What does a publican do?
A publican's duties could include:
- organising deliveries
- making sure the bar area is stocked and well maintained
- making sure customers are served quickly
- running the bar in line with health, safety and legal regulations
- recruiting, training and supervising bar staff and kitchen staff
- stocktaking
- handling wages, bookkeeping and accounts
- building good relationships with breweries, suppliers and customers
- carrying out plans to maximise sales
This role may also be responsible for enforcing the law on the sale of alcohol on the premises, issuing an age-identification policy and making sure all staff use it. Some publicans may employ a bar manager to carry out some of these duties,.
Publicans are often employed to run a pub or bar on behalf of a pub chain or brewery. Leaseholders, tenants and free traders are business people who put their own money into the pub and business.
What do I need to do to become a publican?
To get started in this career, you will find it useful to have experience in customer service at a supervisory level, and some experience of bar work.
Another way to start your career would be through a graduate management trainee scheme run by a large pub chain. You would then be employed to run the pub on behalf of the chain. To get onto a scheme you will usually need some relevant work experience. You will also need a degree or HND level qualification in an area such as:
- business
- marketing
- hotel and catering
- hospitality management with licensed retail
Desirable qualifications
- Degree or HND-level qualification in business, marketing, hotel and catering, or hospitality management with licensed retail
Where to find out more
Where could I be working?
You could be employed by a brewery or chain to manage a pub or bar, or you could be self-employed as a tenant or freeholder.