Special treatment license?

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rubywoo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
247
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238
Location
London
I would like to ask if anyone else feels offended by the special treatment licensing process. My local council simply sends a sheet of tatty A4 paper in exchange for their annual sum. I have repeatedly ask them for an inspection or anything other than a very expensive sheet of A4 paper, for the money I part with annually. I have been informed that the fee is there to keep who operate within the confines of the law safe - I have never seen a licensing officer, they have no idea about my salon, qualifications and hygiene practises - so that if a member of the public has a bad experience they can report the said salon to the council and they can inspect the premises! Is this seriously what I pay my money for?

I just needed to let off steam. There is no other area in my life where I tolerate paying money for nothing. I can't be the only one who is fed up and offended by this money making scam. Or maybe it's just my local council.

What does everyone get in return for their fee?

Rant over!
 
Hi Rubywoo,

Which borough are you in? London is strict on licensing, however outside of London is different depending which council borough you are in.

Some boroughs have 100s of beauty salons and others hardly any.

Do check the licensing conditions small print, as some waive the fee if you are a member of a professional body e.g. fht, sports massage association.

After reading some of the licencing conditions for each treatment it is clear that some licensing departments have no idea about the nature of the business e.g. clinical waste.

Also seem to remember reading that the Massage special treatment licence is there to stop the proliferation of brothels!!! I don't see how this would help at all, if anything they should make a large license fee for brothels and they should be labelled as such so that the genuine beauty salons don't get asked all the time for 'special massage'.

The high license fee deters getting people back into work, like mums who want to work from home.

I agree that its difficult to come up with these large fees for a small business. Especially when they charge the same for a small home salon as a shop salon with a street sign.
 
Ah it's not just me then.

I'm just doing my NVQ level 2 and 3 and called my local council about this as on their website i thought i didn't need it.

The cost is £491!
Then £245 each year, as I'm starting out i explained this is a lot of money to fork out for. Well.... nothing really.

I could understand if they put my business in a directory or website or something but I'm not sure what exactly I'm paying for.

Does anyone know who regulates councils as i feel if I'm paying even a pound i should have a service or product to show for it.

Rant over... feel much better now. :)
 
Thank you guys, I don't feel so angry that I'm not alone on this. I'm in a south London borough and my fees are the same as Starlily. I actually ran a campaign that changed local licensing in a large north London borough (different area of licensing all together), the licensing system for salons is deeply unfair and so clearly a money making scheme for local councils who cream money off us in return for doing nothing. They are not rated in regard to the size of the business i.e. working from home or large spa. I too have heard it's about making money from brothels - when it comes to the licensing of massage.

To be honest I'm offended by the licensing system and the lack of knowledge the inspectors seem to have about the industry. Especially when I'm told that all the really do is investigate salons if a member of the public reports them.

I feel a rebellion coming on!
 
Rubywoo how did your Camden campaign go? Did they listen? I imagine that if one was to make a fuss for one year they might waive the licence, and in following years (after salon is established and doing well) there's a council reshuffle and the new powers that be change the fee as they please!

I am frustrated that they waive the st license fee if a beauty salon becomes a member of a Professional Body - it means nothing legally and again comes down to the ability to pay out more cash!

Quite frankly a Special treatment licence fee for massage is not difficult for a brothel to come up with - esp if they are linked to human trafficking. It is however a lot of£ for a small business person who only makes their money from genuine beauty services. Its like London councils assume that all beauty salons are brothels unless they're fht, sport massage association etc... That's like saying someone is a good and trustworthy person just because they go to church!

For the license fee I would expect something in return too - Capping on the total number of beauty salons for each district. Some boroughs have no restriction and it must be difficult to compete with hundreds of other salons offering the same treatments!

How do the American beauty therapists find their system? Is there anything we can learn from the set up there?

Looking at other more (male) industries I'm sure someone setting up a carpentry or painting business doesn't have as many pimps with their hands out at every corner!
 
