4.Section 169(1) of the Licensing Act 1964 (“the 1964 Act”) makes it an offence for a licensee or his “servant” (ie. his employee) to sell alcohol to a person under 18 in licensed premises; for a licensee knowingly to allow another person to sell alcohol to a person under 18; and for a licensee or his “servant” knowingly to allow a person under 18 to consume alcohol in a bar in licensed premises. Current business practice often means that those selling alcohol are neither the licensee nor his employee – for example, they may be employed directly by a company which runs a chain of off-licences or pubs. Prior to the Act, where this was the case and the employee made a sale to a person under 18, the employee could not commit an offence and therefore could not be prosecuted.
Background Selling to a person under 18