Larger louts in 40’s prove binge kings

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Title – Larger louts in 40’s prove binge kings
Source – Metro
Date – 21st December 2007

The common assumptions that people in their late teens, 20’s and early 30’s are the worst binge drinkers may not be quite as obvious as we had all expected. This latest survey suggests that people in their 40’s have taken over and that time is catching up with them.

For those working in the licensed retail sector this information may come as a surprise and may change their approach to this age group and their assumptions about younger drinkers often referred to as 'binge drinkers'.


Beyond The Blue was established to provide Training and Consultancy to the Licensed Retail Sector and look beyond the obvious to provide information to our clients that is both accurate and relevant to allow them to see beyond the blue rather then deal with things that happen out of the blue.



Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk

Getting round the smoking ban in Germany

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Title – Getting round the smoking ban in Germany
Source – www.metro.co.uk
Date – 19th December 2007

The smoking ban came into force in Germany in January 2008, some time after the UK and there are different rules in different parts of the country. But Michael Windisch came up with the bright idea of allowing people to smoke while inside, yet actually smoking outside, it has not caught on in the UK yet….

This may not be a solution to the loss of revenue to some businesses in the UK, which came with the introduction of the smoking ban, but it is a good representation of what innovation can do. From complete obscurity to publicity throughout the worlds press, Michael Windisch came up with an idea that if not the most practical, certainly grabbed people’s attention.

Innovation, new ideas and making the most of the situation you find yourself in, are all ways of grabbing people’s attention and once you have it, your service standards and the quality of the product you are selling will do the rest. Providing that is, that they are of a suitably high standard.

Our Consultancy Service will look at your business or any part of it and offer you the guidance to improve through a number of established methods and using innovation where ever possible. It is very easy for you to get so involved with your business that you can’t see what is staring you in the face. This inability to see what is letting you down and where you need to improve is not a failing, as it happens to most organisations and in every sector, but the brave and farsighted use the experience of others to point them in the right direction again, to open their eyes and their employees eyes to the potential locked up in their organisation.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk

Aboard the ‘Booze Bus’

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Title – Aboard the ‘Booze Bus’
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 17th December 2007

It is once again a dour picture that is painted of high streets and licensed premises throughout the country. The blame lies fundamentally at the foot of the consumer who drinks to excess and ignores, or is ignorant of the consequences.

However the blame will be laid squarely at the door of he licensed retail sector and the Licensing Act 2003 (or as the tabloids prefer to call it '24 hour drinking') and is sometimes deserved. However, most in the licensed retail sector know all too well that the Act actually (in most cases) put more restrictions, sanctions and responsibility on the personal license holder then the old licensing laws, but public perception is very different.

Licensed retailers have a responsibility to do their part in protecting people from themselves and the excesses and social problems they create, such as those faced by hospitals, emergency services and schemes like the 'booze bus'.

The first step in becoming a more responsible alcohol retailer is training staff at all levels. A better understanding of every individual’s responsibility under the Act will ultimately result in a more professional approach being taken overall by your staff. This will ultimately lead to a less volatile working environment and a more profitable business, protected from sanction by the authorities.

At Beyond The Blue we provide a comprehensive portfolio of BIIAB accredited licensing courses including the Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR), National Certificate for Personal License Holders (NCPLH), National Certificate for Designated Premises Supervisors (NCDPS), National Licensees Certificate - Drugs Awareness (NCLDA), Professional Barpersons Qualification (PBQ) as well as the Award in Conflict Management (ACM). We can also help you with consultancy projects that can examine your business and help you become a more responsible retailer and ultimately more profitable. We examine those systems in place that require change and strengthen those that may have slipped. Many managers end up being so close to their businesses that they simply can’t see the problems staring them in the face, we can all identify with that situation; but the brave ones ask for help to see them and realise the rewards.

For those people working in the health sector and on the 'front line', our Conflict Management and Resolution course and our Physical Intervention course it enables candidates to be able to better protect themselves from the abuse and assaults that they may face in the course of their duties. It goes without saying that any aggression or abuse of those people dedicated to helping others when they most need it, is totally unacceptable, but it is also unfortunately a reality and one their employers need to address. We can help you.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk

Stronger drinks put many at risk

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Title – Stronger drinks put many at risk
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 14th December 2007

Everyone working in the licensed retail sector must make themselves aware of the risks involved with alcohol consumption and the effects it has on individuals. This knowledge enables them to act more responsibly in the sale or supply of alcohol in their individual place of work.