Rubywoo how did your Camden campaign go? Did they listen? I imagine that if one was to make a fuss for one year they might waive the licence, and in following years (after salon is established and doing well) there's a council reshuffle and the new powers that be change the fee as they please!

I am frustrated that they waive the st license fee if a beauty salon becomes a member of a Professional Body - it means nothing legally and again comes down to the ability to pay out more cash!

Quite frankly a Special treatment licence fee for massage is not difficult for a brothel to come up with - esp if they are linked to human trafficking. It is however a lot of£ for a small business person who only makes their money from genuine beauty services. Its like London councils assume that all beauty salons are brothels unless they're fht, sport massage association etc... That's like saying someone is a good and trustworthy person just because they go to church!

For the license fee I would expect something in return too - Capping on the total number of beauty salons for each district. Some boroughs have no restriction and it must be difficult to compete with hundreds of other salons offering the same treatments!

How do the American beauty therapists find their system? Is there anything we can learn from the set up there?

Looking at other more (male) industries I'm sure someone setting up a carpentry or painting business doesn't have as many pimps with their hands out at every corner!
Ah it's not just me then.

I'm just doing my NVQ level 2 and 3 and called my local council about this as on their website i thought i didn't need it.

The cost is £491!
Then £245 each year, as I'm starting out i explained this is a lot of money to fork out for. Well.... nothing really.

I could understand if they put my business in a directory or website or something but I'm not sure what exactly I'm paying for.

Does anyone know who regulates councils as i feel if I'm paying even a pound i should have a service or product to show for it.

Rant over... feel much better now. :)



I really wanted to work from home to be able to work around my kids but i had to get in touch with planning first and then pay the same fees as you were charged, as I am just setting up and have no client base I decided to go mobile with a view to work from home in the future.
 
Thank you for your supportive replies.

The campaign was regarding a different licensing law that if implemented would have potentially had a big impact on entertainment licensing in the UK as many other boroughs would have implemented the same licensing regulations. The campaign gathered the support of several supporting bodies and I acted as an industry advisor to the council in the reconstruction of their legislation. This is not an ad hoc thing that is changed at short notice on a whim, it takes consultation and time. It's not hard to implement change in your world it just needs enough people to care and to stand shoulder to shoulder, we can exact change.

I just want the system to stop feeling like we are sitting ducks and an easy cash cow for local councils. To be told by the head of licensing that the fee is there to keep me safe from other salons who do not operate professionally is such an insult. I'm safe enough already, I have exceptionally high standards and a four week waiting list. I know there are some salons near me that are below par, one has burnt several clients intimate waxing, matted eyelashes with badly applied eyelash extensions - many of these clients end up at my door asking me to repair the problems.

I have also delicately asked some of my closest clients if they knew about the licensing of beauty salons and how it should make them feel safe, none of them had heard of it. Which proves that paying a large sum for a piece of paper is pointless from the view of client safety.

I think there should be a variable fee - maybe according to how many treatment rooms/staff/type of business etc - a home salon should not be paying as much as a ten room day spa, greater transparency of how the council implement the license, some sort of inspection rating (like food establishments) particularly for hygiene practises. The fee should be drastically reduced if you belong to a professional body - particularly for massage as I'm sick to death of the legal inference that we are all potentially prostitutes - I remember many years ago one borough had in their small print that you only had to pay the fee if you massage men above the knee, just quite simply, beyond offensive. Any treatments involving needles should have the premises inspected for their hygiene practises which should then be made apparent such as the food safety website rating checks system.

In short do some bloody work for this money, substantiate the claims under which you sell us this license or drop the fees for professional establishments. I for one, become most objectionable when forced to pay for the emperors new clothes.
 
It would appear Jenny Jo is a genius! I am in the process of reading the London Local Authorities 1991 (c. xiii) and it appears under Section 4, part II, that you are exempt from paying if you meet the following criteria;

1. Professionally qualified.
2. Has the correct indemnity insurance.
3. Belongs to a body that has a register of members.
4. That that body has a code of conduct and ethics that it subjects it's members to.

