Staff
The serving premises shall have, in view of the extent and quality of the activity, an adequate number of staff to ensure efficient supervision and maintenance of order. Staff must supervise compliance with the prohibitions and limitations set in the Alcohol Act and be responsible for maintaining order on the licensed premises (Alcohol Act, Section 38).
Persons who sell alcoholic beverages or who participate in the supervision of the retail sale or serving of alcoholic beverages must not be under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicating substance when performing their job duties (Alcohol Act, Section 38).
The licence holder must be represented on the licensed premises by a responsible manager appointed by the licence holder or other person assigned to this duty by the licence holder if the premises are open to the public. A person under the age of 18 years cannot act in the capacity of a responsible manager or other person acting as a representative and cannot sell or serve alcoholic beverages. A person who is 16 or older but not yet 18 may serve alcoholic beverages only under the immediate supervision of the responsible manager or other designated person. (Alcohol Act, Section 38).
The self-supervision plan of the licensed premises must describe the tasks of the responsible manager appointed by the licence holder or other person assigned to this duty. The self-supervision plan must also include a plan concerning the number of staff and their tasks with respect to supervising compliance with the prohibitions and limitations set in the Alcohol Act and maintaining order on the licensed premises during serving hours. (Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Section 3.)
The licensing authority may impose conditions and limitations with respect to the number of staff depending on the location, special nature of operations or other special circumstances if such conditions and limitations are necessary in order to prevent disturbance and noise nuisances in the residential environment, to ensure supervision in the premises where serving takes place and in their vicinity, or to ensure public order and safety (Alcohol Act, Section 22).
Representative of the licence holder and serving pass
The licence holder must be represented on the licensed premises by a responsible manager appointed by the licence holder or other person assigned to this duty by the licence holder if the premises are open to the public. The responsible manager or other designated person must be aged 18 or older (Alcohol Act, Section 38).
The licence holder must ensure that the responsible manager or other designated person has a certificate of alcohol proficiency consistent with the model approved by the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) (Alcohol Act, Section 57).
An alcohol proficiency certificate (serving pass) is issued by educational institutions providing training in the restaurant and catering sector pursuant to a Government licence or an authorisation from the Ministry of Education. Such a certificate may be issued to a person who has passed a test evaluating knowledge of the Alcohol Act and how it is supervised, or who has completed training including that knowledge, or who has completed a qualification including that knowledge. Specific provisions regarding the content of the examination, its evaluation and the relevant training, studies and certificates are laid down by decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (Alcohol Act, Section 58).
Persons who were qualified as responsible managers of licensed premises pursuant to Section 21b of the old Alcohol Act (1143/1994) at the time when the new Alcohol Act entered into force on 1 March 2018 shall be deemed to fulfil the qualification requirements specified for the alcohol proficiency certificate in the new Act. Also, an alcohol proficiency certificate issued while the old Alcohol Act was in force shall be considered sufficient proof of knowledge of the Alcohol Act. (Alcohol Act, Section 93).
