24 hr drinking

[R2B2]

Well, the new licensing laws are close - should we, or shouldn't we, have open licensing ??

Having lived abroad, and worked abroad in several countries that do not have time related opening hours, I would say, in principle, yes - let's have it. But because we are in the UK, I'm not so sure!

After being used to having a drink when you want (when abroad), it seems crazy to me that you can get a drink at 5 to 11, but you can't get one at 5 past 11....!! What's the feckin' difference?? This has frustrated the hell outta me when the time has crept on without realising it. It happens to me regularly 'cos I can't get used to watching the clock.

Is restricted opening hours responsible for binge drinking and loutish behaviour, or would the loutish behaviour be there anyway if the bars were open later?

I think it's an attitude thing and not to do with opening hours.

When I lived in Spain for example, the yobbish lads that you saw were virtually always the British. The Spanish girls, in general, didn't like the Brits (there's always exceptions, I know). I never saw Spanish, or Italian, or Portugese lads being yobbish.

Blair's in favour of free opening. He say's why should the wishes of the majority be frustrated by the actions of a few? In principle I think he's right. In pratice, I don't think it will work in the UK.

Whad'ya you guys reckon??

 

[Samster]

It's a good thing in my book.

Most of the 'sport' that you get in town centres is due to the fact that all the bars close at the same time, so all of a sudden you get loads of drunken wankahs on the street at once making their way to a club with a later licence or a kebab van.

I believe that 24hr drinking will just stagger this, so there won't be so many being turfed out of boozers onto the streets at once. Also, people won't be in such a rush to go out and drink cos their won't be a time constraint on their evening out.

Bring it on I say. And let's also have those vending machines that sell beer at any time of day like they have in sensible countries :beer:

 

[roXXo]

You can buy drink in supermarkets and off licenses, stockpile it at home..

Derestricting opening hours won't make "drinking" any more of a problem.
It's not the buying/selling it's behaviour and lack of respect for others and indeed for one's self.
Why should the average Joe who likes a drink in company be restricted access just because of wankers.

So I am in favour of the new proposals

:beer:

 

[ianrobbo1]

imho initially, there will be more instances of drunken behavier as the idiots of the country will be like "kids in a sweet shop" untill it occurs to even them that it's doing them no good!! :bang: that may take some time!!
I think it will be a good thing in tourist spots and "some" locations, however in the more "local" pubs, the weekends will be a twat for "local" residents untill they can get the places to keep their customers quiet as they leave at all hours!!
and the coppers will be having to stop and breathalise people at ALL times and will imo will start to do so every time they stop a vehicle!! :dunno:

 

[roXXo]

Take your point Ian

Landlords have to take some responsibilty and exercise more care when selling alcohol.
Didn't Landlords used to refuse to sell any more alcohol to those that were drunk?
Can Landlords be prosecuted for selling alclhol to those in no fit state?

Perhaps we have people on here who are in the trade and can enlighten us with there experiences.

 

[Punchy]

Take your point Ian

Landlords have to take some responsibilty and exercise more care when selling alcohol.
Didn't Landlords used to refuse to sell any more alcohol to those that were drunk?
Can Landlords be prosecuted for selling alclhol to those in no fit state?

Perhaps we have people on here who are in the trade and can enlighten us with there experiences.

I believe the law exists that makes it illegal to be drunk in a pub !!!!

 

[roXXo]

Punchy

I suppose it's the age old chestnut of enforcement and the will to do it balanced against the cost and results.

You cannot satisfy everyone

 

[ianrobbo1]

theres an "alleyway" opposite my house at the "top" of it is "the local" they serve after hours and have for years, we have the local piss-heads rolling down the "ginnel" at all hours of the night and morning shouting and pissing up the fences etc, absolutely nothing Will be done about them as nothing has been done in all the years I've lived here, :dunno: it's just that they will be able to do it "drink" legally now!! :dunno:
BTW it "ain't" the kids, it's the parents!!

 

[derek kelly]

Regards refusing to serve someone who is obviously well over their limit, the landlord would have to be very careful in his wording, if he said "I am not serving you because you are drunk" he leaves himself open to litigation, as the person may have an underlying medical condition, or be on medication that makes him appear drunk. I think the Police officers on here will verify this, when they actually breathalyse someone they never use the term drunk, they ask them if they have had a drink and then ask them to provide a breath sample if this registers as over the limit they are then arrested and have to give a blood sample which a doctor then analyzes, so only a doctor is qualified to say if someone is drunk. I know that at work people have turned up for work smelling of booze and obviously over the limit and by rights should be sent home, however because of the hassle of calling a doctor to prove they are drunk they are just allowed to carry on.

 

[roXXo]

I know that at work people have turned up for work smelling of booze and obviously over the limit and by rights should be sent home, however because of the hassle of calling a doctor to prove they are drunk they are just allowed to carry on.

I find this quite disturbing Derek.

Surely there is a drugs and alcohol policy.
You and your colleagues/supervisors have a duty to act if someone turns up at work appearing to be intoxicated.
I have had to deal with this situation once in my 8 years as a shift manager. You cannot allow anyone that you suspect of turning up for work after drinking alcohol to be on the premises. They could put others and themselves in danger.
You don't need a doctor. As a manager you make a judgement and do the rigth thing.

