Toxic stylist

[Bluemire]

Hi,
I need advice on how to get rid of a toxic member of staff. I have been working along side these nasty young girls. I am the salon owner and just to keep the peace i have wrongly ignored them but today i witnessed a very nasty and vile message about myself and now i feel enough is enough and i want rid of her. Problem is i don't know how to go about it. It is written in her contract 4 weeks notice BUT the contract is up for renewal tomorrow so i think i might have the option of telling her i am not renewing her contract?? But i don't know if i can do that or not?? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
PS i live in the uk.

 

[RED STAR]

Hi,
I need advice on how to get rid of a toxic member of staff. I have been working along side these nasty young girls. I am the salon owner and just to keep the peace i have wrongly ignored them but today i witnessed a very nasty and vile message about myself and now i feel enough is enough and i want rid of her. Problem is i don't know how to go about it. It is written in her contract 4 weeks notice BUT the contract is up for renewal tomorrow so i think i might have the option of telling her i am not renewing her contract?? But i don't know if i can do that or not?? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
PS i live in the uk.

When you say you 'witnessed' nasty, vile messages about you....what do you mean?
Aside from her contract, this would surely at least necessitate a written warning.......
What issue does she have with you, and to what extent are the 'nasty young girls' involved?

 

[AcidPerm]

NEVER NEVER ignore bad behaviour from your staff. You aren’t working alongside them, you’re not a colleague. If they’ve been bullying another member of the team and you’ve done nothing, you could be held legally liable for not dealing with the situation, if it escalated.
You are the boss and they need to know that and respect you.

How long have they been working for you? If less than a year, you can let them go quite easily without going down the disciplinary route. When you sack them, make them leave the salon immediately without giving them a chance to poach your clients or their data. If anyone kicks off, give them a verbal warning but be prepared to sack them too.

You must take back control of your salon!

I don’t know the legal position of fixed term contracts for staff who have been employed for a couple of years though, so get informed.

You really need to join the NHF and avail of their contract and employment advice and get yourself some management training too otherwise you won’t have a salon for much longer. Clients can tell when the staff relationships in a salon is dysfunctional and they won’t be re-booking in a hurry.

All staff need managing as they won’t manage themselves. If you really can’t cope with conflict and dealing with difficult staffing situations, close the salon and go self employed, working just for yourself. It’s much less stressful overall.

 

[squidgernetball]

Are they all employed or self employed in your salon?

As @AcidPerm says, within two years you can pretty much get rid and you definitely need to regain control. I have four staff and would never ever tolerate anything but absolute respect both ways x

 

[Bluemire]

Hi guys,
They are self employed. xx

 

[AcidPerm]

Woah, in that case, get rid of the worst offenders and start looking for new people to work in the salon. There’s no way I’d tolerate ‘staff’ with such a disgusting attitude. After all, they’ll be giving your salon a bad reputation.
Even though they’re self employed, you can still interview them and trade test them to get a feel for their work ethic. Check out their social media pages and see how they post when they’re ‘off duty’.
You don’t have to take on the first person that can pay the rent.
Also, give them 1-3 months trial rather than a year long contract. Let them know that poor behaviour has consequences.
There are lots of good hairdressers out there keen to rent a chair in a nice salon so take your time before signing your next person up. You should be able to turn this situation around quite quickly if you’re firm and pro-active.

 

[squidgernetball]

Evict with immediate effect. Take no prisoners and send a message to the others. How DARE they!!!

Vic x

 

[daydreams01]

If contract is up then neither of you are under obligation to continue so I would inform her that her contract has now expired and explain that due to recent events or a change in the direction you are taking your business you are not going to offer her a renewal and wish her well for the future. Check your contract though as you may still need to give her notice that you are not renewing.

 

[BeautyGeek93]

Can you not put her on gardening leave effective from the date of the renewal of contract? That way she's out the door and you will have given the notice plus like others have said she cannot poach clients details if she is out asap

 

[Njmcf]

I had a very similar situation a few years ago, it was awful [emoji20] I had a written agreement between me and the self employed person, which stated the same as you, 4 weeks notice. Things got so bad though that I told her one Saturday before her last client that it wasn’t working out for me and I didn’t want her working there anymore, she refused to leave then and take her stuff. It was nasty, and it made me hate having a salon. After a few empty threats she didn’t do anything after that, and I was glad to see the back of her. The legal advise I got was the contract for a self employed person isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, so if she’s making you feel like this get rid ASAP!

 

[Bluemire]

So update,

The toxic person has handed in her notice, I was off work today and got told by one of my other stylists that she is now handing her new phone number to all the clients in my shop. Is she allowed to do this, I'm furious with her! She even had a go at my trainee today for "eating crisps too loudly"

 

[Zoey92]

You'v the patience of a saint! Because i wouldn't be able to deal with that.

 

[AcidPerm]

She’s self employed so can attempt to poach any clients as they don’t belong to your salon. Just get her keys off her and tell her not to return.

 

[Bluemire]

It is taking me all my strength and will power not to leave her stuff on the door step. I would love to tell her not to work her notice and just kick her out but 2 of my other stylists are leaving now. One of them her parents are opening a salon for her. I need them to work the notice so I can get money. X