Licensed premises
Practical de-escalation for staff in pubs, bars, restaurants and other licensed premises who deal with refusal, intoxication and closing-time conflict.
Discuss this course
Why the course matters
This course is tailored for hospitality venues and licensed premises where conflict frequently arises around intoxication, refusals of service, age checks, closing time, and abuse of staff. It equips personnel with calm, practical options they can use immediately on shift, alongside clear thresholds for when to call for help. The Safety Hub guidance on workplace violence and aggression covers the wider subject.
Who it is for
Delivery is tailored around your specific venue, incident history, and shift patterns, from busy weekend rushes to late-night trading and quiet periods with minimal backup.
Because front-line staff meet the problem first and supervisors are called when it grows, the training focuses on coordinated staff response, safe refusal, and clear post-incident reporting.
Course content
Scenarios and practical application
Delegates work through high-pressure scenarios, including managing busy trade.
England and Wales
This is general information for England and Wales. It is not legal advice. Your premises licence, its conditions and your house rules still apply. Licensing law in Scotland and Northern Ireland is different.
A premises licence allows licensable activities at that site. For most hospitality venues, that includes the sale of alcohol. The licence holder is responsible for the premises. Conditions on the licence can limit how alcohol is sold and how the site is run.
Where the licence allows the sale of alcohol, it must name a designated premises supervisor who holds a personal licence. Alcohol must not be sold if there is no designated premises supervisor, or if their personal licence is missing or suspended. Every sale of alcohol must be made or authorised by a personal licence holder.
Licensing authorities carry out their functions with a view to promoting four objectives. They are the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.
Staff can refuse to sell alcohol. It is an offence to knowingly sell alcohol to a person who is drunk, or to attempt that sale, or to allow it, on relevant premises. That includes licensed premises. Keep the refusal calm and in line with house policy. Do not refuse someone because of a protected characteristic, such as race, sex or disability. Staff do not have a power to detain someone.
A person who is drunk or disorderly commits an offence if, without a reasonable excuse, they fail to leave when asked by a police officer, the premises licence holder, the designated premises supervisor, or a member of staff whose role authorises that request. Coming back in after being told not to can also be an offence. Not every employee has that authority. It depends on their role.
It is an offence to be drunk and disorderly in a public place. A public place includes premises the public may enter at the time. That covers a pub, bar or similar venue while it is open to customers.
Staff do not have police powers. Call the police if someone will not leave, becomes violent, or a crime is taking place. A police officer who is asked by an authorised person at the premises must help to remove a person who is drunk or disorderly, and help to stop them coming back in.
The session explains these points in plain language so staff can apply them with judgement. It does not replace your licence conditions, your policies, or advice from your own solicitor.
Allow up to five weeks from confirmation to the first session. That depends on trainer availability and your own staff availability. The window is used to review your policies, build your reporting routes into the material, and give teams time to attend. Where a programme runs across several sessions, the full schedule is agreed up front so you can plan cover.
In-house at your premises, or live online with a trainer. Both formats are tutor-led and cover the same content, discussion and scenario work.
In person across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Live online sessions can be delivered to teams anywhere in the world. Training is delivered in English, with live subtitles through Microsoft Teams or PowerPoint, which can translate captions into the delegate's own language. Where legislation differs across the UK and Ireland, we research the law that applies to you and build it into the material rather than delivering the England and Wales position by default.
Larger workforces are trained as a planned programme, not a single booking. The schedule is agreed at the start and worked around shift patterns and cover. Where travel is involved we will look at consecutive days. Sessions are delivered by associate trainers. We keep the same trainer where we can.
We do not publish prices. Cost depends on group numbers, delivery format, travel, overnight accommodation where the location requires it, and how much bespoke design a programme needs. Any figure published here would be misleading.
Everything you need to know about course delivery, legal coverage, and practical outcomes for your staff.
Yes. The most effective sessions integrate your exact escalation routes, reporting expectations, and site-specific challenges. Your house policies remain the standard, while the training builds staff confidence in applying them calmly under pressure.
Every delegate receives a certificate of attendance, a PDF copy of the certificate and PDF course handouts.
Free, maintained guidance from our Safety Hub covering the core subjects explored throughout this training.
Tell us what you need and we will quote for it.
Discuss this coursePractical insight and resources built from thirty years at the frontline.
Practical controls for violence, aggression, conflict, reporting and review.
Guidance for staff who work alone, visit, travel, or need check-in and escalation.
Abusive calls, repeated contact, boundary setting, records and escalation.
What non-specialist staff should notice, record in fact, and refer.
Gifts, over-familiarity, unofficial contact and pressure to bend the rules.
What to check before a visit, and what to do if a dog is present.
How scenario practice tests real workplace decisions without theatrical conflict.
Travel, walking and public transport. Written for employers to share with staff.
Tell us about your staff roles, working environment and the situations your staff face. We will recommend the right training approach for your organisation.
Trusted by organisations across the UK for practical, scenario-led staff safety training.