 

[Rods]

we have this problem at work. a couple of lads have got really pissed before jobs recently and ended up wrecking the concerts... :wank: but nothing is done because we would need a doctor there to verify that they are drunk. bloody ridiculous. they can't walk straight, they can't speak clearly, and they are in no way fit to do their job... but they get away with it.:bang:


as regards the original thread. i suspect it will be a nightmare for a year or so until people begin to get the idea of it... i hope anyway. i think in principle it is a good idea, but i suspect it will be abused by a few tossers.

 

[derek kelly]

You don't need a doctor. As a manager you make a judgement and do the rigth thing.

That's the point Paul, no manager is prepared to send someone home for being unfit for duty, as the person will just argue that the manager is not a qualified doctor. if the manager gets it wrong he is in deep shit, we used to have a Governor who turned up for a night visit and he appeared to be drunk, he was unsteady on his feet but there was no smell of alcohol, we found out later that he was on medication for a blood complaint and this caused the appearance of drunkenness

 

[Allan]

This is where I step and help explain what?s happening in reality.



Pubs and clubs wont be stopping open 24/7. For one, there isn?t enough money in beer sales to support the wages for staffing the extra hours, lighting, heating etc, the money in pubs is in food, and not many punters are going to be eating much after midnight.



What landlords, breweries etc have had to do is submit a business plan to their Local Authority Licensing officer, who looks at the plan, in conjunction with the police and other interested bodies, and if they are not happy with the plan they object.



In the plan they have to detail which days they want to stay open longer, how they will manage it, what preventative measures they have in place to reduce disorder, and much more.



Objections can be raised against anything in the plan we are not happy with, i.e. due to the length of time they want to stay open. For example, we objected to several pubs in the area because they wanted to stay open till 0200hrs. The pubs were located next to residential properties and thus very late opening would have caused problems for these residents. People leaving being noisy,, car doors slamming, taxis sounding horns etc?



The objections were upheld at tribunal and the pubs are now restricted to more or less the original licensing hours.



So, don?t expect to see much change in your locality, only really to town clubs and supermarkets.



Buzz.

 

[roXXo]

That's the point Paul, no manager is prepared to send someone home for being unfit for duty, as the person will just argue that the manager is not a qualified doctor. if the manager gets it wrong he is in deep shit, we used to have a Governor who turned up for a night visit and he appeared to be drunk, he was unsteady on his feet but there was no smell of alcohol, we found out later that he was on medication for a blood complaint and this caused the appearance of drunkenness

Why is no manager prepared to act? You do not need a doctor. Even if it is not alcohol related, if someone is unsteady on their feet they should not be at work.
Medical reasons or otherwise. The governor should not have been at work if he is not capable of carryout his duties. The silly man himself should have been off sick.
When this governor appeared to be unstable at work, did not anyone question him , ask if he was ok out of concern for him.
Don't people speak to each other at your place Derek?
a simple question would have alayed any fears.
:beer:

 

[derek kelly]

When the governor arrived in the control room, my manager would not say anything to him as he had already been let in through the gate, so it was up to the gate keeper to challenge him. so if my manager had challenged him then he would have dropped the gate keeper in the shit, and one of the codes (rightly or wrongly) is you don't drop your mates in it without good reason, the Governor was only visiting for about half an hour and he was not coming into contact with any prisoners so my manager thought best to let it go.
Some of the ones who turn up worse for wear are generally very good at their jobs (most of the time) and nobody including me would like the responsibility of them losing their jobs and the devastation it could cause to their families, at the end of the day it can be a very stressfull job and we all have our own ways of dealing with stress, whilst they are at work they have no way of getting alcohol so they are not going to get any worse than when they come through the gate, so is it better to let them in where they can be watched by their colleagues, or to let them go home (most of them drive) and then be investigated and probably lose their jobs.

 

[roXXo]

It's a very strange world that you work in derek :}


Good luck

:beer:

 

[derek kelly]

It's a very strange world that you work in derek :}


Good luck

:beer:

You could say it's not the normal run of the mill working environment.

 

[gypsy]

everyone is their own safety officer , i for one would have no qualms reporting anyone for being unfit for work and possibly putting mine or anothers safety at risk .Sorry Derek but it up to you if no one else is prepared to get involved .

 

[Bob Pinder]

I can't reply at the moment as I'm too pissed :beer:

uke:

 

[derek kelly]

Sorry Derek but it up to you if no one else is prepared to get involved .

The trouble is Eddy the managers would not back us up, we have complained to them about certain individuals, all they do is move said individuals to where they are less of a liability.

another aspect is my own experience, several years ago I went to a new years party, I knew I was working early (6am) the next day and I had a few drinks, I had a bit of a sleep in the chair from about 1.30 am to about 4am, I had a shower and got dressed I felt fine but knew that the alcohol was still in my system so I walked the 5 miles to work, by the time I reached work I was ten minutes late and I couldn't remember the journey, I got onto my wing counted and signed for the numbers, then promptly fell asleep, when my colleagues came on duty they woke me up I went up to my landing and sat in the office the next thing I knew it was dinner time and my shift was over. my colleagues had covered for me. this was a one off and I have never drunk before or during duty since, but I do owe some colleagues a duty of tolerance however not the repeat offenders.