{"id":47050,"date":"2026-05-05T12:26:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/?p=47050"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:26:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:26:54","slug":"glasgow-door-supervisor-suspended-sia-licence-prosecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/glasgow-door-supervisor-suspended-sia-licence-prosecution\/","title":{"rendered":"Glasgow door supervisor prosecuted for working on a suspended SIA licence \u2014 what every officer should learn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Glasgow door supervisor has been prosecuted for working while his SIA licence was suspended, in a case that should make every officer in the UK double-check their own status. The prosecution, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/glasgow-door-supervisor-working-with-suspended-licence-prosecuted\">announced by the Security Industry Authority<\/a>, is a sharp reminder that a suspended licence is not a paused one \u2014 it is a stopped one. Work a single shift on it and you are committing a criminal offence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001.<\/p>\n<p>If you have ever shrugged off a letter from the SIA, or assumed your licence is fine because the card is still in your wallet, this one is for you.<\/p>\n<h2>What the SIA actually said<\/h2>\n<p>According to the SIA, the door supervisor was caught working at a Glasgow venue while his licence was under suspension. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced at court \u2014 adding a criminal record to what is now, almost certainly, the end of his security career.<\/p>\n<p>An SIA spokesperson said the regulator takes a hard line on anyone working without a valid licence, and that suspensions are issued for a reason. That reason matters \u2014 and most door staff don&#8217;t really understand it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/inbody_1_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2>Suspended, expired, revoked \u2014 they are not the same thing<\/h2>\n<p>This is where a lot of officers get tripped up. The three statuses sound similar but mean very different things in law.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Expired<\/strong> \u2014 your three-year licence has run out. You can reapply, but you cannot work licensable duties until a new one is issued.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Suspended<\/strong> \u2014 the SIA has temporarily stopped your right to work, usually while it investigates a concern. The licence still exists, but using it is a crime.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Revoked<\/strong> \u2014 the SIA has cancelled your licence outright. Working on it is also a crime, and getting another one is an uphill battle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Glasgow case sits in the middle category. The licence had not run out. It had not been cancelled. It had been paused \u2014 and he kept working anyway.<\/p>\n<h2>Why does the SIA suspend a licence?<\/h2>\n<p>Suspensions are not random. The SIA typically suspends a licence when:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The holder has been arrested or charged with a relevant offence.<\/li>\n<li>New information has come to light that calls their fitness into question \u2014 for example, an assault allegation while on duty.<\/li>\n<li>There are concerns about identity, training records or fraudulent documentation.<\/li>\n<li>A safeguarding or public protection issue has been flagged by police.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The suspension lets the SIA investigate without the person continuing to work in a position of trust. It is precautionary, not punitive \u2014 but ignoring it turns it into something far worse.<\/p>\n<h2>How the SIA finds out you are working on a dud licence<\/h2>\n<p>Officers sometimes assume the SIA is too stretched to notice. It isn&#8217;t. The regulator runs joint operations with police, licensing officers and local authorities. Inspectors visit pubs, clubs, events and construction sites. Every check involves a quick scan of the public <strong>SIA register<\/strong> against the badge on your arm.<\/p>\n<p>If your status comes back as suspended, the conversation that follows is short, and it ends in a witness statement. The Glasgow prosecution almost certainly started with a routine check exactly like that.<\/p>\n<h2>How to check your own licence status \u2014 right now<\/h2>\n<p>This takes thirty seconds and costs nothing.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to the SIA&#8217;s <a href=\"\/sia-licence-help\">public register on gov.uk<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Enter your 16-digit licence number.<\/li>\n<li>Check that the status reads <em>Active<\/em>. Anything else \u2014 including <em>Suspended<\/em>, <em>Pending<\/em> or <em>Revoked<\/em> \u2014 means you do not work until it is resolved.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Make this a habit. Check before every shift if you have anything outstanding with the SIA, and always check after a court appearance, a caution, or any contact with police \u2014 even if you think it was minor.<\/p>\n<h2>What to do if you receive a suspension notice<\/h2>\n<p>If a suspension letter or email lands, do not panic \u2014 but do not ignore it either. The steps are simple:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stop working licensable duties immediately.<\/strong> That means the second you read the notice, not at the end of the shift.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tell your employer.<\/strong> Hiding it makes things worse for both of you. Operators who knowingly deploy suspended staff face their own SIA sanctions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Read the reason carefully.<\/strong> The notice will explain why and what the SIA needs from you.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Respond within the deadline.<\/strong> Provide the documents, statements or clarifications requested.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get advice.<\/strong> A solicitor who knows the Private Security Industry Act, or a union rep, can be the difference between a reinstated licence and a revoked one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The career cost is bigger than the fine<\/h2>\n<p>Court fines for working without a valid licence can run into the thousands, and the offence carries up to six months in prison. But the bigger cost is what comes after. A criminal conviction for an SIA offence makes future licence applications difficult and, for many roles in close protection or in-house security, effectively impossible.<\/p>\n<p>One shift on a suspended badge can wipe out a career built over a decade. The Glasgow case is the proof.<\/p>\n<h2>The takeaway for door supervisors<\/h2>\n<p>Treat your SIA licence the way a taxi driver treats their hackney plate or a nurse treats their NMC registration. It is not a piece of plastic \u2014 it is your permission to earn. Check it. Protect it. And if the SIA tells you to stop, stop.<\/p>\n<p>If you are weighing up your next steps in the industry, or your licence is up for renewal, our <a href=\"\/courses\/door-supervisor\">door supervisor training course<\/a> page walks through everything you need to keep working legally and confidently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Glasgow door supervisor has been prosecuted for working on a suspended SIA licence. Here&#8217;s what suspended really means and how to check your own status.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":47048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47050"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47051,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47050\/revisions\/47051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new-staging.get-licensed.co.uk\/get-daily\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}