Legal: Do you require a TEN for Christmas and NYE?

With New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve both falling on a Sunday this year, operators should check their premises licence to make sure they’re able to make the most of the festivities.  

Older premises licences may still have a provision, held over from the previous regime, requiring closure at 10.30pm on Sundays. Some of these licences may also have restrictions on opening on Christmas Day during the afternoon. Others may just require early closing on Sundays. 

If operators wish to trade outside of any of these restrictions, they will need to make an application for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). Similarly, operators may also wish to look at their hours on Boxing Day or other key trading days over the festive period, as if you have TENs left for this calendar year, you can only use them up to the 31 December before they are lost. 

It’s improbable that officers would object to an extension during the holidays, so a TEN to extend the hours of operation, with confirmation that all the existing conditions on the licence will be adhered to, is something to pick up sooner rather than later. The later you leave it, the more likely it is that officers will get concerned. 

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