Finding staff

[Rory O'Shea]

I opened my own own hair salon 6 months ago, we are doing really well and getting booked up most days now.

But I am having one difficulty and that is finding staff, no one seems to want to work on a self employed basis anymore I am offering a genours package for staff, including a fair percentage of works completed and training courses and a pretty much already built client list, dispite this they belive that they are the boss and dictate to me the hours, days and what they will and wont do or totally incompetent of doing basic hairdressing.

I have tried all the regular routes, colleges, job center, facebook, twitter, advert in the window, but no one seems intrested in working anymore.

Has any other salon owners got any hints or tips on how to advertise for staff or some where that is the best place to get qualified hairdressers?

 

[Nails<3]

Unfortunately self employed people are their own bosses. They do dictate what hours they do and what services they perform. You are just a "landlord". They are only renting a space from you.

If you want the perks of an employed person then you need to hire staff. By all means you can advise the self employed persons the hours you would ideally like them to be there but they don't have to adhere to it.

They won't be your staff and you shouldn't be providing them with training courses. Check on HMRC and that will give you the guild lines.

 

[Baggybear]

I totally agree with Nails, the reason you are having trouble finding someone for the job is because your looking for the wrong things.

If you want self employed therapists then you have to accept that you will be a landlord and they will be their own boss, they choose their own hours and days to work, they choose what they want to wear, they choose what services they do and don't offer, they choose their own prices, do their own tax returns, pay their own NI and they pay you ther rent or the agreeed percentage every week/fourtnight/month.

If you want to set the days and hours they work, the clothes they wear, the services they perform, the prices they charge, then you have to employ them and give them the correct pay, holiday pay, sick pay, NI, Tax & pension etc....

 

[AcidPerm]

Have a read of this thread and it might help clarify things for you?

http://www.salongeek.com/threads/hmrc-guidelines-for-determining-self-employment.295298/

 

[Dean L. Forbes]

I opened my own own hair salon 6 months ago, we are doing really well and getting booked up most days now.

But I am having one difficulty and that is finding staff, no one seems to want to work on a self employed basis anymore I am offering a genours package for staff, including a fair percentage of works completed and training courses and a pretty much already built client list, dispite this they belive that they are the boss and dictate to me the hours, days and what they will and wont do or totally incompetent of doing basic hairdressing.

I have tried all the regular routes, colleges, job center, facebook, twitter, advert in the window, but no one seems intrested in working anymore.

Has any other salon owners got any hints or tips on how to advertise for staff or some where that is the best place to get qualified hairdressers?

Hi Rory,

Self-employed vs. employed... not sure I can help much there because there are pros and cons to both. However, let's just take your current situation and see if we can't make heads or tails of it.

It sounds to me like your issue is that no one wants to work the hours you want them to or do things the way you want them to do it or at least in a way that you think is professional or that represents the brand you're trying to build. That being said, and correct me if I am wrong, there is definitely a WIN/WIN way to deal with this as I have helped so many of my booth renting clients do the same. Here's the deal:

Regardless of the fact that you are the landlord, kit doesn't mean that you can't set reasonable rules. Here's what I mean... when you rent an apartment, the landlord has no right to tell you when you can come and go; however, he can stipulate that you don't have loud parties that disturb the neighbors or repaint the walls or change any appliances, etc. Aside from that whether you live there one day a month or 30 days a month, the rent is still the same.

My point to you is simply this:

1. Lay out a couple of ground rules that represent your brand in terms of the look and feel for the people who will rent from you
2. Charge a dollar amount and not a percentage - that way the renter also has skin in the game and it's up to them to determine how much they need to work to cover the rent PLUS support their lifestyle. If you do a percentage then you tie yourself to their standards and the expense of your own
3. Be sure to create a value proposition package (on paper) that clearly shows potential renters what your brand can offer them in terms of growth and income potential

At the end of the day, you want to make sure that no one enters your business who causes some sort of detriment to your brand or customers and you definitely want to make sure that you're getting a fair price for the value you provide to those who rent from you... essentially make sure you're covering your expenses. Hope that makes sense.

Try it and good luck!

Best,
Dean

 

[AcidPerm]

The OP is based in the UK where there are strict legal rules covering the relationship between employee/employer and self employed stylist/salon owner.

If the salon owner tries to inflict their brand values on the 'booth renter' the government department responsible for taxation can decide that the salon owner has deliberately entered into a sham arrangement to avoid the responsibilities and expense of being an employer. That can be regarded as a criminal offence and heavy penalties can be applied.

It's important that salon owners understand the implications of 'staff' being employed/self employed and ensure that they stay within the rules.