Do pubs have a duty of care for children?

[KoalafiedAwesome]

We have a pub near us that we haven’t been for a while due to repeated incidents of this happening - we went last weekend as friends invited us.

Basically there have been so many incidences of parents getting sloshed and not watching their kids - the pub sits on a busy road and has tall flower planters at the front so there’s no line of sight for drivers from to the front door until a foot from the road side.

The “family area” is around the side of the pub with no area to the main road - but the entrance to that and the main entrance (by main road) are right next to each other but on perpendicular walls.

I raised it before with staff and they pretty much just shrug and say it’s not their issue if there’s an accident outside the premises. I raised it after a two year old (ish) had wondered off and was actually outside AND past the end of the pub building - I’d been to get some cash and was just walking back and recognised her as being alone and so stopped.

There’s also been cases where kids have run onto / very close to the road.

Ultimately can a business refuse service to customers who are not supervising their kids, and should they?

Our friends are not on the same page as us with this and think the bar can do what they want in regards to serving alcohol to parents responsible for children.

I don’t know from a legal standpoint but I’d say this is 100% due to poor parenting. Pub staff are not a babysitting service

I’m sure when my kids were younger Wetherspoons would only serve 2 drinks with someone who had kids with them and only if they had a meal aswel . Not sure if it’s still the case ?

Their licence conditions will have clauses about not serving drunk people and protecting children from harm, but usually the harm of alcohol.

You can look up their licence on the public register of the local authority it is in. You could also contact the licensing dept and tell them about your concerns.

They're a pub not a babysitting service.

This is why I go to a pub which only allows in 14 years and older. Pubs are for adults.

It’s parents’ job to make sure children don’t run on to the road, not the pub’s.

Awkward call for bar staff to make. Too drunk to be served is hard enough conversation. 100% blame the parents.

If the pub accepts any responsibility for the children, where does it end? Do they get sued if a child is injured while the negligent parents were not paying attention?

It’s the parent’s responsibility to look after their kids, although if they’re openly drunk the pub should stop serving them.

But ultimately the pub aren’t responsible for looking after the kids, and if something happened to the kids the parents would be held accountable.

Staff cannot be responsible for babysitting children, this is down to the parents. Pubs should stop serving if someone is drunk. But they are of course not responsible for caring for children on the premises or monitoring how parents parent. I’m surprised you’d even think they were.

I don’t think the pub Necessarily has a duty of care towards the children, but as adults, we all have a duty of care towards Safeguarding children in our society and if you think there is a safeguarding risk then that is on you to report as much as it is on the pub.

Do you know the families involved? As @Flyonthewall01 says it is 100% poor parenting.

Of course the pub doesn’t have a duty of care for children.

It isn’t their children.

The only place that has an actual duty of care is when they are looked after by other adults such as babysitting, schools and nursery.

Anything else and it’s the parents

There's a pub near us where parents get pissed whilst their kids run wild, especially on weekends. We just don't go there. The pub is not responsible for the children at all, the parents are.

When DD was small DH and I would take turns in not having an alcoholic drink whilst out so at least one if us was alert enough to keep an eye on her. Neither of us drive so that's no issue...but I remember hearing of a case at work (tube station ) where s mum was arrested for being drunk and in charge of a child, so that informed us, basically, to take care.

I would assume no more than the average adult. It might be worth raising it with the community policing team.

No, of course they don't. Duty of Care is a legal term than occurs in specified situations.

That isn't to say that the pub should give consideration to safety.

I think kids should be welcomed in pubs BUT only if parents are adequately supervising them. It's not the job of the staff to look after them.
I hate it when people let their kids run around in pubs (and restaurants) or let a group of kids take over a separate table when paying adults can't find a table.
I was in a pub in the summer which is popular with families, as there's outside tables and is beside a small park. Went to the loos and the floor was flooded as a group of girls about 7/8 had blocked the sinks with paper towels, not fair on the bar staff at all. The girls knew they'd been caught out when I went in but the parents should have checked on them when they'd been gone a while.

No duty of care to the children in that sense no. They should stop serving someone drunk, but otherwise they have no real part to play in this scenario.

They might chose not to serve a customer if they regularly don't watch their kids and they annoy other customers. But if they can't really see what's going on outside, and it's simply the parents not watching the children, that is all on the parents.

They are responsible under licence terms only.

Of course it’s not the pub’s responsibility what a ridiculous thing to say!

It’s lazy parenting at best but why on earth would the pub need to play babysitter?

The staff working at the pub have as much responsibility as the general public, in that it would be responsible of them to report any incidents that they witness, but ultimately no, they can't police every parent. That's up to the parents themselves.

It's a pub not a creche.

I cannot stand parents who take their children to the pub, then let them run riot while they get pissed. It is down to the parents, not the staff.

I would love staff to be able to refuse to serve people who don't look after their children but this is not their remit. And won't be part of their job description either.

No it's not the pub's responsibility - it's the parents. Getting drunk and not looking after their children is neglect. If a 2 year old is in imminent danger because they're being neglected, phone the police.

I’m not saying the pub should look after the kids - I’m asking if the pub should stop serving alcohol to parents when it’s clear they are not supervising their children

@KoalafiedAwesome

I’m not saying the pub should look after the kids - I’m asking if the pub should stop serving alcohol to parents when it’s clear they are not supervising their children

Why do you think they should be checking this? How are they supposed to make that call? Imagine the shit storm that would create, If a member of staff accused you of having had enough - parents are responsible for their children, it's nothing to do with the pub.

@KoalafiedAwesome

I’m not saying the pub should look after the kids - I’m asking if the pub should stop serving alcohol to parents when it’s clear they are not supervising their children

Well yes they should, theoretically, but I don't know that it's fair for an 18 year old member of bar staff to have to challenge a group of people who think getting drunk in a pub with children in tow is ok in the first place.