News

The National Hairdressers’ Federation is due to meet HM Revenue & Customs on Wednesday this week [May 16] to press its case that proposed reforms to the tax treatment of chair renting arrangements are unfair and potentially discriminatory towards hairdressers. 

The NHF has made the following formal response to a consultation being carried out by HMRC VAT: Addressing Borderline Anomalies that, if agreed to, could lead to a further tightening of the law around chair renting beyond that already announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his Budget in March: 

Re: HMRC Consultation Document on the Taxation of Hairdressers’ Chair Rental. Response on Behalf of the National Hairdressers’ Federation

Background

The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. The NHF is a not-for-profit membership body whose members consist of hairdressing salon owners, self-employed hairdressers and beauty therapists working in hairdressing salons. 

The Federation funded a series of test cases between 2007 and 2009 which examined the legal complexities around chair rental agreements. 

The Consultation Questions

HMRC have asked for a response to two questions in the consultation document: 

Questions on proposed new legislation

Q10 - We would welcome any views on whether the proposed law achieves the aim of clarifying that hairdressers’ chair rental is taxable? If not, why not and what changes are needed? Are there any other supplies that the changes would capture?  

Questions on Impacts on businesses and consumers

Q11 - We have considered impacts on businesses and consumers of the changes to hairdressers’ chair rentals and these are set out in the Table of Impacts in Annex B. We would welcome comment on these impacts (including any specific impacts on small businesses) and would particularly welcome details of any impacts we have not identified.

Response to Question 10

Members of the NHF broadly welcome changes which clarify the treatment of traditional chair rent agreements in an open-plan salon. The decisions of the High Court in cases such as HMRC v CJ Denyer, Ch D 2007, [2008] STC 633; and Vigdor Limited v HMRC, Ch D 2008, [2009] STC 150 are supportive of HMRC’s position; and of legislation which ensures that confusion over this complex matter is removed and that all salons operate on a level playing-field.  

To this extent our members support HMRC’s intentions, which are said to be to “put the matter beyond doubt by explicitly excluding the supply of hairdresser chair rentals from VAT exemption.” 

We are convinced however, that the proposed legislation goes far beyond the measures necessary to achieve this aim. We are also concerned that the legislation specifically discriminates against hairdressers and this will result in unfair competition; may discourage growth; and is almost certainly ultra vires of European Law. 

The proposed clause 18(a) properly exempts from VAT a grant which provides for exclusive use of a whole floor, separate room or clearly defined area by a hairdresser. In our view, the clause need go no further than that. We are not aware of large-scale uncertainty about the treatment of lettings of clearly defined areas such as separate rooms or whole floors, which have always been treated as VAT-exempt. Neither is there any evidence of uncertainty in terms of a volume of cases being heard by the Tax Tribunal or Higher Courts. We conclude from this that HMRC are seeking to clarify an area which is already beyond doubt. 

The mischief in the proposal is within clauses 18(b) and 19. Our understanding of these clauses is that they seek to apply VAT to lettings of clearly defined areas, when any other services are provided to the hairdresser occupying that area. Examples of services which will cause the natural land exemption to be overridden are listed on a non-exhaustive basis, with utilities apparently being the only service provision which will not taint the exemption. The legislation, as currently drafted, would for example cause VAT to apply to rental of a room to an independent stylist, if the salon provided the services of a receptionist to welcome customers and direct them to the stylist. 

In the NHF’s view this proposal should be withdrawn for the following reasons: 

1.      It discriminates against hairdressers as the legislation is specifically confined to users who occupy the premises for the purpose of supplying “hairdressing services” (Ref Proposed clause (ma)). Where any additional services are offered, salons will be obliged to apply VAT on leases to hairdressers, whereas no VAT would be applicable if precisely the same supply were made to a beautician, nail technician or any other tenant.  

In our view, such discrimination runs contrary to the principle of fiscal neutrality which precludes the differing VAT treatment of supplies of services which are “identical or similar from the point of view of the consumer and meet the same needs of the consumer” (Ref para 36 of the Judgement of the CJEC in the case of R&C Commissioners vs Rank Group plc). 

We also fail to understand how the proposal can be reconciled with HMRC’s stated policy of allowing the granting of concessions within Department Stores to be treated as VAT-exempt (Ref Notice 742 para 2.6). Such concessions inevitably include the provision of additional services such as cleaning; use of common facilities; cashier arrangements; advertising etc. To refuse to allow exemption for hairdressers in situations where the services offered are far less significant strikes us as bizarre.  

2.      It is an attempt to override the principles of single and multiple supplies as set out by the ECJ in the case of Card Protection Plan Ltd v C&E Commissioners.  

We note that HMRC’s VAT Notice on Land and Property (Notice 742) at paragraph 11.7 specifically refers to certain additional supplies to tenants as being further payment for the main supply of accommodation”. Included within the list of such supplies are: 

·         Telephones (providing the bill is in the name of the landlord

·         Reception and switchboard services

·         Office services 

In our view, this is the correct way to analyse a supply of land when ancillary services are provided and we see no legitimate reason to exclude hairdressers from this interpretation. In any case, we consider it unlikely that the Courts would support the idea that VAT must apply to a supply which consists predominantly of a right to occupy land, merely because of the existence of some ancillary incidental supplies which are being made to enable the hairdresser to ‘better enjoy’ occupation of the land. In this context, we would remind HMRC that a similar attempt to taint the exemption applying to financial transactions by the introduction of Notes (2A) and (2B) to Group 5 of Schedule 9 foundered on the rocks of litigation (see for example the comments of Laws LJ in the case of C&E Cmmrs vs FDR Ltd, CA [2000] STC 672). 

3.      The proposal is unnecessary. 

We are not aware of ‘borderline anomalies’ in the context of letting of rooms, floors or clearly discrete areas. The NHF provides its members with a template document to use when letting specific areas to independent businesses within a salon. This document creates a lease within the meaning of the Landlord and Tenant Act and supplies made under this arrangement are exempt from VAT. With regard to additional services such as cleaning & maintenance; waste disposal; laundry and reception services, we have always advised our members to treat these as taxable supplies where they are distinguishable services from the lease of the land. In any case, where there are complexities in identifying whether there is a single supply of land, such difficulties are not confined the hairdressing sector nor is there any evidence that our members are seeking to avoid VAT in this context. 

Response to Question 11

We have noted your comments on the likely impacts and only wish to add our observations on the likely impact of clauses 18(b) and 19. 

We have sought feedback from our members to establish how many are using the template leases we have issued to supply specific areas to other hairdressers. The responses indicate that there are very few such arrangements, meaning that the additional tax-take for the exchequer as a result of clauses 18(b) and 19 will be minimal. In the vast majority of cases, salons lease discrete areas to complementary businesses such as beauty therapists; nail technicians; tattooists etc. Whilst such leases will not be caught by the proposed legislation, we are concerned that the psychological impact will discourage salons from this sort of horizontal expansion. Members are likely to envisage the changes as the start of a more general attack on hairdressers which will extend to all types of lease arrangements in future (especially given that there is no logic to treating leases to hairdressers in any different way to leases to other businesses).  

Conclusion

If the changes are restricted to fulfilling the stated intention to “put the matter beyond doubt by explicitly excluding the supply of hairdresser chair rentals from VAT exemption” then it will be welcomed by the majority of our members, many of whom have commented that they face unfair competition from salons which seem to be ignoring the now accepted position that chair rents in open-plan areas should be treated as VATable. 

If however, the proposal to apply VAT to any type of lease with services to a hairdresser goes ahead, then our members will see this as a specific and unwarranted attack on their businesses, which will discourage growth and is likely to lead to litigation. 

·         The full consultation can be found online here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf 

·         The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

 

An agreement is due to be signed this month between EU Coiffure, a group of European salon bosses, and UNI Europa Hair & Beauty, the European trade union for hairdressers.

This has proposed hairdressers could be prevented from wearing high heels, for fear of slips and trips causing injuries, and rings or bracelets will be banned because of the potential for such jewellery to be unhygienic.

It is also expected to propose all salon furniture must be deemed “ergonomic”, salon workers will need to wear elbow-length gloves when washing hair and be required to limit their hours so as to allow them to take proper breaks for “social dialogue” with colleagues.

NHF president Mark Coray has said the plans as they stand are unnecessary and potentially onerous for UK salons.

“We all agree health and safety has to be a priority, especially for a vital and very public industry such as hairdressing. But the agreement being put forward in Europe is way too vague and intrusive. For example, it doesn’t even clarify what is meant by ‘ergonomic’ furniture – so potentially creating a field-day for lawyers and health and safety ‘consultants’, as well as furniture salesmen.

“What’s more, the vast majority of what is being recommended is, in fact, already covered by UK health and safety law. The main difference is that UK law retains enough flexibility to allow salon owners to make reasonable, risk-assessed decisions about the day-to-day running of their businesses while, at the same time, ensuring workers are correctly protected. The EU proposals would mean a regime of coercion and compulsion, which is never good for business.

“However, it is also very important to stress that, just because this is on the table it doesn’t mean it will end up becoming law. It still has to go to the EU Council of Ministers and even then there are many stages before it could become a directive. It could be anything from five to seven years before it becomes law, which means there is a lot of time to instil some common-sense into this debate, which the NHF will be working hard to achieve.”

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.
• For further information please contact enquiries@nhf.info or alternatively contact Eileen Lawson on 0845 345 6500.

The Federation funded a series of test cases between 2007 and 2009 which examined the legal complexities around chair rental agreements, specifically whether, as chair renting is essentially a licence to occupy “land” within a salon, it can be treated as a VAT-exempt separate entity or must be seen as part of a “composite” service being offered by a salon (in other words one that includes the use of other utilities and equipment) and therefore cannot be exempt from VAT.

While key elements were clarified by the High Court in 2009, the government in the Budget this week said it will now be tightening up the law from October to ensure VAT must be applied to chair renting arrangements with only a very few, limited exceptions.

However, the NHF has expressed dismay at a little-publicised consultation document published in the wake of the Budget in which the government has outlined plans to go even further in tightening the law in this area.

The consultation, VAT: Addressing Borderline Anomalies, has proposed any salon that rents a designated room to a hairdresser, even if use of the space is 100% exclusive but where there are joint “ancillary” services such as a reception, towel laundering or cleaning, will also be excluded from the VAT exemption rules.

This would mean hairdressers potentially being treated differently, and more harshly in terms of VAT, than any other business tenants who rent serviced commercial space, warned NHF secretary general Eileen Lawson.

“We believe what the government is looking to impose here is unacceptable and in our opinion against EU VAT rules. Why should hairdressers – who are the only occupation specifically mentioned in this context – be treated differently to anyone else who rents space, even in fact to anyone else who rents space within a salon, such as beauty therapists or nail technicians?”

“By becoming a member of the NHF we will keep salon owners up to date and provide advice on dealing with these changes.”

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.
• For further information please contact Eileen Lawson, Secretary General on 0845 345 6500 or alternatively email enquiries@nhf.info.

“Mr Osborne’s announcement of a simplified tax system for very small firms plus his commitment to look at enterprise loans to help more young people start up in business could also be of benefit to a traditionally young and entrepreneurial sector such as hairdressing.

“However, Mr Osborne missed an opportunity when it came to his planned reforms around VAT loopholes. It’s not just the unfairness of how VAT is taxed on different goods and services that is an issue but how VAT is structured, particularly in relation to small, labour-intensive businesses such as hairdressing salons.

“The NHF through its Cut & Dried? campaign has been urging the government to reform VAT to make it more flexible and responsive to the needs of small businesses. It was disappointing Mr Osborne did not use this Budget to help small businesses in this way.”

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

• The NHF’s campaign Cut and Dried? The Case for a VAT Revolution for Hairdressing Salons was launched in January 2011 and is calling for a reduction in the rate of VAT for salons operating under the HMRC’s Flat Rate scheme from 13% to 5% and a cut in the headline rate of VAT for labour-intensive industries and sole traders from 20% to 10%.

• For further information contact Eileen Lawson, NHF secretary general on 0845 345 6500 or email enquiries@nhf.info

Ahead of the Budget on March 21, the NHF is urging Chancellor George Osborne to focus on supporting small and micro businesses as well as looking at incentives to bringing down youth unemployment. In particular it is calling for:

• A firm commitment to introduce a more flexible VAT infrastructure that will respond better to the needs of small businesses, as currently being lobbied for within the NHF’s Cut & Dried? campaign. This is calling for the introduction of a variable VAT rate for labour-intensive small businesses.

• The introduction of an automatic 50% reduction in business rates for any retailer, salon or high-street premises with a rateable value of less than £18,000. At the moment, eligible salons must proactively apply for this rate relief, meaning often those that might be able to benefit lose out.

• Cash incentives to encourage firms to take on apprentices to be extended. Measures unveiled last November introduced a £1,500 payment for small firms taking on their first apprentice. This, the NHF has said, should be widened to include any business regardless of whether they have taken on an apprentice in the past, but limited to one per business.

• A freeze in the national minimum wage for under-20s and an extension of the apprentices NMW. A freeze in the under-20s rate is already expected to be announced, and will be welcomed, but the NHF would also like to see the apprenticeship NMW rate extended from its current limit of 16-18 years olds. This, it has argued, will encourage people to stay at school for longer as well as giving people an incentive to change career or direction at a later date. The NHF would therefore like the apprenticeship rate to be applied for the whole period of an apprenticeship and current age constraints removed.

NHF president Mark Coray said: “Our members have been reporting signs of cautious optimism on the high street but there is still a long way to go, and this is a real opportunity for the Chancellor to do more to help small and micro businesses take on the mantle of becoming Britain’s engine of economic growth.

“We’d like to see Mr Osborne listening more to small business trade associations such as the NHF rather than just big-name organisations as well as looking long and hard at how taxes, benefits and incentives could all be better targeted to encourage high-street entrepreneurs.”


Notes for editors:

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

• For further information contact Eileen Lawson, NHF secretary general on 0845 3456500 or email enquiries@nhf.info.

According to reports last week, the government will announce later this month that the wage for 18-20 year olds is to be held at its current £4.98.

In its submission to the Low Pay Commission last year, this was one of the key demands of the NHF, which argued that constant rises were eroding pay differentials between stylists and juniors within the sector and consequently making it harder for young people to land their first salon job.

NHF president Mark Coray said: “We shall of course wait to see the formal announcement but this is potentially excellent news for both salon owners and young people who want to get into hairdressing.

“Hairdressing is a young, creative and entrepreneurial industry that offers huge opportunities and, with youth unemployment at record levels, the government needs to be doing even more to create opportunities and openings for young people.

“This is not about keeping wages low, it is about opening doors to allow young people to make their mark and reach their full potential. The other great thing about hairdressing is, if you’re willing to work hard, you can progress rapidly, both financially and in terms of responsibility. Unlike banking, our bonuses are based on results and performance,” he said.

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit. For further information please contact Eileen Lawson, NHF Secretary General on 0845 345 6500 or enquiries@nhf.info.

The Get Mentoring programme is being run by the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI), the government’s sector skills body for enterprise.

The idea is that SFEDI will recruit and train thousands of small, medium and micro business mentors, with individuals either attending workshops run by selected training providers or learning online for a total of seven hours.

Once accredited, the mentors are listed on the website www.mentorsme.co.uk as well as offered free membership of the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and must be willing to provide at least one hour’s free mentoring a month for two years, passing on advice to businesses on how to start, develop and grow.

“Hairdressing salons are exactly the kind of business owners that we would like to see getting involved. We are also working to link with organisations to parachute trainers in, “SFEDI finance manager Sarah Trouten told SalonFocus.

 
Full details about Get Mentoring can be found at: www.getmentoring.org

NHF president Mark Coray said: “At one level, of course, downgrading qualifications that offered young people a valuable taster of what hairdressing has to offer is disappointing.

“But it also has to recognise these qualifications often did not fully prepare school leavers for working on a salon floor, especially when you consider hairdressing increasingly requires stylists to have good basic literacy and numeracy and an understanding of chemistry and biology, as well as cutting and styling skills.

“The bigger issue is the lack of good quality, targeted careers’ advice for young people keen to come into our industry – advice on what qualifications they will need, what academic and behavioural skills are most valued by salon owners, how to go about gaining work experience and the value of options such as apprenticeships.

“More often than not school-leavers end up drifting into hairdressing, sometimes because they have been ‘written off’ academically by their schools, and only discover almost by accident what a rewarding and creative career hairdressing is.

“Downgrading these qualifications will not be a disaster for our industry, but it must not come at the expense of young people’s futures.”

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

“The chancellor’s announcement that the current small business rate relief holiday is to be extended for a further six months to April 2013 is, of course, good news for small firms – in so far as it goes.

“However, the National Hairdressers’ Federation has long argued it would be more useful in the long term for the government to put in place an automatic 50% reduction in business rates for any retailer, salon or high-street premises with a rateable value of less than £18,000.

“The problem at the moment is that eligible salons must proactively apply for this rate relief, often meaning those that might be able to benefit lose out, either because they are too busy with ‘the day job’ or just do not realise they can get it.”

However, the suggestion employers with fewer than 10 staff may be allowed to, in effect, cut deals with sacked staff to avoid being taken to tribunal – the agreement of so-called “compensated no-fault dismissal” – is something that needs to be examined very carefully, as we believe it has the potential to throw up serious problems.

“For too long employment law in general, and the dismissals process in particular, has favoured large employers with dedicated HR and legal departments, leaving small businesses floundering in time-consuming red tape and paperwork. So creating simpler, streamlined processes for small firms will definitely be welcome,” said NHF secretary general Eileen Lawson.

“The idea of protected conversations, too, is one many salons owners would back. In an environment like a small hair salon where the owner is dealing directly with employees on a daily basis it is important to be able to talk frankly about issues such as poor performance without worrying it will blow up in your face in any subsequent tribunal.

“Reducing the time needed to consult on redundancies and having more rapid resolution of cases will also be beneficial. For many small businesses, having to wait 90 days before laying staff off – and all the time of course needing to pay their salary – can be financially ruinous when times are already hard.

“But the government’s plan to seek views around the idea of compensated no-fault dismissals does worry us and we’d like to see a lot more detail about how this might work in practice. Will it mean, in effect, small businesses being being asked to pay for sloppy performance; could it simply encourage disgruntled workers to do their worst in the knowledge that if they get sacked they may get some cash?

“Within a generally positive package of proposals this is something that, we feel, still needs some work.”

The extension will allow Habia to gain more responses from across the four nations, in particular Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as boosting feedback from the African Caribbean hair and spa industries.

One of the most detailed and authoritative skills survey of the hair, beauty, nails and spa industries to be undertaken in over five years, the survey – launched in June - will provide a picture of the sector as it is now in terms of skills gaps, training and business performance, and will help Habia plan future initiatives that support future growth and raise standards.

Top prizes are up for grab for those taking part from some of the biggest names in the industry including Avlon, BABTAC, Dermalogica, Graftons, Goldwell, Scratch Magazine, Sweet Squared, Softsheen Carson, The Carlton Institute and Vidal Sassoon.

The survey is part of Habia’s Big Conversation, which aims to give learning providers the opportunity to speak directly to Habia, the government recognised Sector Skills Body and industry authority for hair and beauty, on issues ranging from funding and qualifications to skills needs and reform - at a time when the sector is facing unprecedented challenges and changes.

To take part in the survey, go to www.habia.org/bigconversation.

 

Top prizes are up for grab for those taking part from some of the biggest names in the industry including Avlon, BABTAC, Dermalogica, Graftons, Goldwell, Scratch Magazine, Sweet Squared, Softsheen Carson, The Carlton Institute and Vidal Sassoon.

 

The survey is part of Habia’s Big Conversation, which aims to give learning providers the opportunity to speak directly to Habia, the government recognised Sector Skills Body and industry authority for hair and beauty, on issues ranging from funding and qualifications to skills needs and reform - at a time when the sector is facing unprecedented challenges and changes.

To take part in the survey, go to www.habia.org/bigconversation.

Business secretary Vince Cable said today [Nov 16] that firms employing up to 50 people would be able to claim an “incentive payment” of up to £1,500 to take on apprentices, with an initial payment made two months after the individual has started and the balance paid on completion of their training.

The announcement was part of a package of measures to encourage more employers to invest in training and apprenticeships.

NHF president Mark Coray said such payments could well encourage more salons to take on apprentices, especially if they helped to offset disincentives such as the rising cost of the national minimum wage, which went up last month.

“With youth unemployment at record levels and more school leavers looking at vocational training as an alternative to going to university, it is right that the government is examining ways to make apprenticeships a more attractive option for small businesses.

“It is also positive the government has recognised the contribution small firms can make here. Compared with big employers, the number of apprentices an individual salon will take on will, of course, be small. But nationally the hairdressing industry provides apprenticeships and training for many thousands of young people and so has a vital role to play in youth employment.

“What we’d like to see now is more detail about how this scheme will work in practice. The NHF is also concerned that the government has made it clear this money will be coming from the existing apprenticeships budget, which raises the question of what will have to give in its place.

“More widely, this highlights the urgent need for training providers to work with the NHF and employers to ensure training is better structured.

“As a poll of our members showed just last month, salons owners feel apprentices are too often let down by providers, especially when it comes to learning practical skills such as perming and working on reception, and have to be ‘retrained’ by their employer once they start work,” he added.

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

It follows concerns raised this week by the business body the Forum of Private Business that trial hair and beauty formats such as Tesco’s Your Beauty could become a threat to high-street salons.

The FPB has warned that formats such as Your Beauty could cost hair and beauty salon jobs.

It’s chief executive Phil Orford said: “Offering in-store services like this will be just one more reason for shoppers not to visit their local high street. If this catches on and other supermarkets mimic Tesco, it could really hurt the independents. And with so many UK high streets now bristling with outlets reliant on beauty-related products and services – most of them small, independent retailers – there could be a steep increase in empty units.”

Your Beauty is a pilot hair and beauty concession being operated by NHF member Regis and was launched in January, initially in six sites but with the possibility of being expanded to as many as 70.

NHF president Mark Coray said that, while salons were right to be watching the evolution of supermarket hairdressing with keen interest, the bigger threat to independent salons came from if, or when, big grocers decided to move into the retailing of salon-quality hair products.

“The concern we have is Tesco getting its teeth into the retail products side. Most professional products like shampoos and conditioners are only available in salons, where sales account, on average, for about 14% of turnover which is a considerable amount. I believe, with Clubcard points, people would be tempted away from buying in salons,” he said.

“There’s definitely a potential for worry, but it’s the sale of retail products that concerns me most. And if they start to operate these services in Tesco Express outlets, that would become a major issue for the market,” Mark added.

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

Coversure Insurance Services are pleased to announce that Allianz have now reversed this decision and published a new policy wording. This states that before commencing any hair treatment either the Colourstart system is used or the manufacturer's recommendations/instructions of all products are to be undertaken for the Professional Treatment Risk liability section to be in force. Sterling Insurance, the other provider of cover on the Salonsure policy, has also now confirmed that they accept the Colourstart method of sensitivity testing.

The guidance, which Habia was consulted on and contributed to, provides businesses offering Garra rufa fish pedicures advice on best practice and practical measures that should be taken to mitigate against potential health risks.

During its consultation, the HPA and its working group found that the risk of infection from fish pedicure treatments is likely to be very low, provided that good standards of hygiene are maintained. However, clients with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions such as diabetes or psoriasis may have an increased risk of infection and should therefore not undergo such treatments.

Wendy Nixon, Habia’s health and safety expert, said, “All the evidence collated by HPA suggests that the risk of infection is incredibly low. However, that risk can be minimised further by following the HPA guidance, and using the Habia issued standards on client consultations for pedicures to ensure proper checks are made for contra-indications such as cuts and medical conditions.”

The full guidance, which has also been endorsed by the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health and the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, is available to download from www.hpa.org.uk. Specific guidance on pedicures and hygiene in beauty salons is also available from Habia at www.habia.org/healthandsafety in the Guidance section

The chancellor George Osborne outlined plans at the Conservative Party Conference this week to allow small businesses to access funding directly from the Treasury, through a programme of so-called “credit easing”.

He also announced the qualification period for the right to claim unfair dismissal would be extended from 12 months to two years from April next year, and the introduction for the first time of a fee for taking a case against an employer, which litigants will only be able to win back if they win.

Federation president Mark Coray said both schemes could potentially be beneficial to reputable salons, but more detail was needed, particularly when it came to credit easing.

“We look forward to the chancellor fleshing out how credit easing will work in practice when he presents his next Budget on November 29,” said Mark.

“But, in principle, anything that makes it easier for salons to access funding is good news. While economic conditions remain tough, a lot of salons are performing robustly and helping to keep high streets going.

“No one wants to return to the days of unsustainable lending but if this scheme helps salons perform to their full potential that can only be good for hairdressing as well as the wider economy.

“When it comes to tribunal reform, salons that treat their workers badly or unfairly deserve to be brought to book. But anything that offers greater protection against malicious or spurious dismissal claims will be reassuring for salon owners,” Mark added.

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

In an investigation – “All Work and Low Pay” – to coincide with this month’s rise in the NMW, reporter Shelley Jofre visited NHF president Mark Coray to discuss how it has led some salons to encourage workers to become self-employed as a way of getting around paying the NMW, but also how the wage is affecting recruitment of juniors.

In its submission last year to the Low Pay Commission, the body that advises government on the level at which the NMW should be set, the NHF said as many as 12,000 employed hairdressing jobs had been lost between September 2009 and 2010, while at the same time the number self-employed had gone up by around 10,000.

Mark told the programme: “If a salon makes somebody self-employed, the salon actually gets out of paying holidays, gets out of paying PAYE and any sick pay, so it is almost like a legal way of actually avoiding the high overheads that come with the minimum wage.”

Mark said he had been forced himself to lay off junior staff because of the NMW.

“My stylists, when they are having their colours rinsed off or when they are having their clients’ hair shampooed, could be doing it themselves. So why would I want that extra higher expense?” he explained.

Asked was he therefore taking on fewer juniors as a direct result of the NMW, Mark replied: “Definitely.”

In the wake of the broadcast, Mark stressed it was good some of the challenges the NMW created for small businesses had been brought out into the open.

“As the programme made clear, the national minimum wage plays a critical role in protecting low-paid workers. It helps to create a fair and equitable society and working environment.

“But the fact the wage has kept on rising year after year is making it extremely tough for salons, and is something that cannot be ignored.

“If it keeps on rising it will only serve to make an already difficult employment outlook even harder and, more importantly, continue to act as a disincentive to the hiring of juniors, so potentially harming the future of our industry as well as the aspirations of many talented young people,” he said.





• The national minimum wage increased from October 1, 2011. The new rates are:
- Adult rate: £6.08 an hour (an increase of 15p)
- 16-17 year olds: £3.68 an hour (an increase of 4p)
- 18-20 year olds: £4.98 an hour (an increase of 6p)
- Apprentices: £2.60 an hour (an increase of 10p)

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

Bobby will be battling it out in the north east with English teacher and competitive foodie Jenni McGagh, bowel-obsessed colonic irrigationist Cath Morgan, and cheeky-chappy butcher Dan Freeman.  Should be interesting!  The Federation wish him every success in the competition.

Nevertheless, as the government has rightly identified, in many areas our high streets are struggling and there is a crying need to bring back “bustle” and variety, to create more of a buzz.

The National Hairdressers’ Federation is the biggest salon trade association in the industry, representing some 6,000 members ranging from small, family-run salons to some of the largest chains in the business, such as Regis. As such, it is in a position to offer a unique perspective on the health of the high street.

The NHF strongly feels the best way to revitalise the high street is by encouraging, incentivising and supporting independent and family-run businesses to “anchor” our high streets.

This needs to be done through a combination of reforms and incentives around finance, planning, transport and rents, as well as changing attitudes and behaviours around how we use our high streets and our expectations of what a “traditional” high street should be and have within it.

Finally, we feel some relatively small-scale changes to encourage a more vibrant high-street “furniture” could also help to stem the drift away from high-streets to out-of-town shopping centres, foster a better and more community-orientated spirit and serve to make our high streets feel less homogenised.

To this end, our recommendations for Mary Portas are:

1) Tackle punitive rental rates
One of the most common complaints we hear from small, leasehold retailers is the apparent carte blanche landlords have to increase property rents, often at short notice and without any prior negotiation. Members have been reporting to us that increases of 40 per cent or more have not been uncommon since 2008.

The suspicion is that landlords, who we appreciate may have cash-flow or yield issues of their own during the downturn, simply see commercial rents as a “cash cow” that can be raised at will and without consequence.

But this is not the case. The net effect of raising rents to punitive levels, inevitably, is to stifle enterprise. The result is independent shops, even if they are managing to trade their way through the downturn, are being forced to shut down or move to cheaper premises off the high street, leaving the bigger chains with deeper pockets, who are able to afford the higher rents or are able to buy freeholds outright, to dominate and homogenize our high streets.

We would like to see:

• A ban on “upward-only” rent reviews to ensure a more equitable relationship between landlord and leasee. Landlords should be made to justify better why a rental rate is rising and there should be a more transparent and robust appeals and negotiation system in place.

• The government investigating ways to regulate or cap commercial rent increases, perhaps learning lessons from the US where rent control laws are relatively commonplace.

• More access to legal and agent support for small shopkeepers, perhaps through the creation of a “high-street rental legal aid” agency that could provide affordable legal and commercial lease advice to businesses with a turnover below a certain level.

2) Reform business rates
The NHF has long argued that business rate relief as it stands does not do enough to
encourage and incentivise small businesses to set up on UK high streets. What we would
therefore like to see is:

• The introduction of an automatic 50% reduction in business rates for any retailer, salon or high-street premises with a rateable value of less than £18,000. At the moment, eligible salons must proactively apply for this rate relief, meaning often those that might be able to benefit lose out.

• If it cannot be made automatic, then simply a simplification of the system for applying for rate relief is required to encourage greater take-up. At the moment it is time-consuming, bureaucratic and off-putting.

• Consult on introducing a system of capital gains and corporation tax relief for small businesses. This could perhaps be based on business turnover or even proximity to the high street to encourage more small businesses to migrate to town centres.

3) Make VAT more flexible and high street-friendly
In January the NHF launched a new campaign, Cut & Dried? The Case for a VAT Revolution for Hairdressing http://www.cutthevat.org/index.php?page=587, recommending the introduction of a more flexible VAT infrastructure that better responded to the needs of small businesses. This campaign is calling for the introduction of a variable VAT rate for labour-intensive small businesses and a review of the VAT registration threshold to encourage greater flexibility and take-up. We feel reforms to VAT could play an important part in helping to stimulate growth and enterprise on our high streets and therefore would like to see:

• The government accepting and implementing the recommendations of our report Cut and Dried? The Case for a VAT Revolution for Hairdressing.

• An independent analysis to be carried out of how the rise in VAT to 20 per cent this year is affecting the high street and consumer spending. Some of our members are reporting that the rise in VAT has actually led to a decrease in revenue and therefore, while it may be helping the Treasury in the short term, it may be damaging the high street in an unsustainable way.

4) Reform planning and transport controls to encourage more pedestrian footfall and more independent shops.

Another common complaint from our members is high streets being left high and dry by poorly planned ring-roads and out-of-town shopping centres or, conversely, becoming so clogged with traffic that shoppers are discouraged from visiting local outlets and therefore, similarly, end up shopping out of town. While we recognise there is clearly a demand for out-of-town retail centres, the NHF would like to see more work being done by town, council, government planners and environmental agencies to examine ways better to direct shoppers to high streets.

We appreciate there may be no hard-and-fast rules here but as a general rule we think all of the following would benefit and stimulate local high streets:

• Greater pedestrianisation of shopping areas to increase footfall and passing trade.

• Research into how usage of “park-and-ride” and congestion charge schemes that remove cars from urban centres could be made more effective, including how to make park-and-ride as accessible and convenient for shoppers as driving in and parking themselves.

• Greater awareness or consideration when making planning decisions of the effect of ring-roads that could drive traffic away from small towns.

• Encourage more flexibility around changing business usage so that unoccupied shops can become vibrant work spaces, whether as simply another form of retail outlet or in terms of encouraging other small businesses to set up in town centres. This would have the effect, if nothing else, of bringing more office workers into town centres, so creating more “bustle” around lunchtimes and evenings.

• Research being carried out to identify the most common retail “anchors” that tend to bring people on to high streets and, if they then close, the effect this has. It could be a small, local supermarket, the Post Office, even the local hair salon but in many, especially small, high streets the closure of such an anchor can act as a catalyst to an ongoing, and sometimes terminal, decline in that high street. More understanding of the sorts of triggers that can set this decline in motion is essential.

• Where retail spaces have been left empty, greater encouragement of their temporary use by artistic, creative and community groups so as to, again, create colour and vibrancy rather than simply having long lines of boarded-up fascias.

• Greater use and promotion of Business Investment Districts to encourage local businesses and communities to take more “ownership” of the look, ambience and feel of their high streets.

5) Encouraging more artisan and specialist outlets, creating more “street furniture” and looking at creative ways to brighten up and invigorate empty retail space.

Along with financial and tax incentives, we would like to see councils being more proactive and imaginative in offering encouragement and incentives to small, artisan businesses that can often bring colour and individuality to a high street. This would inevitably have to respond to local needs, but it could be implementing retail mix quotas to ensure a high street does not become dominated by, say, mobile phone shops or estate agents or working more closely with local chambers of commerce to carry out small business events or promoting “use it or lose it” initiatives with the local media. We would also like to see:

• More flexibility around marketing and advertising, including encouraging rather than curbing businesses from advertising their wares on the street outside their shop with pavement signs, A-Boards and Sandwich Boards and the like. The use of such promotional activity, rather than getting in the way of pedestrians, in our view has the potential to create a better “dialogue” between retailers and shoppers.

• The encouragement of more events and activities on high streets, such as art trails, children’s activities, street cafes and “colour”; to create a more “Continental” feel.

• More encouragement of local businesses, communities and charities to come together to run street-based activities.

• More encouragement of communities and business organisations to run education and awareness-raising seminars and events for people considering opening a retail business for the first time.

• Better co-ordination between councils, business organisations, police and social agencies to find solutions to local regeneration issues, particularly around issues such as litter, poor quality properties or homeless people on high streets.

• The establishment of a cross-government agency, essentially a “BusinessLink” for high streets, specifically to work on regeneration/improvement projects, provide information and encourage more collaborative working.

• The establishment of a National Lottery “high street good causes” fund, much like its existing good causes fund, but specifically to fund “street furniture” and regeneration and improve the look and feel of our high streets.

Mr Balls today at the Labour Party conference outlined a five-step plan to boost the economy and create jobs, including implementing an immediate one-year cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements, repairs and maintenance as well as a temporary reduction in the headline rate of VAT from 20% to 17.5%.

Both demands strongly echo the NHF’s own Cut and Dried? VAT campaign, which is calling for a reduction in the headline rate of VAT for labour-intensive industries, such as hairdressing, which are less able reclaim VAT through purchases as well as making the HMRC’s Flat Rate scheme more small business-friendly.

The NHF has also welcomed Mr Balls call for a National Insurance Contributions tax break for firms that take on new workers.

NHF president Mark Coray said: “Ed Balls is right to put the spotlight again on the damaging effect our current high headline rate of VAT is having on many small businesses. But we’d urge him to go further and back our call for a variable VAT rate for all labour-intensive businesses, not just for home improvements, as this would make VAT much more responsive and flexible to the needs of small businesses.

“A combination of the general economic climate and annual rises in the national minimum wage has also discouraged many salons from taking on new workers. Mr Balls’ idea for a tax break for firms that hire new staff could therefore be a helpful incentive for small businesses, both salons and others,” he added.

• Ed Balls at the Labour Party conference called for a repeat of the bank bonus tax, more long-term investment projects, a reversal of January’s rise in VAT to 20%, an immediate one-year cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements, repairs and maintenance, a one-year national insurance tax break for every small firm which takes on extra workers.

• The NHF’s campaign Cut and Dried? The Case for a VAT Revolution for Hairdressing Salons was launched in January and is calling for a reduction in the rate of VAT for salons operating under the HMRC’s Flat Rate scheme from 13% to 5% and a cut in the headline rate of VAT for labour-intensive industries and sole traders from 20% to 10%; a review of the VAT registration threshold with the aim to bring it down from its current £73,000 turnover to £40,000; and better communication of the benefits of the Flat Rate and Annual Accounting VAT schemes to encourage greater take-up of VAT registration among small businesses.


• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit. Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact Head Office on 0845 345 6500 or email enquiries@nhf.info.

Tayla is a member of the NHF’s Team GB and already a European champion as well as having represented Great Britain at last year’s World Hairdressing Championships.

Her achievement – to become a gold “supreme champion” – is even more remarkable in that she won gold in an adult rather than a junior category at the championships, beating off stiff competition from some of the best hairdressers from across the globe.

Tayla, who works with her mum Leanne Willis at The Venue salon in Ashington, Northumberland, said she had been “thrilled”, “amazed” and “delighted” to win the award.

Mum Leanne added: “Tayla has a drive and passion for hairdressing that just blows you away. Her dedication as a young person is inspiring; every spare minute she has goes into training for the Federation and Team GB.

“We’ve also had such amazing support from Team GB and the Federation as a whole, particularly from ladies trainer Stephen Coles who has been happy to travel to Northumberland so often to help and offer advice,” she said.

NHF president Mark Coray added: “We are all so pleased for Tayla, who is such a talented hairdresser and has a really bright future ahead of her. To achieve gold at her age is a remarkable achievement and just goes to show how British hairdressing continues to lead the world. The sheer talent Team GB displayed across the board at OMC makes me feel very excited about the future.”

Team GB is the National Hairdressers’ Federation’s competition team, representing Great Britain at regional, national and international events. Anyone interested in becoming a part of this success story can contact NHF head office on 0845 345 6500.

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

Huhne told the Liberal Democrat party conference that he wanted to make it easier for people to spot cheaper deals and switch providers.

Hairdressing salons use a lot of water and electricity and, along with wages, fuel bills tend to be one of their biggest overheads.

With utilities hiking prices sharply over the past few weeks some salons are bracing themselves for price rises of nearly a fifth this winter, an increase they will be ill able to afford in a tough climate on the high street, warned NHF president Mark Coray.

“Energy bills just seem to keep on rising and salon owners feel helpless to do anything about it. Most salons try to be as energy efficient as they can be, but there is no getting around the fact that our business uses a lot heat, lighting and water.

