6.3 Duty Manager & Server Responsibilities

Why This Topic Matters

US 16705 Performance Criterion 2.3 requires a duty manager to demonstrate knowledge of their responsibilities in relation to self, staff, the establishment, the customer, the community, and the advertising and promotion of alcohol. The exam frames these as six distinct duty-bearers, and a high-quality answer addresses each in turn.

Responsibility to Self

The duty manager is personally legally accountable for what happens on shift. Responsibilities to self include:

• Maintain competence — keep the LCQ current; refresh knowledge of the Act and host responsibility policy
• Protect your certificate — a single negative holding stays on your record for the 3-year escalation window (ss288-290)
• Act lawfully — refuse unlawful service even under pressure from the licensee, the customer, or the till
• Refuse unlawful service — saying "no" to a s239, s248 or s253 breach is the duty manager's core job

Responsibility to Staff

The duty manager cannot be everywhere on the floor. Responsibilities to staff include:

• Train — use ServeWise, the free HPA/Te Whatu Ora e-learning tool (about one hour, at servewise.alcohol.org.nz), covering the Act, intoxication, minors, server intervention and host responsibility; tailor to on-licence or off-licence scenarios
• Brief on the host responsibility policy — every shift, every new starter
• Empower to refuse service — staff must know the manager will back a refusal made in good faith
• Protect from abuse and violence — the manager handles aggressive patrons, not the barista
• Debrief incidents — log every refusal, ejection, and police interaction in the incident logbook

Responsibility to the Establishment

The duty manager runs the premises on behalf of the licensee. Responsibilities include:

• Ensure licence conditions are met — trading hours, designated areas, signage (e.g. "Intoxicated persons will not be served", the purchase-age notice)
• Implement the host responsibility policy — food availability, low-alcohol and non-alcoholic options, water freely available, safe transport information
• Maintain the incident logbook — contemporaneous records protect the manager in any ARLA hearing
• Comply with other legislation:
  • Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) — provide a safe workplace for staff and patrons
  • Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 (FENZ Act) — maintain fire safety, evacuation procedures, and means of escape
  • Building Act 2004 — comply with the building's fire report, occupancy limits, and facilities

Responsibility to the Customer

• Safe service — pace service, monitor consumption, prevent intoxication before it starts
• Refuse unlawful service — to minors (s239), to intoxicated persons (s248), to disorderly persons (s253)
• Arrange safe transport — taxi, ride-share, designated driver, public transport information
• Offer water, food, and low/non-alcohol options — the host responsibility core

Responsibility to the Community

The object of the Act (s4) is that alcohol is sold, supplied and consumed safely and responsibly, and that harm from excessive or inappropriate consumption is minimised. The duty manager delivers this object by:

• Minimising harm — noise, disorder, drink-driving, ED admissions
• Cooperating with police, the licensing inspector, and Medical Officer of Health — these are the three agencies with statutory inspection powers
• Upholding the Act's object — every shift, every decision

Advertising and Promotion of Alcohol — s237

Section 237 is the key provision on irresponsible promotions. A person commits an offence if, in the course of carrying on a business, they do any of the following:

Penalties (s237(3))

• Licensee: fine up to $10,000 and/or 7-day licence suspension
• Any other person: fine up to $10,000

Exam trap: "Happy hour" discounts are not automatically banned, but a happy hour that promotes a 25% or more discount in a way audible or visible from outside the premises is banned under s237(1)(c). "Bottomless brunches" and "all you can drink for $X" may breach s237(1)(a) (encouraging excessive consumption). Offering alcohol as a prize in gambling is separately banned under the Gambling (Prohibited Property) Regulations 2005.

Accountability — The On-Site Legal Controller

During a duty manager's shift, responsibility devolves to them. The licensee may be off-site; the police, inspector and ARLA will look to the duty manager. The duty manager's name must be displayed on the premises, and they must be present and readily identifiable. If the duty manager leaves, they must hand over to another manager or temporarily close the premises — they cannot simply walk out and leave staff unsupervised.

Realistic Scenario

A licensee wants to run a "$5 jugs all night" promotion visible on a sandwich board on the footpath. The duty manager must refuse: the price is more than 25% below the ordinary selling price and the promotion is visible from outside the premises, breaching s237(1)(b) and (c). Even though the licensee wants the revenue, the duty manager's responsibility to self (protect the certificate), to the establishment (avoid a 7-day suspension and a negative holding), and to the community (minimise harm) all point the same way — the promotion does not run.