Saturday staff

[persianista]

What is the minimum age as I heard somewhere it was 14. I wanted someone at school who was interested in getting into a salon xx

I believe it's 15 and 3/4.
I spoke to ACAS recently about volunteers. It's ONLY legal if they SOLEY observe. The moment they so much as make a cuppa, full employment rights kick in. The ACAS man agreed that the rules are a mess, but work experience was challenged in the courts, so that's the law.
Bloody shame for people trying to get a bit of experience. Standing around just watching would be frustrating beyond belief, and irritating to the staff.

 

[hairbylouisa]

I worked in a salon since I was 15, they paid me 15 a day to work from 10 till 5 and it went up to 20 3 yrs later lol, it was abysmal pay, being a Saturday girl I did literally work my arse off and even when qualified I still was getting that pay, no sick pay no holiday pay. I guess thats what you do when you're so passionate about it.

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[nickysnails200]

I started when I was 14 and got £20 for 8.45 till half 4/5 then when I was 15 I got £25 it was hard work but I loved it n it really made my mind up about doing hairdressing I got £20 for any extra days I did aswell xxx

 

[facelashbrow]

I worked in a salon since I was 15, they paid me 15 a day to work from 10 till 5 and it went up to 20 3 yrs later lol, it was abysmal pay, being a Saturday girl I did literally work my arse off and even when qualified I still was getting that pay, no sick pay no holiday pay. I guess thats what you do when you're so passionate about it.

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True, illegal though.

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[faerififi]

I dont think it matters if you are more passionate than others or not. It is a right to be paid the correct amount by employers its just not fair to exploit young people just because they are desperate for work experience. I got paid £30 a day for 8 hours at the age of 18/19 which was about a tenner less than I should have got. In the end I jacked it in after 9 months because I couldnt afford to only have £30 a week at that age.
Some people seem to think in this industry that as a newbie, juniors should expect to be underpaid and treated like crap until they work their way up and can treat the person below them the same way. Its not on by any means its not professional at all and definitely doesnt create a nice atmosphere to work in.

 

[virtues2011]

I dont think it matters if you are more passionate than others or not. It is a right to be paid the correct amount by employers its just not fair to exploit young people just because they are desperate for work experience. I got paid £30 a day for 8 hours at the age of 18/19 which was about a tenner less than I should have got. In the end I jacked it in after 9 months because I couldnt afford to only have £30 a week at that age.
Some people seem to think in this industry that as a newbie, juniors should expect to be underpaid and treated like crap until they work their way up and can treat the person below them the same way. Its not on by any means its not professional at all and definitely doesnt create a nice atmosphere to work in.

I'm glad there is someone else out there that shares my viewpoint.

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[kimi1101]

I pay my girl (17) £30 a week and from what I know, that's a good wage for a Saturday member of staff. However, it's just about minimum wage for her age and hours.

What do you get if you pay peanuts?!

I think yes, we all are/were passionate. I was paid £15 a day (8 hours) when I started 12 years ago. It doesn't scream "valued member of staff" to me, and let's be honest, the vast majority of employers can afford another £10.

 

[Missy106]

I agree they should be paid correctly.
No wonder so many girls give up on their dream because people wanting to pay them below what they deserve. And we all know how busy it can be on a saturday. Good on the ones who appreciate their saturday girls, they could be your next big earner xx

 

[hairbylouisa]

I dont think it matters if you are more passionate than others or not. It is a right to be paid the correct amount by employers its just not fair to exploit young people just because they are desperate for work experience. I got paid £30 a day for 8 hours at the age of 18/19 which was about a tenner less than I should have got. In the end I jacked it in after 9 months because I couldnt afford to only have £30 a week at that age.
Some people seem to think in this industry that as a newbie, juniors should expect to be underpaid and treated like crap until they work their way up and can treat the person below them the same way. Its not on by any means its not professional at all and definitely doesnt create a nice atmosphere to work in.

Ofc it was very much illegal but no where else in my town was willing to take me on. Its sad that thats the way it was as I feel I missed out on things like learning to drive when I was 17 simply because money was an issue.

