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Dated: May 25, 2007 1:43 PM
If your salon doesn't have the right licences to serve food and drink, you could face a hefty fine.
Glass of Champagne?
It's great PR to treat your best clients to a little something extra from time to time. But before you reach for that bottle, be careful.
Without a drinks licence you'll be committing an offence under the licensing laws and you could end up with a hefty fine.
And this applies whether you are giving away the Champagne - or selling it.
Food For Thought
Some salons, such as Richard Ward's Hair and Metrospa in London's Chelsea, have armed themselves with the right licences to serve alcohol and take the provision of food a bit more seriously than most.
Hair and Metrospa has its own chef, who serves up anything from a club sandwich or grilled chicken caesar salad to tortilla wraps and hot dogs with tomato ketchup for children. The salon also sells house champagne by the glass as well as beer and wine.
Of the 1,000 clients that come through the salons doors each week, around two-thirds order something from the menu.
Clients at Nicky Clarke's salon in Mayfair can also purchase a range of food and drinks. The salon has a kitchen facility on site and a resident chef who prepares breakfasts, lunches and salads.
Most salons, though, offer a complimentary cup of coffee or tea, juices and water and, if required, will pop out to a local café for a sandwich if a client wants.
If you decide to do more than this, you must be aware that anyone handling food sold to the public needs to abide by certain standards of hygiene, which are laid out in the Food Safety Act 1990.
Contact your local environmental health officer for guidance, as staff involved with food production may have to complete a hygiene course.
Offering Alcohol
The issue of a drinks licence is far more complicated and the new Licensing Act stipulates that you need two licences to sell alcohol:
A Personal Licence - for the person authorised to sell the alcohol. Cost: £37
A Premises Licence - for the site. Cost: upwards of £100
Some salon owners get caught out over the fact you also need a licence to give drink away to your customers.
We spoke to a licensing officer with one local authority who told us: "If there's any suggestion that the alcohol being provided is linked to a sale, then a licence is needed."
So if you're giving customers a glass of free Champagne, then you're only offering it to people that are having a haircut, and that means it's linked to a sale, even if you're not charging them directly for the drink.
If anyone could come into your salon and have a free drink - in other words people who aren't buying a service - you could argue that the drink isn't linked to a sale, and that you don't need a licence, but you need to check with your local authority first.
You won't require a licence for a one-off occasion, such as an open evening or a party, if the people attending aren't there for a haircut. If it's a regular occurrence, you might need a temporary event notice.
The licensing officer we spoke to urged any salon owners to contact their local authority to clarify the position as various local authorities may interpret the law differently.
So what a salon in one area is allowed to do, may not be the same for a salon in another borough.
Food Hygiene: The Basics
Ensure staff always wear clean clothing and keep themselves clean when preparing food.
Hands must always be washed thoroughly - and in particular before handling food, before starting work, after using the toilet, after handling raw foods or waste and after every break.
You must be aware if staff involved with food preparation have been suffering from any skin, nose, throat, stomach or bowel trouble (including sickness or diarrhoea or an infected wound).
Staff are breaking the law if they don't tell you and they then prepare food for sale.
All cuts and sores should be covered with a waterproof, high visibility dressing.
Staff should avoid unnecessary handling of food.
No-one should smoke, eat or drink in a food room, and should never cough or sneeze over food.
Ensure food is not prepared too far in advance of serving it up - particularly salads and sandwiches.
Ensure that perishable food is kept either refrigerated or piping hot.
Keep the preparation of raw and cooked food strictly separate.
When reheating food, ensure it is piping hot.
Keep all equipment and surfaces clean. Clean up as you go.
Staff should follow any food safety instructions on food packaging.
More Information
For advice on food safety log on to the Food Standards Agency at
www.food.gov.uk; or visit
Website of the UK government : Directgov for information about the licensing laws.
Tags: drink , food , Hellen Ward , licence , Nicky Clarke , Richard Ward This entry is in Legal Comments (0) Permalink
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