BHA & BBPA "Clear Winners" in case against PPL

Some interesting news re the PPL tariff - The Copyright Tribunal announced its decision yesterday on the Phonographic Performace Ltd's (PPL) tariff for playing music in public areas in hotels, restaurants and pubs. PPL had significantly increased its tariff in 2005/06 but the British Hospitality Association and the British Beer and Pub Association were called "clear winners" as the Tribunal has ruled that the PPL must reduce their tariff substantially as much as 75% but on average by half. That means there could be up to £20million in refunds!

The Tribunal's decision allows PPL just a 10% overall increase. For example, a hotel, restaurant or bar playing CDs/tapes or radio/TV with an audible area of just under 400 square metres would have paid PPL £464.80 for its licence this year, but the Tribunal decision has reduced this to around £110.

Excessive fees paid by hospitality businesses since 2005/06 worth up to £20million are to be refunded though not for refunds of less than £50 in total. Businesses due refunds will have to claim, rather than receiving them automatically. PPL is appealing against the decision, so there will be a delay before it writes to the 41,000 hospitality licensees and 53,000 in retail, which won its parallel case, to ask them to make refund claims. Despite PPL’s appeal, the new, reduced tariffs will take effect soon for annual renewals, so your next bill should be lower and, thanks to the two associations’ efforts, the industry should save around £5 million a year from now on for all background music played in bars, restaurants, lobbies, foyers and other common areas.

Also of note is that PPL has, since 2005/06, only charged hotels for music played in their bars and restaurants (and, as before, on a separate basis for fitness centres, etc), but not for lobbies/foyers. These will now be brought back into charge. Watch this space for more news on this area.....

Read the details of the Decision of the Tribunal at: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ct-2009-10-19.pdf

Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

New Licensing Law - Has the "Penny Dropped"?

Interesting article from the BBC's website today on the effect of the new licensing laws on tourism outlets selling gift miniatures of whisky. Mr. McAskill says that tourism outlets "make money" out of selling miniatures however it is worth noting that most of the revenue from them goes to HMRC anyway andthe mark up for profit is very low- they are sold in tourism outlets as part of their service to the tourist experience. Tourists like to buy them to take home as souvenirs so why should tourism outlets selling such gift souvenirs be subjected to the same rigorous rules as for the pubs, clubs and off-licences? It's also worth noting that the new licensing law is supposed to crack down on binge drinking so it's difficult to imagine that someone intent on binge drinking would bypass off-licences and supermarkets where alcohol is cheaper and go straight to a tourism outlet to purchase a large volume of miniatures to consume in a binge drinking session! It's good to see that as the deadline now looms for the new law to come into force on 1 September, these particular issues, specific to the tourism industry, are being recognised or at least being given higher profile press attention.

See the article at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8175895.stm

Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

Postponement of Scottish Licensing Law Reform

Justice Secretary, Kenny McAskill has confirmed that it would be "common sense" to postpone the enforcement of the new licensing law on 1 September 2009, requiring premises selling drink to have a designated manager with a personal licence to sell alcohol.

The legal position now is that those who have applied for a personal licence by the end of August can carry on trading after September 1, allowing those who have not yet received their licence to continue selling drink. Mr McAskill has "taken the decision to lay further regulations to give some leeway and allow managers who have applied by the end of August to continue selling alcohol if they have not received their licence by September 1." Prior to Mr. McAskill's decision to make this change, the position was that if you did not have a licence by September 1 then you could not sell alcohol and if you did so, you would have fallen foul of the law, facing some hefty penalties.

Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

Licence Delays means Scottish Pub Closures unless....

Yet another article this morning, on this topic from the Morning Advertiser:

"Thousands of pubs in Scotland could be forced to cease trading in September as administrative delays mean licensees have been unable to comply with new regulations..............." read more by following this link:
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/article/83806

Having sat the exam and passed my Scottish Personal Licence Holders Course, I can confirm it is not a difficult course or exam and if you already work in the licensed trade then it should be even easier. Furthermore depending on the level of your income, you could even get funding of up to £200 which is more than enough to cover the cost of a recognised course provider. It is well worth dealing with now rather than leaving it all too late and if you can get the funding it means investing a day of your time, otherwise, the cost is quite bearable at around £150 per person for the course. Remember also that as long as one person in the organisation holds a Personal Licence, then that person is qualified to train all the other staff too so you don't have to send every single member of staff involved in the sale and supply of alcohol to these courses.

If you are struggling to get on a course, then I can help by carrying out staff training for you - just give me a call for further information. Contact information is available on my website.

Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

Second Jobs and The Working Time Regulations Trap

The recession has prompted many people to seek a second job to supplement their incomes and this can have implications for employers under The Working Time Regulations. Under the regulations, an employee is allowed to work a maximum of 48hours per week averaged over a 17 week period unless extended by a workforce or collective agreement. However employees can opt out of the 48 hour maximum but they can't be forced to do so, plus if they do voluntarily opt out, they can also opt back in at any time by giving notice to their employer. What some employers do not realise is that the limit applies to all jobs an employee might have. For example, many people look for second jobs in the hospitality and tourism industry in hotels, restaurants, cafes and this trend has been on the rise in the past six months according to recruitment agencies.

It is important therefore that employers check if their current employees are undertaking additional outside work, and if they are, then it would be good practice to inform them that if they are to work more than 48 hours a week on average, in all their jobs, then they will need to sign an opt out agreement. Employers might also consider reviewing employment contracts to include a clause in future which will require employees to get specific permission before accepting futher work elsewhere.

If employers consider recruiting seasonal staff even if only temporarily, it would be wise to discuss with them the amount of other work they do and if necessary ask them to sign an opt out agreement. Also remember that the opt out agreement only covers the 48 hour maximum and all other statutory requirements such as a minimum break of 20minutes in any 6 hour shift etc all still apply.

The other thing to remember about The Working Time Regulations is that they come under Health and Safety and not employment legislation so even if employers have signed opt out agreements they remain responsible for employees health and safety at work ie the need to make sure employees are not too tired to carry out their duties safely and correctly.

Contact me if you need help with opt out agreements or reviewing your employment contracts.

Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

Minimum Alcohol Prices may Violate EU Rules

The Scottish Government's plans for minimum alcohol prices may violate EU rules according to Baroness Ashton, the European Trade Commissioner. Legal analysis provided by Baroness Ashton to the Tories, states that plans by the Scottish government to introduce minimum alcohol prices may violate international trade laws. She said that the plans would increase the price of imported goods to the same level as that of products made in Scotland, violating EU and WTO laws. The plans would not violate existing laws if they did not affect imported goods.

In response to this, a Scottish Government spokesman said "The key is to ensure that our proposals are fair and proportionate in reducing the health problems caused by alcohol".

Hmmmm, what proposals do you think will be fair and proportionate?

Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

British Hospitality Association

The British Hospitality Association has published a voluntary code of practice for members to disclose the distribution of discretionary service charges and non-cash tips as soon as practical but ahead of the introduction of new legislation which bans the service charge being used to make up the National Minimum Wage, with effect from 1 October:

"BRITISH HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION

CODE OF PRACTICE ON DISCRETIONARY TIPS AND SERVICE CHARGES


What is discretionary service charge?

This is a payment suggested by the restaurant, which the customer is totally free to make or not. The payment is made to the restaurant (or similar establishment) by cash, card or cheque. It is not a cash tip (see below).


What are tips and gratuities?

These are additional payments given by the customer over and above the amount of the bill and any discretionary service charge. They fall into two categories: cash tips (see below), given to an individual employee, or non-cash tips, being additions to the amount on the bill and paid to the restaurant, whether by card or cheque.


How should cash tips be dealt with?

Cash tips are payments given directly by customers to individual employees, not to the restaurant (or similar establishment). Any arrangement for sharing cash tips among employees should be in accordance with their wishes. The restaurant owner will not be involved in this process. It is the responsibility of the employees receiving such cash tips to make proper disclosure to HM Revenue and Customs and to account for Income Tax in respect of these earnings.


What deductions may be made from discretionary service charge or non-cash tips paid to the restaurant before they are made available for allocation to employees?

There is no legal requirement for the restaurant to allocate a particular proportion of the service charge or tip income to employees. However, a deduction for costs incurred in handling these sums would cover credit card and banking charges, payroll processing costs, and the average costs of credit card fraud. The level of costs deducted will vary, depending on the nature of the business. Any deductions made by the restaurant over and above those for these costs should be disclosed to customers as part of the disclosure process (see below).


How should discretionary service charge and non-cash tips be paid out?

Where discretionary service charge and non-cash tips are paid to employees by the restaurant, they are most commonly paid from the restaurant’s bank account, with Income Tax deducted under PAYE. The broad process for distribution of these amounts should be disclosed to customers as part of the disclosure process (see below).


What disclosure should be made?

Restaurants should disclose to customers how they deal with discretionary service charge and non-cash tips, at least by a written note available for inspection at each restaurant and on the restaurant’s website, if there is one.

The disclosure should cover:

i) Whether an amount is deducted for handling costs (and how much);

ii) How the remainder is shared between the restaurant and the employees;

iii) The broad process for distribution, for example, that they are shared between the employees in the restaurant through a system controlled by a representative of the employees.


British Hospitality Association

July 2009"


Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.