TRADING STANDARDS
GUIDANCE FOR TRADERS
Weights and Measures in pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes
This leaflet contains a general summary of the main requirements of weights and measures and consumer
protection legislation enforced by the trading standards service as applicable to pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes.
1.
FAIR TRADING
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 requires you not to trade unfairly with your
customers.
The legislation bans traders from using unfair commercial practices towards consumers and sets out broad rules
outlining when commercial practices are unfair. The legislation covers a number of areas which fall into four main
categories:
1. A general ban on conduct that falls below a level which may be expected towards consumers (honest
market practice/good faith). This is intended to act as a "safety net" protection for all consumers.
2. Misleading practices, like false or deceptive messages, or leaving out important information.
3. Aggressive sales techniques that use harassment, coercion or undue influence. For a practice to be unfair
under these rules, they must harm, or be likely to harm, the economic interests of the average consumer.
For example, when a shopper makes a purchasing decision he or she would not have made had he or she
been given accurate information or not put under unfair pressure to do so.
4. In addition, the regulations ban 31 specific practices outright. Relevant examples include: making a special
offer when it is not available; falsely saying that an offer is time limited when it is not; making false claims
for your products. A full list is available from your local trading standards service.
These rules have been designed to protect consumers from unfair sales and marketing practices so that traders act
in a way that enables the average consumer to make free and informed purchasing decisions.
In addition, they stop aggressive selling techniques, misinforming and misleading people about products or
services. Honest businesses do not have to change the way they operate and have the added benefit that effective
measures are in place to deal with this type of unfair competition.
If you don't comply with these regulations, your company may well be investigated by your local authority's trading
standards service and other bodies. These lengthy investigations could take up a lot of your business time and you
could also be prosecuted and fined. You could also lose your customers.
Information to be provided to consumers: prices and descriptions
Consumers need to be able to make an informed decision about making a purchase of food and/or drinks. The
above regulations have removed the specific requirements regarding the pricing of food and drink services on
premises. However, they do now require you to trade fairly which includes not leaving out important information
that may affect a customer's choice of purchase. In order for them to make this choice they must have access to
the following information before they make the purchase:
1. Main characteristics of the product - for drink this will be a description of what it is and may include its
brand name. For food this will be the name of the food and should include sufficient description of the item,
or dish, for a consumer to make an informed choice.
2. Price - including VAT and any additional service or other charge that has not been included.
3. Quantity - size of drinks or specific portion sizes of foods (where appropriate).
4. Your trading name and details of ownership - plus the address of the premises (unless this is obvious
from the situation. This would include the need for such details in a price list that you send out from the
premises).
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Author: A Gaunt
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How or where you display the information, required above, is not prescribed, but it should be clear and easily
readable by the average consumer. When the information is provided it is important to enable a consumer to make
an informed decision before they are committed to a purchase.
To fail to show all or part of the information necessary, or to provide misleading information, may be regarded as an
unfair trading practice and constitute an offence.
It is also an offence to make false claims about your endorsement or use of food and drink that carry a quality mark
or comply with a code of practice, e.g. "fair trade", "freedom food", "organic".
2.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Beer, lager and cider
Except when mixed with other drinks, can only be sold draught in these quantities:

1/3 pint, 1/2 pint, or multiples of 1/2 pint. [A 2/3 pint measure is expected to be introduced later in 2010].
If you use glasses, every glass must be stamped with either the 'crown mark and number' or the new 'CE and M
marking'. (Examples of the latter new marks required on new glasses first marketed after 30 October 2006 is
shown at the end of this leaflet. The 'M06' box may be different as it reflects the year of manufacture - in the
illustration given M06 is 2006; M07 would be 2007, etc.) You will find that both types of marking will appear in
circulation for some time as new stocks merge with old. If you use meters, glasses do not need to be stamped, but
the meters must be stamped, the consumer must be able to see the glass being filled, and you must not fill the
glass before it has been ordered.
Sale by the jug
Draught beer, lager and cider can be sold by the jug provided the stated quantity is in multiples of 1/2 pint (e.g. two
pint or four pint) and either the jug is stamped as a transfer measure of that capacity or the liquid is measured by a
meter in front of the consumer at the time of sale, but not before. Price lists must be clear about the measure that is
used for a jug sale.
Gin, rum, whisky and vodka*
Unless they are sold in cocktails of three or more drinks, may only be sold in these quantities:



25ml, 35ml, or multiples of these quantities. If you have changed over to use 35ml measures, the 25ml
thimbles must be removed from the bar to avoid mistakes. Also, If you use 35ml measures for single shots,
you cannot use 50ml for doubles. The correct double would be 2 x 35ml.
A 50ml measure is expected to be introduced for fortified wines later in 2010.
Old imperial measures (e.g. 1/6 gill) cannot be used for the sale of any spirits.
A notice, which is easy for consumers to read, must make it clear which quantity applies, e.g. for 25ml:
"Gin, rum, whisky and vodka are sold on these premises in quantities of 25ml and multiples thereof"
The same quantity must apply in all the bars of your pub, restaurant, or cafe.
Whatever you use to measure gin, rum, whisky or vodka (e.g. optics, hand-measures), these must be stamped and
be where consumers can see them being used. Bottle top pourers are not usually stamped, and they should only
be used by pouring them into a hand-measure before putting the drink into a glass for the consumer.
As the use of hand measures tends not to be a regular occurrence in many licensed premises, the provision of
specific training on their use should be included in your training programme for employees.
(*Note – this is expected to also include a measure of Brandy later in 2010).
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Wine
Must be sold in the following quantities:



By the bottle.
By the glass in 125ml, 175ml or multiples of these quantities.
By the carafe in 250ml, 500ml, 750ml or one litre quantities.
These quantities must be made clear to consumers on a notice, or in every wine list or menu, that is easy to read
and, again, anything you use to measure out wine (e.g. carafes, glasses or optics) must be marked with a
verification mark. The verification mark is either the crown stamp, or for measures and equipment verified post
2006, one of the examples below:
Possible examples of the CE, M and Identification number markings
3.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES LAWS FOR PRIVATE MEMBERS CLUBS (KNOWN AS REGISTERED
CLUBS FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE LICENSING (SCOTLAND) ACT 2005)
We are a private members club; do we need to comply with weights and measures laws?
The weights and measures requirements in section 2 above, only apply when a retail sale takes place. A retail sale
does not take place in members clubs because, technically the member owns part of the alcohol stock and the
money passing across the bar is merely a mechanism to preserve equity between members where one may
consume more than another. For the purposes of the Weights and Measures Act 1985 there is a supply rather than
a sale.
We are a private members club and plan to offer our premises for community events (e.g. birthday parties),
using an occasional licence. Do we need to comply with the weights and measures laws?
When the club uses an occasional licence to offer their club premises to a club member and their guests, it can be
argued that a retail sale does not take place and therefore you would not need to comply with weights and
measures laws.
When the club uses an occasional licence to offer their club premises to a non member and their guests, a retail
sale would take place and therefore you would need to comply with the weights and measures requirements
above.
When the club uses the occasional licence to run a bar outwith the premises of the members club, e.g. in a local
community use hall, a retail sale would take place and therefore you would need to comply with the weights and
measures requirements above.
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Best practice advice for private members clubs
For private members clubs which offer their premises to both members and non members for community events, it
is advisable and considered best practice to always comply with the weights and measures requirements at all
times. This avoids confusion over what is required for a particular event. Compliance with the weights and
measures requirements can be achieved by replacing non compliant measures and measuring equipment through
natural wastage, and ensuring the relevant notices are displayed.
Further information
This leaflet is not an authoritative interpretation of the law and is intended only for guidance.
For individual queries, contact
Economy, Planning & Employability Services
Trading Standards Team
Kingdom House
Kingdom Avenue
Glenrothes KY7 5LY
Tel: 01592 583141
www.fifedirect.org.uk/tradingstandards
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Author: A Gaunt
Last reviewed/updated: July 2011