Tackling License Breaches Post-COVID
Tackling License Breaches Post-COVID

There’s no doubt that businesses have been hit extremely hard by the Coronavirus pandemic. Many were forced to close for months on end, and those that could stay open saw a massively reduced trade. The speed with which the pandemic spread meant that many companies did not have the plans in place to cope.

However, now that the world is beginning to open up more, it’s vital for businesses to stay on the right side of the laws they are bound by. It’s not only immoral but it’s potentially dangerous for business owners to break the rules in order to gain an advantage when trying to recoup losses for the past few months. And so for businesses bound by council-granted licenses, it is important that they stick to the conditions of their license, even when they need as much trade as possible.

Open all hours?

Some shops are limited in the hours that they can open, or in the hours they can sell certain products. Any businesses who operate or sell those products outside of these licensed hours are in breach and should be heavily fined – with repeated offences leading to withdrawal of the license, which could cause the business to close.

Licensed products

Products such as tobacco and alcohol have strict age limits on purchasing them. It is the duty of a business selling them to check ID and enforce these age limits – any business caught selling to underage customers can be fined or lose its license.

Some businesses may simply let standards slip for checking ID, but others may actively take a more relaxed approach to encourage more sales. Neither is acceptable, and this behaviour needs to be curbed to ensure that products are only sold to those who are legally allowed to use or consume them.

How can a PI help?

A council has a lot of responsibilities and so checking the activities of all shops and businesses within their region may not be possible. Funding is limited already without wasting resource monitoring a store, hoping to catch them operating outside of their licensed hours or selling products to underage visitors.

That’s where a private investigator can help. Hire the EJM Investigations team and we can set up our surveillance operation to ensure that we capture any evidence of wrongdoing by a business you suspect may be breaching the terms of their license. We can also go undercover if necessary, recording footage inside a shop or premises that clearly demonstrates any breaches.

The best reason to use a PI like EJM Investigations is that we’re experts in capturing the evidence you need to legally take action. We understand the requirements of accessible evidence should a case go to court, say if the premises appeals your decision. We can ensure that councils aren’t wasting time and money on a case that could fail.

If you’re a council and you’ve concerns that a business, or multiple businesses, in your area are breaching license terms to catch up after COVID, give us a call on 01772 334700.