With a variety of different premises satisfying the different needs of their community from working men’s clubs to continental style wine / café bars and street corner off licenses to specialist wine merchants, staff require the knowledge of the products they are selling, to be able to better advise their customers. Customers are increasingly concerned with what they are consuming, many more people take an interest in the ingredients in their food and drink and this trend is set to grow with the introduction of new labelling on all bottles and cans containing alcohol, that will show the governments sensible drinking message and the alcohol unit content.

The old and very simple methods of calculating units consumed, where a glass of wine, a single shot or a half pint of beer was the equivalent of one unit, is now completely inappropriate in an environment where double measures are standard, abv’s on beer and wine vary significantly and alcopops come in all shapes, sizes, colours and strengths. It is almost a rarity to see wine served in 125ml glasses any more, yet many still assume that a glass of wine is the equivalent of one unit, an assumption that is both common and dangerous.

Similar problems can also arise as a result of those people who play Russian roulette when it comes to driving after having a drink and who believe themselves to be below the “limit”. Clearly in these cases staff should never advise how much customers can drink and remain below the legal limit. The only responsible message for the industry to send out is, if you are drinking at all, don’t drive! Calculating what and how much is safe to drink and drive is a contradiction in terms.

All your staff need to have the basic knowledge of the products they are selling, to be able to inform customers regarding the products they are consuming. As your client base gets more sophisticated, they will expect this knowledge to be made available to them on demand.

Our comprehensive portfolio of BIIAB accredited licensed retail sector courses can help you and your staff to gain this knowledge and provide better service to your customers as well as enable you to act a responsible alcohol retailer. Our courses including the Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing (ARAR), National Certificate for Personal License Holders (NCPLH), National Certificate for Designated Premises Supervisors (NCDPS), National Licensees Certificate - Drugs Awareness (NCLDA), Professional Barpersons Qualification (PBQ) as well as the Award in Conflict Management (ACM). We can also help you with consultancy projects that can examine your business and help you become more profitable. We examine those systems in place that require change and strengthen those that may have slipped. Many managers end up being so close to their businesses that they simply can’t see the problems staring them in the face, we can all identify with that situation; but the brave ones ask for help to see them and realise the rewards.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk

Thousands wrongly cleared to work

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Title – Thousands wrongly cleared to work
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 13th December 2007

The problems surrounding the issuing of licenses to individuals not cleared to work in the UK continues to deepen at a time when the Home Office is under fire from all quarters and scrutinised on the front page of every newspaper.

This negative impact that is then deflected on the security industry is in some cases deserved. The responsibility does not just lie with the issuing of licenses, but also with employers employing individuals who are ineligible to work in this country. It is the responsibility of every employer to check the eligibility of their staff to work in the UK, as both they and the staff themselves will face sanction if found to be in breach of employment law, in what is clearly going to become a witch hunt over the coming months and years.

Those who fall foul of employment law have very little recourse, every employer, be they in the security industry or outside of it, have a responsibility to ensure that they are taking the steps they need to ensure the legitimacy of their staff. However in a day and age where security is close to the top of every agenda and for an industry always being scrutinised and legislated against, there is even more reason to pay particular attention at the point of employing staff.

Always in the firing line both from negative publicity and from the very nature of the security industry, those working within it have a responsibility to the industry itself it, to legitimise their business and make people see it for what it is; an essential service to the country, without which the police simply would not cope and without which the country would be substantially worse off. Those working in the industry need to remember they are the solution and not the problem; it is for all of us to prove that statement to be correct.

If all 11,000 suspected 'illegal foreign workers' are stripped of their SIA licence the industry will face further staff shortage to compound the shortages still being experienced in many areas as a result of the introduction of licensing in the security industry. This is a situation that will only improve with the overall image of the industry improving and therefore attracting more people to seek training in order to join the industry and work within it.
Employers have to remember that an SIA license does not provide a guarantee of eligibility to work in the UK and they have to satisfy themselves under employment law, all their staff are eligible before offering them any form of employment.

Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk