age restricted sales · licence. examples include: selling alcohol without a licence; selling...

Age Restricted Sales

It is very important that age restricted products are not sold to children, and there are

several pieces of legislation to prevent the sale of these products to those too young

to buy them.

Such restrictions are necessary to prevent young people from behaving anti-socially,

becoming a nuisance to those around them and, most importantly, from harming

themselves. You have a responsibility to ensure you stay within the legislation when

selling these products. Croydon Trading Standards monitor compliance for the

following products:

Age related product Age restriction Fine

Alcohol 18 Unlimited fine and/or 6 month’s imprisonment

Tobacco (sale of)

Tobacco (display of)

18

18

£2,500 fine

Unlimited fine and/or 6 months imprisonment

Nicotine Inhaling Products (Electronic cigarettes)

18 (as of 1st October 2015)

£2,500 fine

Fireworks 18 Unlimited fine and/or 3 months imprisonment

Knives & Offensive Weapons 18 Unlimited fine and/or 6 months imprisonment

Butane 18 Unlimited fine and/or 6 months imprisonment

Aerosol Spray Paint 16 £2,500 fine

DVDs 12 / 15 / 18 Unlimited fine and/or 6 months imprisonment

Computer Games 12 / 16 / 18 Unlimited fine and/or 6 months imprisonment

Lottery tickets and scratch cards

16 Unlimited fine and/or 2 years imprisonment

BB Guns 18 Unlimited fine and/or 6 months imprisonment

This guidance can be used as advice for the business owner/ management, or directly as training

material for their staff.

Trading Standards Online Age Restricted Sales Guidance.

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CONTENTS

SECTION ONE – Product Legislation

For staff training:

Alcohol 3 – 5

Tobacco (Sale of) 6 – 7

Tobacco (Display of) 7 – 9

Nicotine Inhaling Products (E-cigs) 10

Tobacco & Nicotine Inhaling Products - Persistent Sales 11

Fireworks 12 – 13

Knives & Offensive Weapons 14

Butane 14

Psychoactive Substances / ‘Legal Highs’ 15

DVDs / Computer Games 16

Lottery 17

BB Guns 18

Aerosol Spray Paints 19

Miscellaneous Products 19

SECTION TWO – Policies & Procedures

For staff training:

Age Verification Policy – Challenge 25 21

No ID No Sale 21

How to Spot Underage / Proxy Purchasers 22

Handling Refusals 23

Refusals / Challenge Register 24

Checklist 24

Training Record 25

Guidance for Management:

Preventing Underage Sales 26

Staff Training 27

Prominent Notices 27

Till Prompts 27

Self-Checks & Assessments 28

Problem Prevention / Other Precautions 28 – 29

Distance Selling 29

Other Sources of Information 30

For each age restricted product there is a list of offences, consequences and additional

information. The consequences section will also identify who is potentially committing an

offence.


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For staff training

SECTION

ONE

Product

Legislation


3

ALCOHOL

Licensing Act 2003

Glossary of Terms:

Licence – The Premises Licence: enabling the authorised sale of alcohol.

PLH – Premises Licence Holder.

DPS – Designated Premises Supervisor: named person of responsibility.

CC – Conditional Caution: a caution given in respect of an offence which has

conditions attached to it.

£90 PND – A £90 penalty notice for disorder: a fine usually issued at the time.

Review – The local Licensing Committee would review (upon request of a

Responsible Authority, e.g. Trading Standards) the Licence and could do

one or more of the following: endorse it with additional conditions;

remove the DPS; suspend it for up to 3 months or revoke the licence.

Underage sale – The sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years of age.

The sale of alcohol is a ‘licensable activity’ which means a business needs a Licence

to be able to sell it; as it lays out the conditions for the authorised sale of alcohol.

There will be a named person or company as the PLH and, generally, there is a

named person of responsibility, called a DPS, on the Licence. Some Licences will

carry conditions relating to the operation of a Challenge 25 Policy; regular staff

training and the use of a Refusals/ Challenges Book.

Croydon Council Licensing Department will issue the required Licence under

the Licensing Act 2003.

The Licensing Act 2003 requires the premises to display the Licence Summary in a

public area of the shop and visible to customers. It also requires a full copy of the

Licence to be retained on site, out of public view. This should not be locked away

from staff as it may need to be produced during any licensing inspection. Staff

should be aware who holds the position of DPS, as identified on the Licence, at the

premises. All staff that hold a Personal Licence should ensure they carry theirs with

them, whilst at work; or have them available on site.

All staff (who do not hold a Personal Licence) should be authorised to sell alcohol on

behalf of the DPS – usually referred to as DPS Written Authorisation – and staff

should know where it is kept; in order to produce it if required during an inspection.


4

Offence:

It is an offence to carry on licensable activities outside of the authorisation of a

Licence. Examples include: selling alcohol without a Licence; selling alcohol without

a named DPS or a breach of the conditions (such as not implementing the Challenge

25 Policy).

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the staff member who causes the

breach; the DPS; the PLH; the owner of the business and any other person who had

the ability to prevent the breach. The offence attracts an unlimited fine and/ or a

licence review.

Additional information:

In order to avoid committing this offence you should ensure that all persons, who

work at the premises, are made aware of what conditions are on the Licence and

impress upon them the importance of following them.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to sell and/ or allow the supply of alcohol to a person under the age of

18 years old.

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the buyer; the seller (the staff member

who actually sells the alcohol); the DPS; the PLH and the owner of the business.

The offence attracts an unlimited fine and/ or a licence review. The seller may be

dealt with by means of a £90 PND, or a CC.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to persistently sell alcohol to underage persons. ‘Persistent’ is

defined as an underage sale of at least 2 occasions in a 3 month period.

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the seller (the staff member who

actually sells the alcohol); the DPS; the PLH and the owner of the business. The

offence attracts an unlimited fine and/ or a licence review. The seller may be dealt

with by means of a £90 PND, or a CC.

*****


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Offence:

It is an offence for a person, under the age of 18, to sell alcohol without authorisation

from a person aged over 18 (adult).

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the DPS; the PLH; the owner of the

business and any adult staff member who had the ability to authorise the sale. The

penalty, for allowing an underage person to make an unauthorised sale of alcohol, is

a fine of up to £200.

Additional Information:

This means that each and every sale of alcohol by a person under 18 MUST be

authorised by a person over 18.

Note for Management: In relation to the above offence, you should be aware that

any child of school age, in your employment, must be registered with Croydon

Council. They are restricted as to how many hours they can work and what duties

they can perform.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence for an adult to purchase alcohol on behalf of an underage person –

known as a ‘proxy sale’.

Consequences:

The adult purchaser commits the offence and can receive an unlimited fine, but they

may be dealt with by means of a £90 PND, or a CC.

Additional Information:

Where a business is licensed to sell alcohol they have a duty, under the Licensing

Objectives, to protect children from harm. Therefore, all premises should be aware

of proxy sales and take steps to prevent them. Businesses that wilfully disregard

their duty are likely to be subject to a licence review.


6

TOBACCO

Children and Young Persons Act 1933 Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991 Children and Young Person’s (Sale of Tobacco) Order 2007 Children and Families Act 2014 Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display) (England) Regulations 2010 Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display of Prices) (England) Regulations 2010 Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016

The sale of tobacco products is governed by a variety of legislation, as above. This

section is split into ‘sale of’ and ‘display of’ tobacco offences. There are further

offences relating to the sale of tobacco which are linked into the sale of Nicotine

Inhaling Products (E-cigarettes); see page 11 for further information.

SALE OF (Tobacco)

Every premise that sells tobacco products must display a notice, in a prominent

position that reads:

IT IS ILLEGAL TO SELL TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18

The notice must be a minimum of 297mm x 420mm (A3) and the lettering must be

no smaller than 36mm in height.

Offence:

It is an offence to sell cigarettes, tobacco products or cigarette papers to any person

under the age of 18.

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the seller (the staff member who

actually sells the product) and the owner of the business. The offence attracts a fine

of up to £2500.

*****

Offence: (as of 1st October 2015)

It is an offence for an adult to purchase cigarettes, tobacco products or cigarette

papers on behalf of a person under 18 years – known as a ‘proxy sale’.

Consequences:

The adult purchaser commits the offence and can receive a fine of up to £2500.

However, responsible retailers should take steps to prevent these sales.

*****


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Offence:

Where any person carries on a business involving the sale of tobacco by retail, at

any premises, and no notice is exhibited, an offence is committed.

Consequences:

The owner of the business is liable for a fine of up to £1000.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to sell cigarettes other than in their original packaging of 20 or more.

It is an offence to sell tobacco not compliant with plain packaging requirements.

Consequences:

An unlimited fine and / or up to 2 years imprisonment.

****************************************************************

DISPLAY OF (Tobacco)

Tobacco must be stored out of public sight. Unless it is for one of the following

reasons;

A request made to buy/ see tobacco products by customers aged 18 and above.

Incidental displays while staff are actively; assessing stock levels for the purposes of stock control; restocking; undertaking staff training; cleaning the storage unit, maintaining the storage unit, refurbishing the storage unit; following a request by an enforcement officer.

The display must only last as long as necessary. The display must end if the task is interrupted and is no longer actively being carried out. More than one temporary display may take place at a time, provided that the tasks are carried out independently of each other.

The size of each temporary display allowed must not exceed 1.5 square metres.

Offence:

It is an offence to display/ expose tobacco products (but not accessories such as

tobacco papers) to a person under 18 years old.

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the staff member who makes/ causes

the display and the owner of the business. The offence attracts an unlimited fine

and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.


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In order to avoid committing this offence you should ensure that all customers are

age assessed, using the Challenge 25 Policy, before exposing the tobacco. This

means that you cannot rely on the till prompt, to remind you to ask for ID, as by

scanning it you have already committed the exposure offence. Ideally, this

requirement could be avoided if the till prompt had a specific ‘tobacco refusal’ button

or a paper based barcode that could be scanned instead.

It is not an offence if other people in the shop (including children) see a tobacco

product as a consequence of a requested or incidental display.

It is not an offence to display tobacco products if that display is requested by a

regulatory officer, a police officer or an officer of HM Revenue and Customs who is

acting in the course of their duty. For this purpose it does not matter how large or for

how long a display lasts.

If you are a bulk/ specialist tobacconist different rules apply regarding the display of

tobacco; please contact us for further advice.

*****

Price lists and price labels for tobacco products must only be displayed in specific

formats. This is to ensure price lists and labels cannot be exploited as forms of

tobacco promotion.

Only three types of tobacco price display are permitted; (detailed below)

Poster style lists (up to A3 in size): It must be titled ‘Tobacco products price

list’ but may include subheadings e.g. ‘Cigarettes’, ‘Hand rolling tobacco’,

‘Cigars’, ‘Pipe tobacco’ or ‘Other tobacco’. Wording should be no higher than

7mm (equates approximately to size 30 font). You are only able to display

one list unless there are two separate areas within the premises that contain

both a tobacco gantry and till.

A list including pictures of products (Catalogue Style): It must not be left

on permanent show, but can be shown, on request, to customers aged 18 or

over, who have asked for information about tobacco products for sale. Steps

must be taken to ensure that the customer is aged 18 or over before the list is

shown. This type of price list is not restricted by size. However it can only be

displayed as long as necessary and wording should be no higher than 4mm

(equates approximately to size 14 font). It may contain pictures of the actual

tobacco product as packaged for sale, as long as each picture does not

exceed 50 square centimetres in size. It must not include pictures of

individual cigarettes or of any other unpackaged tobacco products. Again,

you are limited to one copy per till where the gantry is situated.

Price labels: These can be placed on shelving, storage or tobacco jars. One

price label is permitted for each product either on the covered shelf, where the


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product is stored, or on the front of the storage unit. The area where the,

permitted (see below), information is displayed should not be larger than 9

square centimetres and wording should be no higher than 4mm (equates

approximately to size 14 font).

The price displays must be in black Helvetica plain font and use the same size font

throughout the text. All letters must be in lower case, except the first letters of the

words where appropriate. No under lining, italics, bold type or any other

distinguishing emphasis is allowed. The background must be white; no other colours

for the wording and background are allowed.

The only, permitted, information that can be given about tobacco products are;

The brand name.

The price of the product.

If pre packed, the number of units in the packet, or if sold by weight, the net weight of the product.

For cigars only, the country of origin and dimensions (e.g. length and ring gauge).

For pipe tobaccos only, the cut and type of tobacco used.

Consideration also needs to be given to The Price Marking Order (PMO). The PMO

sets out the general legal requirements in respect of the display of the price of goods

offered for sale and the new tobacco pricing law does not alter, change or interfere

with the PMO.

The new law simply means that when tobacco prices are displayed, they must be in

one of the new legal formats. Retailers will need to consider which type or types of

tobacco price list or label they wish to use to meet the requirements of the PMO.

Offence:

It is an offence to display the prices of tobacco in a way that does not meet the

requirements of the legislation.

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: any person acting in the course of a

business. This attracts an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to obstruct a duly authorised officer, from an enforcement authority,

who is acting in the proper exercise of their functions, (e.g. a Trading Standards

Officer carrying out an inspection in relation to the display of tobacco).

Consequences:

The staff member who is responsible for the obstruction is liable to a fine of up to

£1000.


10

NICOTINE INHALING PRODUCTS

The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regs 2015

Children & Families Act 2014

NOTE: These offences apply as of 1st October 2015.

A ‘nicotine inhaling product’ is defined as any of the following:

a nicotine inhaling device (used to inhale nicotine through a mouthpiece);

a nicotine cartridge (contains nicotine and forms part of a nicotine inhaling

device);

a nicotine refill substance (usually referred to as an e-liquid).

Nicotine inhaling devices are generally referred to as electronic cigarettes or e-cigs.

The law covers both disposable and rechargeable devices. Customers will refer to

their use of these products as ‘vaping’.

There are further offences relating to the sale of nicotine inhaling products which are

linked into the sale of tobacco; see page 11 for further information.

Offence:

It is an offence to sell a nicotine inhaling product to a person under 18 years old.

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the staff member who makes the sale

and the owner of the business. The offence attracts a fine up to £2500.


There is an exception for nicotine inhaling products that are licenced as medicines or

medical devices. This exemption only applies to the extent to which the product is

authorised.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence for an adult to purchase nicotine inhaling products on behalf of a

person under 18 years – known as a ‘proxy sale’.

Consequences:

The adult purchaser commits the offence and can receive a fine of up to £2500.

However, responsible retailers should take steps to prevent these sales. Be aware

of young people loitering outside your premises, they may ask adult customers to

buy nicotine inhaling products for them; best practice is refuse such sales.


11

TOBACCO & NICOTINE INHALING PRODUCTS (Persistent Sales)

The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regs 2015

Children and Young Persons Act 1933

NOTE: The offence applies to nicotine inhaling products as of 1st October 2015.

The ‘persistent’ sales offence relates to the sale of cigarettes, tobacco, cigarettes

papers and nicotine inhaling products. ‘Persistent’ is defined as, at least two

previous sales of a relevant product in a two year period.

Glossary of Terms:

Relevant product – Cigarettes, tobacco, cigarette papers or nicotine inhaling products.

Relevant offence – The sale of a relevant product to a person under 18 (underage).

Relevant premises – The premises where the offence takes place.

Offence:

It is an offence to persistently sell relevant products to persons under 18 years.

E.g: a business caught selling cigarettes to an underage person received an informal

warning (1st relevant offence); a few months later the same business, was

prosecuted for selling an electronic cigarette to an underage person (2nd relevant

offence); then, within two years of the 1st relevant offence, the relevant premises was

caught selling cigarettes to an underage person leading to a persistent sales offence.

Consequences:

The consequences can be contained to the seller if they have committed the multiple

offences but are more likely to apply to the whole business. A Restricted Premises

Order and/or a Restricted Sales Order can be put in place.

A Restricted Premises Order prohibits the sale of relevant products, to any

person, from a relevant premises. This order can be imposed for a period of up

to one year and it prevents all staff from selling the relevant products from

the relevant premises. You are entitled to make representations to the court as

to why they should not grant the order.

A Restricted Sales Order prohibits a specified person, who has been

convicted of a relevant offence, from selling a relevant product to any person. It

also prevents them from having any management function related to the sale of

relevant products for a period of up to one year.

A breach of a Restricted Premises Order or a Restricted Sales Order attracts an

unlimited fine.


12

FIREWORKS

The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015

Firework Regulations 2004

Consumer Protection Act 1987

All premises that wish to sell fireworks must obtain a licence, to store and sell the

fireworks, from their local Licensing Authority. For the purposes of fireworks

licensing in Croydon, Croydon Council Trading Standards is the Licensing Authority.

This licence will dictate what quantity of fireworks you may store and when you may

sell those fireworks. Unless you purchase a year round licence you will be restricted

to only being able to sell fireworks during the following periods:

Fireworks Season – 15th October until 10th November.

New Year – 3 days up to and including New Year (26th to 31st December).

Diwali – 3 days up to and including Diwali.

Chinese New Year – 3 days up to and including Chinese New Year.

Firework Categories:

F1 – Low hazard and negligible noise level which are intended for use in

confined areas, including use inside domestic building. E.g. Birthday cake

fireworks; party poppers; throw downs & serpents.

F2 – Also referred to as ‘adult fireworks’. Low hazard and low noise level

which are intended for outdoor use in a confined space. E.g. Sparklers;

Catherine Wheels and other fireworks marked with a short safety distance.

F3 – Also referred to as ‘adult fireworks’. Medium hazard and a noise level

not harmful to human health, which are intended for outdoor use in large open

areas. E.g. fireworks marked with a large safety distance.

When selling adult fireworks, a statutory notice stating the following, needs to be

clearly visible:

IT IS ILLEGAL TO SELL CATEGORY F2 FIREWORKS OR CATEGORY F3

FIREWORKS TO ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18

and

IT IS ILLEGAL FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 TO POSSESS

CATEGORY F2 FIREWORKS OR CATEGORY F3 FIRWORKS IN A PUBLIC

PLACE

It must be at least 420mm x 297mm (A3) with lettering no smaller than 16mm high.

The statutory notice is available from your fireworks supplier.


13

Packets of Sparklers should be labelled with the following wording:

WARNING: Not to be given to children under 5 years of age

Fireworks should carry a CE Mark, though some may still bear the BS7114 mark

until 4th July 2017. Boxes of fireworks should not be broken up and sold separately.

There are a number of banned fireworks which include those bearing the following

descriptions: aerial wheel; banger (flash/ double); mini rocket; spinner and jumping

cracker. This is not an exhaustive list.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply any Category F1 fireworks to any person under 16

years old. With the exception of Christmas Crackers which cannot be sold to any

person under 12 years old.

Consequences:

The seller and business owner are liable for an unlimited fine and/ or up to 3 months

imprisonment. The seller may be subject to an internal disciplinary which could

result in the loss of their job, depending on the business’s policies.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply any Category F2 and F3 fireworks, including sparklers,

to any person under 18 years old.

Consequences:

The seller and business owner are liable for an unlimited fine and/ or up to 3 months

imprisonment. The seller may be subject to an internal disciplinary which could

result in the loss of their job, depending on the business’s policies.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply any adult fireworks, without displaying the statutory

notice.

Consequences:

The business owner is liable for an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months

imprisonment.


14

KNIVES & OFFENSIVE WEAPONS

Criminal Justice Act 1988

Offensive Weapons Act 1996

Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply any: knife; knife blade; razor blade; axe; article which

has a blade or is sharply pointed (which is made or adapted for causing injury to the

person) or crossbow, to any person under 18 years old.

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the seller and the business owner.

The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.

This restriction does not apply to:

A folding pocket knife, with a blade of less than 3 inches,

A razor blade permanently held in a cartridge with less than 2mm exposed,

Articles such as scissors or a compass.

************************************************************

BUTANE

The Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations 1999

The Consumer Protection Act 1987

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply any cigarette lighter refill canister containing butane, or

a substance with butane as a constituent part, to any person under 18 years old.

Consequences:


The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.

PLEASE NOTE:

Butane gas is VERY DANGEROUS if misused. It can KILL a person the first time

they abuse it. It is very important that you ensure you only sell this product to

persons over 18 and who you believe will only use it for the correct purpose.


15

Psychoactive Substances

Psychoactive Substances Act 2016

This Act bans psychoactive substances, also known as ‘legal highs’, in the UK and

prevents the supply of these for human consumption.

A psychoactive substance is defined as “any substance which (a) is capable of

producing a psychoactive effect in a person who consumes it, and (b) is not an

exempted substance”. A psychoactive effect is something which affects a person’s

mental functioning or emotional state by stimulating or depressing their nervous

system. The effects include the following:

Hallucinations

Changes in alertness

Perception of time and space

Mood or empathy with others

Drowsiness

Exempted substances are food, medicinal products, alcohol, controlled drugs,

nicotine/ tobacco products, and caffeine.

In practice retailers should focus on solvent based glues, correction fluids/thinner,

marker pens, any kind of aerosols, anti-freeze, nail varnish/nail varnish remover,

nitrous oxide.

Offence:

It is an offence to supply or offer to supply a psychoactive substance, knowingly or is

reckless as to whether, it is likely to be consumed for its psychoactive effects.

Consequences:

A person found guilty of such an offence is liable to a fine and or up to 7 years

imprisonment.

PLEASE NOTE:

Psychoactive substance abuse can KILL! Therefore, it is responsible to refuse the

sale of any psychoactive substance you believe is going to be consumed, no matter

the age of the customer.


16

DVDS & COMPUTER GAMES

Video Recordings Acts 1984 and 2010

The legislation applies to both video recordings and video games.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) certifies the age ratings for video

recordings (e.g. DVDs).

The Games Rating Authority (GRA), part of Video Standards Council (VSC), certifies

the age ratings applied to video games using the Pan European Game Information

(PEGI) rating system.

BBFC for video recordings Age Classifications

12 15 18

R18 – sold in licenced sex shops only

PEGI for video games Age Classifications

12 16 18

The following classifications are for guidance purposes: BBFC ratings ‘U’ and ‘PG’

and PEGI ratings ‘3’ and ‘7’.

NOTE: When magazines offer a free DVD or Video Game, the magazine and the

free item become age restricted to the age of the free DVD or Video Game.

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply video recording and games to any person under the

age limit of the allocated certification.

Consequences:


The penalty is an unlimited fine and up to 6 months imprisonment.


17

LOTTERY TICKETS

National Lottery etc. Act 1993

National Lottery Regulations 1994

Gambling Act 2005

The legislation differentiates between the National Lottery (Lotto) and other lotteries

(e.g. Health Lottery). Any reference to the National Lottery also encompasses the

relevant scratch cards.

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply a National Lottery product to any person under 16

years old.

Consequences:


The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 2 years imprisonment.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply a Lottery (not including National Lottery) ticket to any

person under 16 years old.

Consequences:


The penalty, for defendants aged 18 and over, is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 12

months imprisonment. The penalty, for defendants aged 16 or 17, is a fine up to

£1000.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence to employ a person aged 15 and under for purposes of selling Lottery

tickets.

Consequences:

The business owner commits this offence and the penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or

up to 12 months imprisonment. It is best practice for this particular law to be applied

to sale of National Lottery products also.


18

BB GUNS

Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006

Violent Crime Reduction Act (Realistic Imitation Firearms) Regulations 2007

The following definitions explain the 3 categories of BB Gun:

Realistic Imitation: These are grey, black or another realistic gun colour with

the size and shape similar to a gun, whether it is capable of firing or not.

Basically, they resemble a real gun and are only distinguishable via a close

inspection or an expert assessment.

Un-Realistic Imitation: These are under a certain size or one of the specified

bright colours. Basically, they are easily distinguishable from a real gun. The

size limitation is 70mm in length and 38mm in width. The specified colours

are: red; orange; yellow; green; pink; purple or blue.

Toy Guns: These do not have the appearance of a gun and are immediately

distinguishable from a real gun. E.G., Supersoakers or futuristic light/ noise

guns.

Offence:

It is an offence to sell an un-realistic imitation firearm to any person under 18 years

of age.

Consequences:

The following people can commit this offence: the buyer, the seller and the business

owner. The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.

*****

Offence:

It is an offence for a person to sell a realistic imitation firearm. There are exceptions

to this, such as those used in Airsoft Skirmishing or theatrical/ TV/ museum use.

Consequences:

This offence is committed by the person who carries out the activity. The penalty for

these activities is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 2 years imprisonment.


19

AEROSOL SPRAY PAINT

Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003

Spray paints do not generally pose a direct health risk to young people, but they are

used in the creation of graffiti in the local community. This causes a nuisance and

can create a high crime perception image for that community; potentially

encouraging more crime.

Offence:

It is an offence to sell/ supply aerosol spray paints to any person under 16 years old.

Consequences:


The penalty is a fine up to £2500.

****************************************************

MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS

There are some products which do not carry a legal age restriction but the product

can cause harm to underage persons. We advise responsible retailers to implement

their own age restriction on such products, as below:

Product Recommended Age Restriction

Matches 18

Lighters 18

Energy Drinks 16

Caffeine Supplements 16


20

For Staff Training: pages 21 – 25

Guidance for Management: pages 26 – 30

SECTION

TWO

Policies and

Procedures


21

AGE VERIFICATION POLICY – CHALLENGE 25

All premises, that sell alcohol, have a mandatory licence condition requiring the

operation of an age verification policy such as Challenge 21 or Challenge 25.

Croydon Trading Standards have advocated the use of the Challenge 25 for many

years, as it provides retailers with greater protection against serving underage

persons. Although the Challenge 25 policy is often associated with the sale of

alcohol we encourage all retailers to implement the policy for all age restricted

products.

What does Challenge 25 mean and when is it used?

As soon as a customer attempts to purchase any age restricted product you should

be looking at them and assessing their age. You must decide whether the person

looks 25 years old or above. If they do, you may go ahead and make the sale with

no further questions. However, if they look under 25 you need to see a valid form of

ID, proving they are 18 or above, before you can make the sale.

Why operate Challenge 25?

It is very difficult to guess a person’s age and young people are easily able to dress

up to look older than they really are. By assessing everyone’s age against the 25

year marker it gives you a better chance of catching out those underage persons

who look older than they are.

*************************************************

NO ID NO SALE

There is no exception to the rule. As soon as you believe a customer looks under 25

you should ask to see their ID and the sale should not go ahead until you have seen

valid ID. Don’t ask their age or whether they are old enough; just ask to see their ID.

The valid, acceptable and recommended forms of ID are as follows:

Passport

Photo Driving Licence (UK is preferred)

PASS approved cards (e.g. Citizencard)

You may recognise customers you’ve already asked for ID and be tempted not to

ask them again. We have failed test purchases as a result of staff mistaking our

volunteers for previous ID checked customers. There is also the perception of other

customers who may complain that you are making underage sales, as they didn’t

see you ID a person they believe looked too young. Always ask for ID from those

who look under 25 and ask them to always carry their ID. If ID is not provided you

should REFUSE the sale.


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HOW TO SPOT UNDERAGE/ PROXY PURCHASERS

It is important to learn how to judge peoples’ age, in order to prevent making

underage sales. It is a difficult skill to master and practice does help you to improve.

Try judging peoples’ ages when you are outside of the work environment, such as

when you are watching TV. You can try to guess the actors’ ages and look them up

on the internet to see if you are right. Appearance is the go to indicator of age.

Guess the age of the people below. Would you have asked them for ID?

The answer should be yes, as they look under 25. (Two are under 18 with the others under 25)

Appearance shouldn’t be used alone, the other indicators to help you judge are:

Are they purchasing an item that you associate with young people?

Are they acting too confident or, alternatively, nervous and avoiding eye

contact?

Who are they with? A group of young people may come in together but only

one or two of them approach the till. If everyone in the group looks young, ID

them all.

Remember; do not rely on the following factors to judge age: height; body shape;

tattoos or facial hair.

Another important skill is to be able to spot proxy sales. A proxy sale is the purchase

of an age restricted product by a person over the legal age, with the intention of

passing it onto an underage person. It may be as easy to spot as the young person

selecting the alcohol and handing it to the adult to purchase. You should always

refuse to serve them and explain that they are committing an offence if they buy it.

Other proxy scenarios, out of many possibilities, could be:

A group of young people are in the alcohol aisle and all approach the till, only

one is carrying the alcohol and this is the person who produces ID. You

should ask for ID from everyone in the group, as they are likely to be leaving

the premises to consume the alcohol together; or the purchaser is an older

friend/ relative who intends to pass the alcohol over on exiting your premises.

You refuse to serve a product to a young person and then an adult attempts

to purchase the same product soon afterwards – perhaps you’ve seen them

talking outside. Ask if the product is for them and it will help decide if you

need to refuse the sale.


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HANDLING REFUSALS

When refusing to serve someone it is important that it is done in a polite and

professional manner. Stay calm and apologise to the customer. Tell them that the

law prevents you from making the sale and that if you served them you could be

prosecuted; point to the Challenge 25 or Proxy Sale Posters to back up the reason

for your refusal. Explain that you will be happy to serve them if they come back with

one of your accepted forms of ID. Don’t back down, once you’ve asked for ID you

must see it in order to go ahead with the sale. You, your colleagues and your

management are all part of a team and if you have asked for ID they should support

you in that choice. If they become aggressive: keep the counter or barrier between

you; try not to antagonise or humiliate the person as it may create further problems;

use relaxed body language with open handed gestures; avoid prolonged eye

contact; seek support from colleagues or management and ultimately, if the person

becomes violent or threatening you should call the Police.

