In the same way that perfect planning prevents poor performance, so does thorough training prevent costly and dangerous work practices developing in your pub. Many publicans enter the trade with little or no training and even less understanding of the many regulations and legislation relating to pubs.
The BII runs a Pre-Entry Awareness Training (PEAT) programme for potential pub tenants and lessees that explains the basics of taking on a tenancy or lease, business plans for tied pubs, rental calculations and the consequences of breach of tenancy or lease agreements. It takes two hours (online training) and costs just £20 plus VAT. You won’t be allowed to take on a tenancy or lease from a pubco or brewery until you have undertaken and passed PEAT.
Most pubcos and breweries also insist you go on their in-house training courses, which can last up to a week and cost anywhere up to £1,000. These training courses cover a variety of topics, but in my experience are geared mainly towards sales, promotions, marketing and anything that will help you make the money you need to pay the rent. They tend to be very light on some of the essential training you need to run a pub safely and within the law.
There are four main regulatory and legislative requirements, beyond gaining a Personal Licence, that make up what I call Pre-Entry Regulatory Training (PERT). The four elements of PERT will enable you to run your pub in a safe and hygienic manner for the benefit of you, your staff and your customers.
The four elements of PERT are: Emergency First Aid at Work, Manual Handling, Fire Marshall and Level 2 Food Hygiene.
Emergency First Aid at Work
Pubs are like any other business that employ staff and have a legal requirement to ensure that there are sufficient members of the pub team that can administer primary Emergency First Aid in the workplace in the event of accidents and injuries sustained whilst at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says that as a minimum all workplaces should have an emergency first aid kit and at least one “appointed person” to take charge of first aid arrangements and keep the first aid box properly stocked.
It is a legal requirement to inform your staff of the first aid arrangements in your pub and to keep records of accidents and injuries sustained in the workplace. Depending on the size of your business and the number of people you employ you may also be required to have varying numbers of people trained in administering primary first aid.
An Emergency First Aid at Work course will take about 6 hours to complete and should cover the following topics:
- First Aid Priorities
- Managing Incidents
- Basic Life Support
- Examination of a Casualty
- Unconsciousness
- Control of Bleeding
- Burns and Scalds
- Regulations
- First Aid Kits
- Recording and Reporting
Of course, staff aren’t the only people you should consider when planning your Emergency First Aid training, customers also have accidents and fall ill in pubs and you have a duty of care to them as well.
Pubs present any number of risks to health (kitchens, cellar and bars) from a variety of sources – open flames in kitchens, powerful cleaning chemicals such as those used in the cellar and broken glass behind bars. Customers, who have consumed alcohol, may trip inside or outside the pub, on occasion be subject to injury due to violence or otherwise being under the influence of alcohol. So a comprehensive risk assessment of your first aid requirement is essential … getting Emergency First Aid at Work training will not only equip you to deal with any incident but will help you identify potential risks and minimise them in the first place.
For more detailed guidance see my separate article on Emergency First Aid on the website.