Underage Sales - Advice For Retailers HOW YOU CAN PREVENT OFFENCES FROM BEING COMMITTED Some of the legislation governing underage sales has defences available, namely that the accused took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing an offence. AWARENESS OF THE LEGISLATION AND TRAINING Make sure that all staff who serve customers are aware of the age limits for the products. Having a notice in the shop will inform customers of the age limits and act as a reminder to staff. Carry out regular training sessions with staff and make sure that they understand that they personally will be liable for their actions. Remind staff on a regular basis. Don't just give them a notice to read and ask them to sign a sheet saying they have read it. Question them and make sure they have read and understand what they have been given. Keep a record of training. It is the best way to prove that you have trained your staff, and that regular training is up to date. ASK FOR PROOF OF AGE It can be difficult to guess how old a person is. Young people nowadays look a lot older than they are. Some young people may look or dress 'older' in order to fool staff into serving them with an age restricted product. A person who looks 18 may not be. Remember to "Think 21". The best way to find out a person's age is to ASK THEM. If they say they are over 18 ask if they have any proof of age. If not, do not serve them. ACCEPTABLE PROOF OF AGE DOCUMENTS Passports Photographic Driving Licence Proof Of Age Cards (i.e. Citizen card , Validate) Birth certificates are not an acceptable method of proving a person's age. How do you know it is their birth certificate and does not belong to a brother/sister? Be careful with driving licences as they can be issued when a person is 17 years old. Always look at the date of birth and check that the person is 18. Do NOT accept notes from 'parents' asking for their child to be served with an age restricted product. If the child is underage DO NOT SELL THE ITEM TO THEM. It doesn't matter who they say they are buying it for. There are many different forms of "Proof Of Age" cards on the market, and although a large number of them are legitimate, it is wise for retailers to agree on which cards they will accept. This will mean that staff can become familiar with them and know what to look for when checking them. Whichever card(s) are chosen, ensure they carry the "PASS" hologram. The PASS hologram logo allows licensees and other retailers to know that it is a reliable and credible means of proof of age. REFUSALS BOOK Keep a book/diary of when sales have been refused to an 'underage' person. This helps to show that you have a system in place and that you regularly check a person's age. It is important to keep this book filled in each day or after each shift. It will help staff identify if someone is attempting to buy age restricted goods on a regular basis. A 'refusals book' that is completely blank or very rarely filled in can also show when staff have a blasé attitude to age restricted sales. Merely having a 'refusals book' does not show that steps have been taken to avoid offences being committed. The book must be an automatic part of the sales process and regularly completed. If one or two members of staff are making little or no entries into the refusals book, you should question why? If everybody else within your shop is refusing people, why aren't they? There may be an explanation for the lack of entries, (ie. they always work midweek mornings when it is less likely for underage kids to try and buy alcohol) but you should make sure you question any staff in this position. Example Refusals/Incidents Book Date & Time             Description             Tried To Purchase Comments    Signed    17/12/2004 19:35hrs 15 year old male. Blonde hair, 5ft 6ins, skinny, wearing baseball cap, tracksuit, and trainers 1.5L Bottle of Smirnoff Vodka. Asked for I.D. didn't have any, refused to serve. Alf. A. Bett 18/12/2004 18:45hrs 2 Females, approx. 16 yrs old. Both dark hair, wearing boots, denim skirts, and jackets. 2L Bottle of White Lightning cider. Asked for I.D. Produced a college student card. I wasn't happy with it, and told them i'd need a passport or approved proof of age card. Al Kahol 21/12/2004 20:30hrs Approx. 12 youths hanging around outside shop causing disturbance, and shouting abuse at staff and customers. n/a Telephoned Police to report gang outside. Andy Bushell 24/12/2004 21:10hrs Approx. 17 year old male. Wearing ripped jeans, black shoes, and white shirt. Dark hair, approx 5ft 10ins. 8 x (440ml) cans of Carling. When asked for I.D. he said he normally carries it, but forgotten it tonight. Told him I could not serve him without it. Julie Smith Note: As seen above, the refusals book can also be used to report incidents as well as refusals. This comes in very handy for future reference. TILL PROMPTS If you operate an EPOS system (with bar codes and scanners) can a 'prompt' be written in so that when an age restricted product is scanned, the assistant will be asked if the buyer is over the minimum age ? REMEMBER !!! These laws exist to safeguard the health of young people and to reduce community disorder. This information is aimed at offering practical advice to traders and is not an exhaustive list. It is not a definitive statement of the law and does not include possible future amendments. Back To Underage Sales Home

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