Hairdressing - Poorly paid, but above board?

ianianian_2

My little sister has been a hair dresser for six yearsnow. She left school at 16 and straightaway started working very long hours in the salon and training at college. Sheloves the work, has all of the appropriate qualifications, works really hard and by allaccounts is a really good hairdresser (I think stylist is the technical term),but it’s very apparent that the benefits package is not good and doesn’t soundlike it’ll get much better.

To summarise the role;
· 43 hours per week (no real breaks)
· £210 a week (after tax - see below)
· 20 days holidays (only two or three annual leavedays can be a Saturday)

A number of her friends have got basic jobs at supermarketson a lot more money with better holidays and so she has considered taking a similar job just to see what other roles and companies are like.
Aspart of this I’ve started to look at the existing role and I’m not sure whetherit’s all above board -for example I’m not sure that the boss pays tax andnational insurance (i've heard that she could possibly be down as 2.5 days a week). As this is a small independent business no-one wants toraise these issues as doing things properly could result in job losses, but atthe same time it would add to the reasons for leaving.
I hoped that you could help…
· Does anyone else have similar experiences?
· Any recommendations?
· What would be the effect if the boss had notbeen paying NI and tax?
· Is this above minimum wage? (the tax or lack of it, throws me!)
· Is it easy to switch careers from hairdressing to retail/ office work?

Many thanks!!!!!!!

sniggings

Sounds as if she is working for the wrong saloon.

My hairdresser hires she own chain in a good saloon, she pays a rent for the chair and after that the rest is hers, there are other ways of doing it as well, such a she takes a % of the price of every cut she does.

I bet not many are on a wage only, sounds she needs to find a better place if she loves it, she could also go part time and go to Uni or college etc the last thing she want to do it take a job in Tescos on the Till!

mildred1978

It's hard to understand what you're asking and you've given next to no information, but I'll have a go.

Re her current job. NMW is £6.08 an hour. 43 hours per week = a gross weekly salary of £261.44. Assuming she has the standard 810L tax code and no deductions for pension etc her weekly take home pay should be £226.47. What are the actual figures from her payslips? What happens with any tips she gets?

She is entitled to 5.6 weeks holiday per year. This can include bank holidays (which she may or may not be able to take on the bank holidays. If she gets the bank holidays off then 20 days holiday is about right. The business can dictate when all/some of the leave is taken as they want.

As for switching to admin or retail work, they are different skill sets. Retail may be a slightly easier switch as she must already have customer service skills. Does she have good GCSEs in maths and English? They're pretty basic requirements.

Alternatively, if she can drive she could consider going self employed and hairdressing in customers' houses, doing weddings and pamper parties etc. Many people will follow a good hair stylist. Start up costs don't have to be a lot, although she'd need public liability insurance etc. Or she could just look for a better paid job in a different salon!!

getmore4less

Minimum holidays if she works 5 days or more is 28days, does she get BH on top.

whats the gross pay?

43hr at NMW(£6.08) should be £261.44
52 weeks annual £13594.88

http://www.i-resign.com/uk/financialcentre/tax_calculator.asp

net £218.77 per week (above uses wrong personal allowance)

http://listentotaxman.com/

net £226.47

What happens to the tips?


AIUI this is one industry you need to work for the big boys or go it alone to make money.

mildred1978

I use listentotaxman to net down salaries. Interestingly it shows £16.21 employers NI on that salary, which if deducted from the £226.47 leaves around the £210 per week the OP mentioned. :think:

duchy

20 days is 4 weeks off -assuming she works a 5 day week then http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/employment/employees/timeoffandholidays/dg_10029788 states "you are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid annual leave - 28 days for someone working five days a week" so 20 days is illegal (although those 28 days can include bank holidays -if she gets 8 off then it's legal).

Does she get her tips ?
What do other local hairdressers offer ?
Is she tired of hairdressing or tired of the working conditions at her present job ? (Quite honestly the Saturday thing is expected in retail -if she goes to Tescos she can expect to find Sunday working normal too of course) If she's well qualified why hasn't she looked elsewhere for jobs at other salons ?