It would appear there was no need for all my previous rantings we are exempt in London as long as we are up to standard. It also appears that the above criteria exonerate us of being potential prostitutes also, hurrah!

I'm off to see if I can make that stick! I shall keep you posted.
 
Rubywoo could you let us know how you get on please, I will look up and print out the above and contact my council as they are going beyond the law if this is correct.
I even considered contacting my local MP as this is a conservative area, in the run up to the election all they harped on about was helping businesses etc, I would like to know how this helps a small local business and how to change this nonsense fee.
 
Is it worth joining the FHT to avoid special license costs? FHT is over £200 cheaper for me.

The amount of info the special license wants is ridiculous
 
It would appear Jenny Jo is a genius! I am in the process of reading the London Local Authorities 1991 (c. xiii) and it appears under Section 4, part II, that you are exempt from paying if you meet the following criteria;

1. Professionally qualified.
2. Has the correct indemnity insurance.
3. Belongs to a body that has a register of members.
4. That that body has a code of conduct and ethics that it subjects it's members to.

It would appear there was no need for all my previous rantings we are exempt in London as long as we are up to standard. It also appears that the above criteria exonerate us of being potential prostitutes also, hurrah!

I'm off to see if I can make that stick! I shall keep you posted.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but have you read the updated version london local authority act 2000. That is what forces beauticians to pay special treatment licence, I believe. The only way not to pay special treatment licence is to join a body of health practionners. The APA for example charges £50 to cover massage for a year I believe.
 
Best to check with individual london council as they're all slightly different wording. Good news Rubywoo if you can waive this fee. Imagine how many London beauty salons are forking out for this fee!

Definately council should enforce cleanliness as clients would have more trust in approved salons. Also check they are not using the dreaded mma dental powder in acrylics - samples tested like food inspections!

The current Special Treatment Licensing is flawed as it sends out the wrong message I.e. if its a brothel - pay up and everything's okay. Meanwhile clients are confused by the crossover of beauty / sex services and beauty salons are hounded with sex requests, something we all would like to avoid.

I don't believe being a member of a Professional Body is the sole answer - their code of conduct states 'not to do anything to bring the profession into disripute'. There's nothing to stop a brothel joining! Still it is possible to have ones own standards, if not higher than a professional body.

Again it comes down to the ability to pay, not based on good practice.

Surprised that Babtac were not on my councils waiver list, as I read their code of conduct and found it to be very relevant and obviously written by someone up to date within the industry.

Neither the Professional Body or Council Licensing dept carry out industry suited inspections, only acting on complaints.

Wonder how many on salongeek are affected by this?
 
Good luck Robywoo! Certainly our local council (Tower Hamlets) publish a specific list of "bodies of health practitioners" which are granted exemption under the 1991 Act. If you are a member of those bodies (for the treatments you provide) then you do not need a special treatment licence. Please keep us posted how you get on!
 
Best to check with individual london council as they're all slightly different wording. Good news Rubywoo if you can waive this fee. Imagine how many London beauty salons are forking out for this fee!

Definately council should enforce cleanliness as clients would have more trust in approved salons. Also check they are not using the dreaded mma dental powder in acrylics - samples tested like food inspections!

The current Special Treatment Licensing is flawed as it sends out the wrong message I.e. if its a brothel - pay up and everything's okay. Meanwhile clients are confused by the crossover of beauty / sex services and beauty salons are hounded with sex requests, something we all would like to avoid.

I don't believe being a member of a Professional Body is the sole answer - their code of conduct states 'not to do anything to bring the profession into disripute'. There's nothing to stop a brothel joining! Still it is possible to have ones own standards, if not higher than a professional body.

Again it comes down to the ability to pay, not based on good practice.

Surprised that Babtac were not on my councils waiver list, as I read their code of conduct and found it to be very relevant and obviously written by someone up to date within the industry.

