Self-regulation plan for alcohol sales

Your self-regulation plan will ensure that you comply with the legislation on the sale of alcohol. 

When you have a licence for the serving or retail sale of alcohol, or you are about to apply for a licence, you must draw up a self-regulation plan for each of your premises. In the self-regulation plan, you will describe the risks, problems or threats that may be associated with the sale of alcoholic drinks at your place of business or in its vicinity.

In the self-monitoring plan, you will record the rules of your workplace on how:

• you carry out risk management and prevention
• monitor compliance with legislation
• correct any shortcomings you have identified.

Keep the self-regulation plan available to your staff and the authorities. 

• The Alcohol Act requires licence holders to have a self-regulation plan.  
• You cannot get the licences specified in the Alcohol Act, such as the alcohol serving licence or the alcohol retail licence, unless you have a self-regulation plan.
• Licence holders must understand the risks and obligations associated with their activities.
• The plan is a useful tool for your daily business activities. 

Self-regulation helps you to identify what is special about your place of business. 

When you have thought about and recorded in the self-regulation plan “the way we work at our place”, the plan will become a useful tool for guiding your daily activities.

Self-regulation gives you both the responsibility and the opportunity to plan and decide on measures to ensure compliance with the law.

Whenever significant changes take place in your business, update your self-regulation plan. It is an up-to-date, living tool that is never ready. 

Your self-regulation plan can be an informal document or you can use the form produced by the Regional State Administrative Agency. A link to the form is provided at the bottom of this page.

The law requires that the self-regulation plan for serving alcohol must contain the following information:

• details of the licence holder
• details of the place of business
• date when the self-regulation plan was drawn up and the date it was approved by the licence holder
• information on the persons appointed by the licence holder who are responsible for:
  • sending the notices when something changes
  • managing the notices and data and sending them to the Regional State Administrative Agency
  • carrying out the self-regulation plan and ensuring compliance with it
• how you are ensuring that your staff has the right skills
• how you have organised the records on training and skills
• how the licence holder and the persons responsible for the self-regulation plan monitor compliance with the plan and the instructions given to the staff
• description of the storage and storage facilities of alcoholic beverages
• description of the duties of the person in charge and other staff and of the number of employees
• plan for supervising the sale of alcohol
• plan for maintaining public order
• description of the licenced premises’ business concept and, if necessary, what kind of focus areas and risks are associated with the supervision of the business concept and the location of the premises
• description of the organisation of retail sales and of checkout and sales arrangements, if alcoholic drinks are also sold to customers to take away
• maximum amount of credit specified by the licence holder, and the supervision and procedures of credit sales if alcoholic drinks are sold to consumers on credit other than:
  • on commonly accepted credit cards
  • with payment applications
  • in connection with businesses which organise activities and events or provide accommodation
• maximum serving sizes specified by the licence holder, which may be sold to one customer at a time, if the permitted serving size is greater than four centilitres
• if alcohol is served during extended licensing hours:
  • how the number of customers is monitored
  • how the maintenance is public order is organised
  • what duties have been assigned to security stewards.

Your self-regulation plan can be an informal document or you can use the form produced by the Regional State Administrative Agency. A link to the form is provided at the bottom of this page. 

The law requires that the self-regulation plan for retail sales must contain the following information:

• details of the licence holder
• details of the place of business
• date when the self-regulation plan was drawn up and the date it was approved by the licence holder
• information on the persons appointed by the licence holder who are responsible for:
  • sending the notices when something changes
  • managing the notices and data and sending them to the Regional State Administrative Agency
  • carrying out the self-regulation plan and ensuring compliance with it
• how you are ensuring that your staff has the right skills
• how you have organised the records on training and skills
• how the licence holder and the persons responsible for the self-regulation plan monitor compliance with the plan and the instructions given to the staff
• description of the storage and storage facilities of alcoholic beverages
• description of the licenced premises’ business concept and, if necessary, what kind of focus areas and risks are associated with the supervision of the business concept and the location of the premises
• description of sales arrangements and placement of alcohol products in the shop:
  • how alcoholic beverages are placed if they are not only placed on the shelves or sections reserved for alcoholic beverages
• description of the organisation of retail and of the checkout and sales arrangements
• description of the duties of the person in charge and other staff and of the number of employees
• plan for supervising the sales of alcohol and maintaining order
• how the time limits for selling alcoholic beverages are complied with.

Describe in general terms the following information:

• the space where the premises is located
• the business concept
• the customer base you’re trying to attract.

For supervision, it is quite different whether your premises is, for example, a pub with room for a hundred customers which often has live music, where the licensing hours are extended to 3.00am and which is located at the street level of an apartment building, or whether it is a family restaurant that closes at 10pm and is located in a separate building in a non-built-up area.

Think about these:

• Are you close to places such as a school or sports grounds?
• Is the point of sale located in a busy area?
• Do you mainly have sales in the evenings?
• What other factors related to your premises will affect your customers and their purchasing behaviour?

Once you have thought about these issues, it is easier to identify any risks related to your premises and to consider the focus of supervision.

Record the number and duties of your employees in the self-regulation plan. Describe the persons in charge of the sale of alcohol and their substitutes. List them in the supporting document at the end of the self-regulation plan.

Staff must be aware of their obligations under the Alcohol Act and the self-regulation plan. However, the licence holder is responsible for ensuring that staff have the right skills and knowledge. So describe in your self-regulation plan how you will ensure the skills and knowledge and how information on training and skills is recorded and stored.

Arrange orientation for your employees to learn about the contents of your self-regulation plan. It is a good tool for instructing new employees on the procedures your place of business follows in the sale of alcohol.

Update your self-regulation plan as soon as any changes take place in your business.

• Inform the Regional State Administrative Agency of any essential changes. These include, among others:
• changes in the licensed area
• giving permission to customers to take their alcoholic drinks from one licensed area to another
• introducing a self-service checkout or an online shop.