An incident which occurred in Wollongong, Fairy Meadow recently should serve as an example for staff of licenced venues about the consequences of serving alcohol to minors.
Under Responsible Service of Alcohol law serving alcohol to minors carries major fines for workers, management and owners of establishments, but the real cost of serving teenagers are the social consequences, such as teenage drink driving, teenage pregnancy and teenage violence.
There are also serious consequences for RSA staff if they are caught. Two liquor store employees have narrowly escaped criminal convictions after their actions allowed alcohol to get into the hands of a minor in Fairy Meadow.
An article on www.illawarramercury.com.au detailed what happened:
Wollongong Local Court magistrate Alison Viney yesterday released Fairy Meadow BWS employee Nicholas Jason Field, 25, and store licensee David Claydon, 46, on separate good behaviour bonds after the pair admitted their momentary lapses of judgment allowed the incident to occur on September 8 last year.
The court heard Claydon was outside having a cigarette and Field in the store speaking on the phone when the under-age person approached the counter with two bottles of Sol beer.
Defying company policy, which directs employees not to take phone calls when serving customers, Field continued with the call while the young person dropped the cash on the counter and walked out of the shop.
The incident was observed by an off-duty police officer who knew the young person was under age.
Field was charged with supplying liquor to a minor on a licensed premises and Claydon charged with allowing liquor to be sold to a minor as a licensee.
Advocating on behalf of the men yesterday, barrister Jane Healey said they both deeply regretted the incident.
Read more: http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1436726/no-conviction-for-selling-alcohol-to-minor/
This incident highlights the need to check identification before serving alcohol in order to avoid selling to minors. But as this incident proves failing to do so can have severe consequences not only for the youth who are served by also for the employees that serve them, including facing criminal charges in some cases.
It also highlights the importance of Responsible Service of Alcohol training. Every worker in a licenced venue must undergo this training in order to learn about what the law says about serving alcohol responsibility and how to enforce RSA regulations.
It should be noted that all it takes is one lapse in judgement for an incident such as the one above to occur. RSA staff most often do not purposely serve alcohol to minors but in certain situations servers may make a mistake, one which could land them and their employer in hot water. For example during peak times when the bar is busy, servers may fail to ask for an ID hoping for the best and having lots of impatient customers to serve, it is in these circumstances that these lapses in judgement may occur.
An even more problematic issue that affects teens who drink are teens that develop a habit of alcoholism. Alcoholism is a substance abuse disorder in which the sufferer has problems managing how much alcohol they drink, and their lives as a result.