Neither the Professional Body or Council Licensing dept carry out industry suited inspections, only acting on complaints.

Wonder how many on salongeek are affected by this?

Babtac is not on the list due to its status of being a professional body ( as it is) but because it is NOT a bodies of health practionners (their main aim is of educating and protecting the public. ) Babtac is more like a membership organisiation with the memebers overall gaining the most from BABTAC services.

I agree Babtac is very rigorous with checks unlike another organisation (which I will not name) which I joined and asked for no certificates but am now exempt from paying a treatment licence for massage services.
 
Sadly it appears that no beauty salon is exempt, even if you join a body such as the Federation of holistic therapists, you are still not covered for manicures, waxing, facials, eyelash tinting, make-up and body wraps and there is no body that covers exemption for these treatments.

To be honest I'm absolutely bloody disgusted by what my council is coming back at me with. They have had the audacity to tell me that they do not inspect salons, the license is there to protect the public i.e. if a member of the public has a bad experience they can report it to the council and they can inspect your premises. So I'm pay money to the council for a process they expect the public to regulate!!!!!!!

If I'm honest I'm incandescent with rage. You have to give us money in order to open your doors, but we will do nothing for it.
 
Guys your right from my understanding of it, no salon is exempt from special licensing regardless of what professional body you are a member off.

The Association Of Nail Technicians have a list on their site of all the councils in London special licensing costs.

http://aont.uk/specialtreatmentlicence.html


It is strange that some councils dont require any fees while others like Westminster it is over £1k a year ;(

From their website it seems the only way out of paying the fee is to call yourself mobile and work in peoples own homes, this is pretty sucky as salons are not only having to pay overheads,rent etc plus the license fee while people that just do mobile work dont pay anything.
 
Well I think it's time for a change. I've done this before, it's not the hardest thing in the world, it just needs people to get involved. Think I'll go and have a chat with my MP first.
 
Really wish you the best of luck with your MP Rubywoo :)

As it stands currently if I live in London and want to operate from my spare bedroom as a hairdresser, nail technician etc, I need to register with the council, pay a licence fee, then the council needs to check my qualifications and insurance. However if I want to call myself a mobile hairdresser, mobile nail technician, etc, and go to peoples homes rather than them coming to mine, I dont pay any licence fee nor are there any checks on my qualifications or insurance.

Any MP in the land would agree that this is not right.

The special treatment licence just seems a way for councils to make extra income from salons without giving very much back.

From the information on the association of nail technicians website, it is clear that the pricing is all over place. If the councils where even in broadly the same range of pricing I could understand it ,but they arent. For example, why should one salon be paying 3 or 4 times what another one is who is 1 mile down the road and just happens to be in a different borough?

Before going to see your MP it might be worth printing that page of association of nail technicians website and showing them evidence of the vast ranges in pricing and registration.

If you got time you could even drop the association of nail technicians an e-mail or phone them, to see if they can give you any support or advice, as they seem to me the only association I can find that has done some work in this area.

Rubywoo hope all goes well with everything and try to update us if you get anywhere.



Take Care

.
 
What a great page, thank you nortti. The disparity in pricing between the boroughs is amazing. I wish I had a salon in Lewisham £180 pa!!!!!!!!!! I don't mind paying a fee. What I'm so angry about is that I'm paying so much money for nothing other than being posted a piece of A4 paper. I just want fair.

Edit: Dear god, I sound like a five year old and all I can hear is my fathers voice replying "Nothing in life is fair, deal with it."
 
MP contacted, ball rolling. I shall keep you all posted. I'm beginning to see a nationwide backlash from the beauty industry, I don't think it's too much to ask that if we are expected to pay for a license to say we are qualified and compliant with the law then the councils should bloody well work for it and do their jobs and we can expect greater fairness in fees, ranging from £0 to over £1,000 depending on your postcode is simply insulting.

More from the middle aged ranty one soon!
 

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