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WTDLG Latest News: 3rd December 2007
Working the Doors Lobby Group meets with the SIA.
On Tuesday the 27th November 2007 the Working the Doors LOBBY GROUP had its first official meeting with the Security Industry Authority's new Chief Executive, Mike Wilson.
To view details of the meeting click here (pdf file format and also opens up a new page)
About us:
The Lobby Group consists of 8 dedicated and passionate people who work in the industry. Most are door supervisors themselves, but we also have a couple of employers and support service providers as well.
Our mission statement is:-
"to improve the general working conditions and levels of safety of front-line door supervisors, and to improve the image of the industry in the eyes of the authorities and the public".
The Lobby Group's main objectives all follow on from this.
Now not all of the door supervisors problems stem from the same place, nor are they caused by the same bodies or organisations.
For this reason the Lobby Group has a three-pronged approach to improving the door supervisors' lot, and the future campaigning of the group will be aimed in three different directions.
From the issues that have been debated on the forum to date, it would appear fairly obvious that there are three separate lines of campaigning. The first is to employers, be they the leisure security companies or the pubs and clubs themselves for in-house staff, the second is aimed towards the regulator - the SIA, and the third is more general.
The Lobby Group's main objectives are:
Campaign to Employers
No more one-man doors
This is an important safety issue for door supervisors. I suggest we would all like to see the day when 'one-man doors' are abolished. This not something that the SIA will ever get involved with, as they have no say over what pubs and clubs demand from a security supplier, and have no say over how a security company deploys its staff. It is, however, very much a Heath and Safety issue that needs addressing, and I do think we should be lobbying pub and club chains, security companies and members of the trade press to have this practise ended as soon as possible. It is also a subject I think we should be lobbying the 455 local authorities (probably via the Local Government Association) to demand a stipulation adding to premises licences that requires a certain number of door supervisors per head of customers, with a MINIMUM of two door supervisors at any venue.
PPE
Whilst we all know what the Health and Safety at Work Act says about employers supplying items of PPE (personal protective equipment) to staff members free of charge, but how many of them actually do that? How many door security companies actually carry out the required 'risk assessment' to see whether any such equipment or safety training is required? And how many actually provide such equipment. Very few, I would suggest.
We see enquiries on a daily basis on the "Working the Doors" forum where door supervisors are having to provide their own stab-proof vests, needle-proof gloves, metal detectors, face-shields and even first aid kits - all at their own expenses.
On behalf of members we should be lobbying the venues (for in-house staff), security companies and the Health and Safety Executive to get this issue properly investigated. The police issue their staff with appropriate equipment to ensure, as far as is practicable, their Heath and Safety in the workplace, why aren't we doing so in the security industry?
Campaign to the SIA
More robust enforcement of licensing
Another subject that comes up time and time again on the "Working the Doors" forum is the issue of what is seen as many of our members as a lack of licensing enforcement. Why are there so many unlicensed door supervisors still able to operate around the UK?
Quite simply because it is not generally considered that the SIA, the Police or the local authorities are actively enforcing the law as they should be. The chances of being caught and prosecuted for working a door without an SIA licence are very small, which offers little incentive for new door supervisors to pay their £200 for training and their £245 for licensing.
By the SIA's own figures, over 147,000 people have passed their SIA door supervisor qualification, but only 78,000 door licenses have been issued to date. Commonly accepted estimated figures for the numbers of door supervisors out there working the doors of our pubs and clubs is 100,000, which means there are about 28,000 working unlicensed! This needs to stop, and will only stop when people see regular effective prosecutions taking place.
Representation to the SIA board
If you look on the SIA website at the list of board members, you will see that not one of them has any security experience. There is an ex-Magistrate, someone from the IT sector, prison service staff, the ex-boss of Eurotunnel, someone from the Police Complaints Authority and an ex-director of Vauxhall Motors.
What would be more useful, we would suggest, is if there were members from each of the regulated sectors represented on the board. At present, for example, when issues are discussed at the SIA at director level, who are they able to consult with directly from the door supervision sector? No-one.
We would like to see the SIA set up an advisory group that is able to report directly to the SIA main board. That advisory group should comprise of one employer and one front-line operative from each of the licensed sectors. That would mean that we would have one door company owner/director and one independent door supervisor working with the group, with similar representatives from the manned guarding, CCTV, CP, CVIT, and wheel-clamping sectors. That advisory group would them elect or nominate a leader to sit on the SIA main board, in a position to be able to report back to his/her colleagues on the advisory group on subjects under discussion. The advisory group could then advise the SIA main board accordingly, hopefully improving the decisions made that affect or industry directly
Re-training criteria
Although the SIA has announced that there will be no compulsory re-training for door supervisors this time around, there will undoubtedly be a requirement for some form of refresher/re-training in another 3 years time when licences come up for renewal second time around.
As opposed to having one set training course that we all have to do to renew our licences, would it not be better to have some sort of choice as to what further training you do, relative to the type of work you do? You could, for example, have a list of accredited courses or qualifications approved by the SIA, each with a number of points attached to them. Each door supervisor would need to prove, with certificates, that they had achieved the required re-training criteria by having enough points for renewal.
If they said, for example, that you had to get at least 4 points for your renewal, you could either do:-
a 4-day First Aid course ( 6 points)
or
a 2-day Health and Safety course (2points) and a 1-day Fire Awareness course (another 2 points)
or
a 1-day restraint course (2 points) and a 2-day Manual Handling course (2 points)
As long as you could show that you had achieved the required minimum 4 points through CPD (continual professional development), your licence could be renewed (subject to a clear CRB check, of course).
Such a system would give door supervisors some sensible flexibility in being able to decide for themselves what further training is actually useful for them in the workplace. It would also give venues with several doormen a wider range of skills and services available to the customers.
We would like the SIA to consider this as an option when deciding on the re-training criteria over the next couple of years.
Licence suspensions
Again, something discussed on the "Working the Doors" open forum regularly are the numbers of instances where door supervisors have their SIA licences suspended following mere 'allegations' of crime, prior to any results at court or even decisions as to whether any formal charges are made. The SIA originally said that they would only suspend licences where there was an obvious and serious risk to the public, which is perfectly reasonable.
What is happening in practice, however, is that doormen are regularly getting their licences suspended following relatively minor incidents such as ABH or Public Order offences.
Bearing in mind that a lot of these cases are dropped with no further action being taken against the doormen, why should that doorman lose his ability to work whilst the matter is still being investigated?
You don't lose your driving licence until you are found guilty of drink-driving in a court. You certainly don't get it suspended following your original arrest.
We suggest that this practice needs to be reviewed by the SIA as soon as possible.
GENERAL
WTD membership and recognition
Closer to home, we want to boost membership numbers of the forum, and to get the "Working the Doors" Lobby Group recognised as a voice for the sector, representing the employees as opposed to the employers.
In the absence of any other voice out there for door supervisors, it is vital that we get the Lobby Group recognised as a sensible, professional body that is worth listening to. If we can get ourselves formally recognised by the SIA, the Police, local authorities, employers, end-users and the media, then we will be able to be more effective in the struggle for positive change.
Supporting the "Pop Campaign"
Finally we want to support, in any way we can, the Golding family's campaign to bring in plastic or polycarbonate glasses and bottles in problem venues. This we see as a major factor in helping to contribute to safety in the night time environment.