Employees working alone

SalonGeek

Help Support SalonGeek:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Salon Belleza

Active Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
25
Reaction score
5
Location
tunbridge wells
Hi All. I am after some advice. Is there a law or guidelines that should be followed when leaving an employee alone ( and to cash up - lock up)? My business partner and I have a difference of opinion.
 
I'm not sure legally what the rules are. However personally it's something I never have liked. I think it's inconsiderate when some owners think that this is acceptable. I have done it in the past and never felt comfortable plus we had to go round the back to a dark unlit car park where my car was parked.
 
I'm not sure legally what the rules are. However personally it's something I never have liked. I think it's inconsiderate when some owners think that this is acceptable. I have done it in the past and never felt comfortable plus we had to go round the back to a dark unlit car park where my car was parked.


Thank you so much for your reply. I feel exactly the same way, but my business partner thinks it is acceptable, and I am having problems convincing her. Nice to know others feel the same. I will now fight harder. Thank you.
 
I'm 99% sure there is a law that you can not leave an employee on their own in the workplace.
I would never leave a member of staff alone anyway it's far too dangerous and no one wants to be in the salon alone they will resent you for it.
Xx
 
I know when I have previously worked in an office you were not allowed unless there was a minimum of 2 from the point of view of someone had an accident.
 
When I used to work in a salon I was left alone regularly, and from a staff point of view I absolutely hated it. I was always nervous around closing time especially in the winter when it was dark as you never know who could be out there; I was worried once I got home that I had maybe forgotten to turn something off etc; and I was left to take the cash takings home which I was never comfortable with as you'd be the first suspect of anything was to go missing!
I do also think there may be some kind of ruling that you need 2 members of staff in case of accidents :)
I hope this may help your business partner see the pressure this may put on the member of staff being left alone :) xx
 
When I used to work in a salon I was left alone regularly, and from a staff point of view I absolutely hated it. I was always nervous around closing time especially in the winter when it was dark as you never know who could be out there; I was worried once I got home that I had maybe forgotten to turn something off etc; and I was left to take the cash takings home which I was never comfortable with as you'd be the first suspect of anything was to go missing!
I do also think there may be some kind of ruling that you need 2 members of staff in case of accidents :)
I hope this may help your business partner see the pressure this may put on the member of staff being left alone :) xx
Thank you all for your replies. I have now spoken to my business partner and I have made sure this will not be happening again. Your support gave me the extra courage I needed to insist on it. Thank you x
 
It's fine for someone to work on their own (it is not against the law) however by law the employer must make sure it is safe to do so- that the employee is qualified, health and safety checks are done etc. when I worked for someone I used to work on my own and I didn't mind at all- I would cash up and close up at the end if the day and was happy to do so didn't find it a problem at all. I wasn't always on my own as I was with clients so I felt safe. I now own a salon and work sometimes on my own and my therapists also sometimes work on their own. We lock the door if we are in a treatment and also we do not do male full body massage so don't tend to be on our own with a man unless it's someone that we know(who have been coming a long time) so this also makes us feel more safe.
 
It's fine for someone to work on their own (it is not against the law) however by law the employer must make sure it is safe to do so- that the employee is qualified, health and safety checks are done etc. when I worked for someone I used to work on my own and I didn't mind at all- I would cash up and close up at the end if the day and was happy to do so didn't find it a problem at all. I wasn't always on my own as I was with clients so I felt safe. I now own a salon and work sometimes on my own and my therapists also sometimes work on their own. We lock the door if we are in a treatment and also we do not do male full body massage so don't tend to be on our own with a man unless it's someone that we know(who have been coming a long time) so this also makes us feel more safe.

Yes your right, it's not against the law. Throughout my working life in some salons I've worked alone on certain days, it was never a problem to open & lock up it was part of my job. If I had a treatment in treatment room then I'd lock the door. I'd like to think that any salon owner leaving a member of staff to work alone already has trust in that employee and vice versa.
It's the same now in my salon, I'm sometimes on my own & my employee sometimes us too. We are completely safe and at ease in the salon...I have a baseball bat behind the counter in case (joke) [emoji23]
 
Yes your right, it's not against the law. Throughout my working life in some salons I've worked alone on certain days, it was never a problem to open & lock up it was part of my job. If I had a treatment in treatment room then I'd lock the door. I'd like to think that any salon owner leaving a member of staff to work alone already has trust in that employee and vice versa.
It's the same now in my salon, I'm sometimes on my own & my employee sometimes us too. We are completely safe and at ease in the salon...I have a baseball bat behind the counter in case (joke) [emoji23]


Baseball bat seems to be a great idea ;).I am running my own beauty salon. I have 3 years of experience in this. In the beginning I was working in another salon and now I started my own salon. It's been 4 months since I started my salon. Sometimes I'll be alone in the salon when my assistants go home earlier. Until now I didn't face any problem, but my customers has started asking me like " are you working here alone at night?? , be safe, it's not a very good place" etc. So I am just worried about my safety. I found a personal security app ( http://www.proteleccheckmate.com/products/checkmate-never-alone/ ) while searching in google. I read the features and thought that it'll be useful for those who are working alone. Other than this I have a pepper spray which I'll carry wherever I go.
 
Totally agree with the comments above....like Mands I don't know legally but I wouldn't do it.. personally I think it's bad management to leave a staff member at risk and feeling vulnerable. God forbid anything happened you would feel partly responsible, especially given that you obviously don't feel happy with it yourself. Have you asked the other staff members how they feel about it honestly? That may help your cause if the feedback is that they don't like it :)
 
There are guidelines but no laws. My husband comes to help with the locking up at the end of the night. It's never nice doing it alone, but that's just being thoughtful x
 
general question: Is it legal to work alone? It is not against the law to work alone, and in many cases it is perfectly safe to do so. The law does however require employers to ensure that their employees are 'reasonably' safe. This means that employers must consider the health and safety risks not only of the job being carried out, but any risks caused by the employee working alone
 

Latest posts

Back
Top