Remember, when refusing the sale:

Be Polite & Professional

Stay Calm

Apologise

De-personalise

Transfer the Blame

Offer a Solution

Be Firm/ Stand Your Ground

If they get aggressive:

Use relaxed Body Language

Avoid Prolonged Eye Contact

Keep a Barrier Between you

Ask for Management Support

Call the Police

If you feel uncomfortable asking for ID you must speak to your Manager/ Business

Owner. Ask them to provide you with further training, such as shadowing a more

experienced member of staff to see how they do it; or doing role play scenarios

around refusals.

Some refusals may be made due to the use of fake ID. You should always refuse if

the ID looks like it has been tampered with. A quick check on a UK Driving Licence

is to run your finger over the surname, if it is raised it is probably genuine but smooth

means it’s fake.


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REFUSALS / CHALLENGE REGISTER

Whenever you challenge a customer for ID, whether that results in a sale being

made or a refusal, we would encourage you to record. We would also encourage

you to record any refusals based on the customer being drunk; attempting to use

fake ID or buying on behalf of an underage person.

Some premises will have an electronic method of recording these challenges which

will be linked to a till prompt and make it easier for staff to ensure they accurately

record them. Other premises will implement a written system usually referred to as a

Refusals Log or Book. It may be that some of these logs/ books are only designed

to record refusals. Trading Standards issue Refusals/ Challenge Registers which

allow the manual recording of all challenges. A record should allow for you to

record: your name; the date & time; the product; the reason for refusal or which form

of acceptable ID was shown and a brief description of the customer or comment (for

refusals).

Staff should check the Register at the beginning of each shift, to make themselves

aware of potential challenges they may need to make – as underage persons may

try a different member of staff if they’ve been refused previously. If you have a

number of tills it would be beneficial to share refusals immediately (verbally) with

colleagues.

NOTE: Electronic refusals systems should not encourage staff to remove tobacco

from a gantry to record a refusal; as the display of the tobacco to an underage

person, or for a non-prescribed reason, constitutes an offence.

****************************************************

CHECKLIST

You should know where notices and documents are displayed/ stored. Below is a

list of the key notices/ documents you should familiarise yourself with.

Notices / Documents Where displayed / stored?

Full Premises Licence

Premises Licence Summary

DPS Written Authorisation

Challenge 25 Posters

Proxy Posters

Statutory Tobacco Notice

Statutory Fireworks Notice(if applicable)

Other (please specify):


25

TRAINING RECORD

Date Pages Read

Test No. Score Staff Name (Print)

Staff Signature

Trainer Signature

Example: 01/04/2018

2- 21 SCCTS/1 6/6 AMY JONES A Jones A Trainer


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PREVENTING UNDERAGE SALES

If you, or a member of your staff, make a sale to an underage person you may be

prosecuted or your Premises Licence may be reviewed (if applicable).

In deciding whether or not to prosecute a number of issues will be taken into

consideration. These are fully explained in the Enforcement Policy available from

Croydon Council’s website. In particular the precautions you have taken to avoid

committing the offence will be taken into account; it is a defence for the accused to

show that they exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.

Doing nothing is not an option, if you, or your staff, do sell an age restricted product

and you have failed to take any precautions you are more likely to be prosecuted.

It is for each business to decide what steps it needs to take to avoid sales, some of

the steps businesses commonly use include;

Ensuring training is provided and records kept for all staff.

Operating the ‘Challenge 25’ & ‘No ID No Sale’ Policy.

Operating a refusals register.

Displaying prominent notices.

Using a till prompt system.

Advising staff on how to spot under age purchasers.

Handling refusals appropriately.

Carrying out self-checks and assessments.

Problem prevention/Proxy sales.

Liaising with Local Authorities and the Police.

These precautions and other steps you can take are explained in more detail in the

following pages.

As the person responsible for the business you should read all of the ‘Guidance for

Management’ section, as well as the training sections preceding it – relating to

policies and product legislation.

GUIDANCE FOR MANAGEMENT


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STAFF TRAINING

It is important to train your staff, so that they understand their legal responsibilities

and obligations. You should also train your staff in the policies and procedures your

business operates to prevent underage sales and the consequences of not following

them. This training should be given to all staff, including family members or friends

who may help out occasionally and staff who do not operate on the tills.

Written records of training, detailing the date and content, should be kept for each

staff member (see page 25 for a sample you can use). Training material should be

signed off by the trainer and the staff member receiving the information. To ensure

staff have understood the training, a test of knowledge should be completed –

samples available from our website. A copy of this test should be kept with your

training records. Any incorrect answers should be discussed with the staff member

to clarify their knowledge and a re-sit should be considered.

Once staff have received an initial training session they should be given refresher

training at least every 6 months. This refresher training can be in the form of a

knowledge test or a refresh of information combined with a test of knowledge.

Again, a record of any refresher training should be signed, dated and kept with your

training records.