A girl I also studied hair with had to leave in the end due to circumstances at home and she couldnt afford to pay rent etc. Its such a shame that employers think that they can get away with paying peanuts

If im ever lucky enough to own a salon one day id make sure my juniors/saturday staff are happy and pay them the NMW.

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[persianista]

How do people cope with no pay at college?

 

[ColourGirly]

Unfortunately some employers know they can get away with exploiting young people as they are desperate to get into hairdressing. We pay our Saturday staff £40 a day... And guess what? they stay! They stay on after they've finished school, we train them up then they qualify and go on the shop floor, earn the business money and we are proud of investing in them.

I have fond memories of being a Saturday girl, we worked our socks off but i was rewarded well. There were 4 of us and if one person didn't turn up we got to split their wages for doing their work!

 

[lisamarie83]

I've just looked into this as I've taken a Saturday girl on, she's 15. An 4 the 6hours she'll b working £25 a day will b slightly more an hour than the minimum wage for her age. X

 

[lisamarie83]

Sorry ive just looked back up on that and I've bn looking at the 16/17 years wage! It states if they are of school age (from 13) they arnt entitled 2 minimum wage at all.

 

[virtues2011]

You used to be able to get help with college attendance EMA (education maintenance allowance) but I'm sure that has now expired in the UK. You can get a bursary for 16-19 year olds in further education but I don't know what the criteria is. Child benefit covers further education also. Most college students have to get a part time job to support themselves or have the bank of mum and dad to help them...

Minimum wage is purely a guideline, you can pay no less than this legally. It doesn't mean you HAVE to stick to the schedule. I'm not sure If some employers recognise this.... Or even want to.


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[faerififi]

How do people cope with no pay at college?

I was lucky enough to have parents who were able to support me though I started practicing on friends and charging small amounts to cover the cost of products and so i could have a little bit extra alongside my saturday job, and usually never asked my rents for money.
For students with parents on low incomes its very difficult. A lot of girls were relying on EMA til that was cut. A significant number of the girls in my class dropped out after that to go into full time jobs in other fields because they simply couldnt afford to stay. Even with subsidized bus travel some of these students wouldnt have any food in a full college day.
The difference in sixth form academic colleges and vocational colleges in the way students cope and their lifestyles is astonishing. In a year i went from listening to a girl bragging about getting a car for her 17th birthday to meeting a girl who couldnt even read or write.
It definitely humbled me to see such differences in girls of the same generation in the same city. This goes way beyond hairdressing and into politics, the classing system and segregation.
I feel if there was more money pushed into apprenticeships it would give a better chance for impoverished students to make a solid career, rather than going through 3 years of college with no guarantee of a job at the end of it. I wonder if there has been a study of the percentages of students in hairdressing colleges who actually go on to find a secure job afterwards. Would be interesting to see.

 

[persianista]

I gather the stats are: for every 100 hairdressing students, 4 will make it to senior stylist. Appalling really.

 

[Biljana]

$9.05 an hr min wage in Alberta regardless of age. Appalling really
There are ways to reward the young person and top up on their min wage. They do it at restaurants with Hostesses. If a person is greeting Your client, making Your client a beverage, cleaning up after You etc... maybe each full time employee/stylist/beauty tech... can give a percentage of their tips to the young person.

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[persianista]

$9.05 an hr min wage in Alberta regardless of age. Appalling really
There are ways to reward the young person and top up on their min wage. They do it at restaurants with Hostesses. If a person is greeting Your client, making Your client a beverage, cleaning up after You etc... maybe each full time employee/stylist/beauty tech... can give a percentage of their tips to the young person.

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That's normally pretty standard. Most stylists split their tips with junior staff.

 

[BravoPhil]

We've stopped employing Saturday staff now that they're entitled to paid holiday.


Phil xxx

 

[Biljana]

That's normally pretty standard. Most stylists split their tips with junior staff.

Not around these parts unfortunately. I have yet to talk to a stylist willing to part with any of their tips

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