Salon Owner with Self Employed Staff - Advice

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salon90

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Jul 14, 2011
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New Mills
Hi, I openend my salon in November offering Hair, Beauty & Tanning services. Majority of the salon staff are self employed, so would like your views on what rights i have. Im just a salon owner/receptionist, so don't do any of the Hair or Beauty services.

I would like your advice on the following, whether you would see this as ok.

1) I would like staff not to use there mobile phones within the salon area, especially in front of clients.
2) Would like my staff to come in the salon when it opens and look presentable, i.e styled hair and ironed, cleaned clothes.
3) One of my hair stylists would like to where a tunic, but i see this as a beautician/therapist outfit.
4)Would you allow staff to use salon purchased products on them self, even though they are self employed.

Any help would be great, thank you.
 
I think you need to establish whether you want your staff to be employed or self employed.

If they are employed by you then you have more say in when they are in the salon and what protocols they follow with regards to uniform, use of mobile phone etc.

If they are self employed then I think as long as they are respectful to you and bringing in decent money and conributing constructively to the salons reputation then I think as long as they are well presented then it is up to them whether they wear a tunic (i think a tunic is suitable for a hairdresser) and when they work. I'd have thought that the use of a mobile phone is necessary for their business.

With regards to use of your products, I think it depends on who is paying for what.
 
hi, i think those kind of ground rules should have been established when you rented space out to them. Although they are self employed they are still in your salon and it is your salons reputation. maybe you could have staff meetings and explain what you have said to them and see what happens x
 
Thanks Laura and Souz for replying.

Mobile phones are all used for personal texting, as all our clients contact us through the salon phone. So I find this unprofessional, especially as i make sure i use my mobile phone within the kitchen area when clients are around, unless it is for business.

They are self employed and thats how i would like it to be, but i also deal with there bookeeping, advertising, training, clean up for them and make sure they have clean towels ready for them everyday, provide them with luxury furniture and equipment, receptionist, salon phone, communal till and booking system (easier for me as well) and a card machine. I do as much as i can to make there life easier and not to worry about as i will know one day i will benefit from all this, but all I want from them is to make sure they come in looking presentable, at the end of the day they need to sell themselves to the clients and protect the salon image i have developed.

I have stated in the contract what I expect from them and salon code of conduct, but they still go back into there old ways. It's just going round in circles and feeling tired from it all.

Im just worried as I am looking to employ a stylist/receptionist to manage the salon, so dont want things to get worse because Im not going to be there.

Products are purchased by the salon but staff sometimes use them on themselves, which I think is unfair, as i wouldnt go round using there products if they bought them.

Feel like i have ranted on sorry lol
 
I think it comes down to you communicating with the staff. Sometimes it is hard to be the boss and say these things as you feel you shouldn't have to and they should be obvious, but they clearly need what is expected with regards to phone/dress etc clarified.

If I were you, I'd just bring it up at the next staff meeting.

Hope it goes well xx
 
Must be frustrating for you.. the things you have mentioned are pretty simple and I think the staff should respect them. I don't know too much about self employed but can you still not give warnings etc. if they do not work as you want them to. I think a way of making sure everything is done is monthly meetings with staff on a 1-to-1 basis.. go over anything you feel is not being done and review it each month. Then in the staff room all the points you mentioned need to be in writing on the wall so it sinks in what you expect. It is YOUR salon and YOUR business, they are in the job you gave them so its simple respect they need to show you as you have them.xxx
 
Hi I saw on of your posts and was wondering if you could give me some advice. I am in the planning phase of opening up a full service salon but I will just be the owner. How did you make arrangements with your technicians. Do they pay you a percentage or pay you "rent" for there space. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
 
This is a grey area, as many self employed people take the view that they are running their own business and can set their own hours, methods etc.
This of course is fine, if they are running their own premises. Where it gets complicated is where several self employed people share one facility.
As well as owning a salon, I work in another non-related industry where many people are self employed.
Whether the staff are employed or self employed is, to a large extent, simply a vehicle for paying them, and all staff are required to follow the rules of the workplace (uniforms, hours of work etc.)
It will not look professional if 1 or more of the staff is wandering in at all hours, just because their column is empty. Similarly it would look incongruous if they all chose different dress codes.
Some owners choose to pay the staff on a self employment basis to avoid the high salary bill during quiet times, a very valid method of keeping the business afloat.

In my opinion, the salon needs to be managed to present an image and to provide services for the clientel. If this is done using self employed staff or a mix of staff should be invisible to the clients.
 
The staff maybe self employed but that doesn't mean they should be any less professional. It sounds to me like you need to assert yourself.
Re presentation not texting during work time etc- this has nothing to do with employment status and everything to do with standards. Plenty of shops employ self employed staff (for example Lidl & Aldi) but the staff all wear a uniform and confirm to the company image. Could you call a meeting and discuss these issues with the others in a constructive manner?
 
Hi everyone,

Sorry i haven't been on to reply to the above messages. Thanks for your responses. Today and last week has been a touch week for me. I decided to let both my therapists go after a tough few months and disagreements, and today my nail technician has decided its not for her. Feeling a bit downhearted by it all, but hopefully this will be a new start for and the salon and can move from there. The persons who i was referring to has actually changed and now coming looking the part and not using the mobile as much. Im gutted now because i was a full salon offering majority of the services to my clients. I will back there soon lol

One thing i know is that there is such a grey area with self employed staff, all i know and believe is that as someone who works in someone else's salon, should respect the salons current image and work with it, this just saves the hassle of both parties getting angry with each other. But the owner needs to respect some of the wishes that the self employed member is offering.

Aimeef12 - If you need any information just PM me and i will give you as much information as possible. All i can say for now, make sure you hire a person you can work with and know you can grow the company with. I do all mine on a commission basis, this can be good in the long run but at the beginning it might be difficult, also when they go on holiday it might be difficult as you are not receiving any rental.
 

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