.

How often should staff redo it?

The certificate carries the date it was issued. You decide when your staff take the course again.

Is this for Scotland and Northern Ireland?

No. The course covers the law in England and Wales.

Can people do it on a phone?

Yes. The lessons and the test are made for a phone screen. A tablet or computer works too.

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.