Moving into office work -Is she prepared to go back to college for the qualifications ? There's so much unemployment that with just GCSEs (and non relevant NVQ) she'll be competing with not just school leavers but others who have spent the last six years gaining relevant experience in admin . What are her IT skills like ? Can she word process, create spreadsheets etc ? If she really does love hairdressing she'd be far better off looking for an employer who appreciates her talents and qualifications in a field that she knows she enjoys and has proven experience so is more employable rather than apply for jobs she may not like in a job market where she's just another applicant with no relevant experience .

paddyrg

Many salons have mostly self-employed stylists - once she's got enough years experience and built up a client list, she can go to another salon self-employed and just rent a chair. That way she takes the risk and the rewards. As it is, she probably doesn't have 10 yrs experience and confidence, isn't ready to go self-employed, so the company is bearing the full risk.

princessdon

With tips (and I am pretty sure she won't delcare those to the Tax Man) this is likely to be a lot higher!

My hairdresser does 2/3 appts at the same time (depending on what they need) and so if the average tip is £10 in the 2 hours I am there that is £20/£30 on TOP of wages in cash

Valli

princessdon wrote: »

With tips (and I am pretty sure she won't delcare those to the Tax Man) this is likely to be a lot higher!

My hairdresser does 2/3 appts at the same time (depending on what they need) and so if the average tip is £10 in the 2 hours I am there that is £20/£30 on TOP of wages in cash

chances are the tax man, if 'he' knows she's in hairdressing, will be checking up on the tips - they are VERY good at checking up on people who work in jobs where tips are likely, and following this up. When I worked in a job where tips could conceivably been given I received a tax form and had to specify that I didn't receive tips because company policy forbade us from accepting tips. HMRC make an assumption that people will be tipped and tax accordingly!

ianianian_2

Apologies for the lack of detail in the original post –truth be told I don’t have all of the details. I think in a situation like thispeople leave school at 16, start a job and just go with the flow – they’renot aware of employment law, tax, NI, documentation they should receive etc…saying that, I left uni with a couple of degrees and I’m still not sure!
· The £210 is after tax. From what you’ve said it’s about NMW despitethe years of training without much hope of an increase.
· The 20 days excludes bank holidays. They do getbank holidays which are not included in the aforementioned 20 days.
· I’ll be looking for a payslip this evening whenshe gets home. Apparently they only get them every now and again.
· Tips vary between £10 and £30 a week. I’m notsure if they go through any proper process before they’re distributed.
· You’re correct about the general employmentsituation being difficult at the moment and I appreciate that it’s not easy towalk into any job. That said, hairdressing isn’t just cutting hair, it’scustomer service, managing schedules, selling products etc. so there are definitelytransferable skills.
· She can’t drive – she did try, but a dodgydriving instructor has knocked her confidence.

As you’ve mentioned, it sounds like another salon or self-employmentis the future. We’ve discussed this, but it sounds like moving to another salonis a cardinal sin in hairdressing. Sounds like another salon and learning todrive need to be high on the consideration list.

What would happen if she got made redundant and tried to claim benefitsor retired (she’s only 22, but hypothetically) and tried to claim a pension andit transpired that the boss had not been paying full NI?
Thanks again!!!

mildred1978

ianianian wrote: »

Apologies for the lack of detail in the original post –truth be told I don’t have all of the details. I think in a situation like thispeople leave school at 16, start a job and just go with the flow – they’renot aware of employment law, tax, NI, documentation they should receive etc…saying that, I left uni with a couple of degrees and I’m still not sure!
· The £210 is after tax. From what you’ve said it’s about NMW despitethe years of training without much hope of an increase.
· The 20 days excludes bank holidays. They do getbank holidays which are not included in the aforementioned 20 days.
· I’ll be looking for a payslip this evening whenshe gets home. Apparently they only get them every now and again.
· Tips vary between £10 and £30 a week. I’m notsure if they go through any proper process before they’re distributed.
· You’re correct about the general employmentsituation being difficult at the moment and I appreciate that it’s not easy towalk into any job. That said, hairdressing isn’t just cutting hair, it’scustomer service, managing schedules, selling products etc. so there are definitelytransferable skills.
· She can’t drive – she did try, but a dodgydriving instructor has knocked her confidence.

As you’ve mentioned, it sounds like another salon or self-employmentis the future. We’ve discussed this, but it sounds like moving to another salonis a cardinal sin in hairdressing. Sounds like another salon and learning todrive need to be high on the consideration list.

What would happen if she got made redundant and tried to claim benefitsor retired (she’s only 22, but hypothetically) and tried to claim a pension andit transpired that the boss had not been paying full NI?
Thanks again!!!

She can request a copy of her NI contributions record via direct.gov's NI pages.