**********************************************

PROMINENT NOTICES

Signage, which advises members of the public about the policies that the shop has

in place, such as ‘No ID No Sale’ and ‘Challenge 25’ will help deter potential

underage purchasers. It sends out a constant and consistent message that under no

circumstances will the store serve an age restricted product to somebody who is not

the required age. It also serves as a useful tool for your staff when they’re making

refusals – as they can point to the poster to back up the policy they are using.

Ensure all statutory notices & Premises Licence Summary (if applicable) are displayed.

***********************************************

TILL PROMPTS

A useful way of reminding members of staff, that they need to check the purchaser’s

age before completing the sale, is by using reminders on point of sale terminals.

Programming terminals so that a message such as ‘Challenge 25!’ is displayed,

when an age restricted product is scanned through, ensures that staff verify the

purchasers age before continuing with the sale. Ideally staff should have to key in

the purchaser’s age / ID shown or a button that needs to be pressed to confirm that

they have performed the ID check. If your till can’t be programmed to give a ‘prompt’

then a written reminder on the till may assist your staff.


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SELF-CHECKS & ASSESSMENTS

You should be checking that your staff are following procedures. You can use the

Refusals/ Challenge Register (or whatever system you use) to check the entries staff

are making. Where entries are not being made you should discuss this with relevant

staff, as it may identify a training need. Where there are a high number of recorded

challenges it can highlight at what time of day you need to take extra care. Sign and

date the Refusals/ Challenge Register each time you check it, which should be at

least every two weeks. Trading Standards provide Refusals Registers free of

charge.

A test of knowledge after training helps identify what your staff have understood and

identify any gaps in the training.

You can supervise staff or use CCTV to monitor staff and check that they are making

sound judgements of age and asking for relevant ID.

You can test your staff by sending in a person to test your Challenge Policy is being

used correctly. Do not send in underage persons to test your staff. They should

be over 18 (or the age of the product being tested) but look under 25 (or the age of

your Challenge Policy). There are companies who can be commissioned to carry

out these checks for you.

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PROBLEM PREVENTION & OTHER PRECAUTIONS

Being proactive in preventing young people attempting to purchase age restricted

products is good practice that should be adopted by every retailer. By monitoring the

shop premise inside and out, you can ensure groups of young persons don’t gather.

These groups are often intimidating for other shop users, and young people in

groups will often pester other shop users to purchase age restricted products on their

behalf.

By liaising with the Police, and building up a relationship with the local officers, you

can discuss your concerns and problems and they may be able to help by visiting the

shop during problem periods. Advising the Police of your concerns should not be

seen as not being able to cope with the problem, it is far better to tackle the

problems in a joint approach.

Other precautions you may wish to consider:

Regular examination of any store CCTV - (NOTE: CCTV is only allowed to

cover the curtilage of your premises).

Senior/experienced members of staff on duty at the time of most risk, e.g.

after school, school holidays etc.


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Consider moving displays of age restricted products to nearer the counter or

even behind it, to minimise the risk of theft and to deter underage purchasers.

Encourage staff who operate on the shop floor to approach customers in the

aisle, whilst they’re browsing the alcohol, to ask those customers for ID or to

tell them they will need their ID. If they prepare customers at this point they

will either leave because they don’t have it/ are too young or they get it out

ready at the till. This helps prevent confrontation at the till when there is a

queue of customers. If staff inform someone they’ll need ID and the customer

doesn’t leave the aisle/ shop, the staff member should warn the till staff to be

vigilant for that customer and ensure they ask for ID.

Encourage your staff to work as a team – they should back each other up

when it comes to challenges and help each other out.

In relation to Licensing Issues

Ensure you have a written Authorisation, by the Designated Premise Supervisor

(DPS), for staff to be selling alcohol in their absence.

Also, ensure you have a full copy of your Premise Licence on site (in a private area

but not locked away where staff can’t access it), as well as the Premise Licence

Summary displayed in the public area of your premises.

******************************************

DISTANCE SELLING

If you are selling on the internet or via a catalogue (i.e. not face to face), it is more

difficult to determine the purchasers age. Where such sales take place, you will

need to introduce a system which aims to prevent sales to underage persons. This

system should include:

Only accepting credit cards as a method of payment. Only persons over the

age of 18 can obtain credit.

To ensure the name and address on the credit card matches that of the name

and the delivery address on the order.

Display warnings of the age restriction wherever the product appears.

Use systems created by: GB Group www.gb.co.uk; Experian

www.experian.co.uk/ and 192.com www.192.com/ to verify age of the person

placing the order.

ID must be shown on delivery or collection.

Remember it is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that goods are only

sold to customers who are old enough. If in any doubt then the transaction

should not proceed.

http://www.gb.co.uk/

http://www.experian.co.uk/

http://www.192.com/


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Further business advice and information can be obtained from:

Croydon Council Trading Standards

Bernard Weatherill House, 8 Mint Walk, Croydon, CR0 1EA

Tel: 0208 407 1311

Email: [email protected]

https://www.croydon.gov.uk/advice/tstandards

Free, impartial legal guidance for businesses that sell goods and/or supply services

to consumers: www.businesscompanion.info

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.croydon.gov.uk/advice/tstandards

http://www.businesscompanion.info/