Incident log for liquor licensees

On this page:

• What is an incident log
• What kinds of incidents do I need to record?
• What information should I include in the incident log
• Best practices

What is an incident log?

When an incident occurs in or near an establishment or special event site, information about the incident must be recorded in an incident log.

The records in an incident log must be kept for at least six years. An inspector or police officer may ask to see the incident log during an inspection, so it’s important that all your staff know where the log is kept in your business.

Keeping an incident log can help you:

• Better manage incidents in the future
• Provide evidence at a hearing or court case
• Train your staff to effectively manage incidents

What kinds of incidents do I need to record?

All incidents that negatively affect staff, customers or people who live or work in nearby buildings, must be recorded in the incident log. The incident log must also record all incidents that affect the operation of the establishment.

Some examples of incidents to record in an incident log include:

• Refusing entry at the door to someone (e.g. a potentially troublesome person, someone causing a disturbance or an intoxicated person)
• Removing an intoxicated person or minor from the establishment
• Removing a patron who has brought liquor into your establishment that was not purchased at the establishment
• Refusing service or entry to a minor
• An injury or accident on the premises, including a fight
• Any incidents where emergency personnel were called (police, fire, or ambulance)
• Any illegal acts

What information should i include in the incident log?

• Date and time of the incident
• A description of the incident
• Names or a description of the people involved in the incident
• Names of any employees who witnessed the incident
• Actions taken by the licensee or their employees
• Relevant sales records (receipts)
• Any other relevant information, including witness statements

The Serving it Right course provides a sample incident log and a blank incident log form, however you may develop your own.

See the Serving it Right course manual (page 75) for more helpful information about the incident log.

Best practices

If your establishment uses a communication book to convey important information between shifts, keep the incident log separate from this and do not include communications or records unrelated to incidents.

Build a daily habit for staff to make records in an incident log. If no incidents take place, staff can simply state this in the log. An upsetting or emotional event could result in people forgetting to complete the log, but a daily log practice makes this less likely.