“Switching supplier can sometimes help but when you’re running a busy salon in a difficult economic environment the last thing you want is to be adding to your paperwork or risking the continuity of your energy supply for what may just be a temporary saving,” he said.

“Anything that caps prices or makes it easier for salon owners to shop around is going to be warmly welcomed,” he added.

But the Federation has also welcomed new guidelines from the government outlining who is entitled to the NMW and when it should be paid.

The NMW will increase from October but, urged NHF president Mark Coray, it should then be held unchanged to give salon owners a valuable breathing space.

“The NHF fully recognises the NMW has its place in creating a fair and equitable working society; it acts as a vital ‘floor’ beyond which pay cannot and should not go,” he said.

“But in the current economic climate there is also a compelling argument, in our view, for any increase in the NMW to be either very modest or, in fact, held unchanged,” he added.

The Federation is also urging the commission to consider switching to bi-annual rather than annual changes to the rate, arguing that such a move would give salons greater wage and cost stability.

An increasingly punitive enforcement regime, with businesses risking being “named and shamed” if they pay the wrong rate, even innocently, also meant greater transparency, simplification and support was needed around administering the wage.

To this end, the government’s move this week, ahead of this year’s rise, to publish new guidelines was welcome.

“There are currently four rates for the NMW and administering and managing this is becoming increasingly complex and burdensome. So anything that makes this easier has got to be good,” said Mark Coray.

“But what we would also like to see is the government moving away from the current punitive enforcement regime to one where small businesses are actually helped, in a constructive way, to get it right rather than worrying all the time that they are going to be punished for getting it wrong,” he added.

• From 1 October, the national minimum wage will increase to the following rates, according to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills:
- the adult rate will increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour
- the rate for 18-20 year olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour
- the rate for 16-17 year olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour
- the rate for apprentices will increase by 10p to £2.60 an hour

The latest guidelines for the NMW can be found at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/payroll/day-to-day/nmw.htm

Tina Caswell, 66, and Caroline Poulter, 47, owners of Castina Hair Studio in Chapel Road in Exmouth won £200 in September simply for filling in a membership survey for the organisation, which represents some 6,000 salon owners around the country and is the UK’s biggest salon trade association.

Their names were drawn out of a hat at random by NHF membership committee chairman Alan Rapkin.

“I was very surprised when I heard we’d won, as I did not even know mum had entered!” said Caroline.

“I’ve been a member for more than 30 years and the NHF provides so many benefits it can really make a difference for salon owners, especially when times are tough.

“But I never thought we’d actually get paid for being part of something that’s such good value for money anyway,” she added.

Alan Rapkin said: “We’ve very pleased for Tina and Caroline. We had an excellent response to our members’ survey this year, with the response rate nearly doubling. It goes to show how highly our members rate being part of this federation.”

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

Mr Balls was responding to calls by economists for the government to reduce the top rate of tax, and repeats the call he made back in June for Chancellor George Osborne to reverse January’s hike in VAT to 20% and return it to a 17.5% rate.

NHF president Mark Coray said Mr Balls was right to highlight the strain higher VAT had put on many small businesses, especially labour-intensive sectors such as hairdressing that were less able to offset tax rises through the purchase of goods.

But a reduction in the headline rate was only part of the solution – the whole VAT system needed to be reformed to make it more flexible and responsive to the needs of small businesses, he emphasised.

“Salons are doing their best in a tough climate on the high street, but until consumers feel more confident about the pound in their purse and the long-term health of the economy, things will remain difficult,” he said.

“A VAT cut would give a much-needed boost to the high street and would mean retailers could look forward to the critical Christmas season with much more optimism,” he added.

“More widely, we also believe the way VAT is levied on small businesses in this country needs revisiting.

“As the NHF outlined back in January when it launched its Cut & Dried? VAT campaign, the way VAT is structured makes it a blunt instrument that fails to reflect the needs and challenges of many small businesses,” said Mark.

“Tinkering at the edges with VAT cuts is only half the answer. The case for wholesale reform is long overdue,” he added.

• The NHF’s campaign Cut and Dried? The Case for a VAT Revolution for Hairdressing Salons was launched in January and is calling for a reduction in the rate of VAT for salons operating under the HMRC’s Flat Rate scheme from 13% to 5% and a cut in the headline rate of VAT for labour-intensive industries and sole traders from 20% to 10%; a review of the VAT registration threshold with the aim to bring it down from its current £73,000 turnover to £40,000; and better communication of the benefits of the Flat Rate and Annual Accounting VAT schemes to encourage greater take-up of VAT registration among small businesses.

• The NHF is the biggest salon trade association in the industry. It provides its members with support in legal, trading, personnel and insurance matters. It is also a significant lobbyist, frequently feeding back to government on crucial issues that affect the industry. It is a major player on the competition circuit.

The poll of small businesses by comparison site Make It Cheaper and the Centre for Economics and Business Research has argued more than half of salons fear for their survival if costs continue to escalate.

Seven out of 10 have seen their margins being squeezed; almost half have been forced to increase prices and nearly a quarter to cut staff.

The research painted a grim picture for many salons on the high street, conceded NHF president Mark Coray.

“Many salons have continued to hold up well and have innovated their way through this recession and downturn. But this poll shows just how hard it is for a lot of salon owners right now.

“It’s not even just about getting clients through the door. Costs such as energy and insurance just seem to keep on climbing and eating into margins, while the government’s decision to raise VAT this year was equally unhelpful.

“But what this research also highlights is the value there is in being part of an organisation such as the NHF. With costs rising left, right and centre, the level of support and access to membership-based deals we offer – not to mention just having access to networks of other members who can offer money-saving tips and advice – can be invaluable,” he added.

It has been estimated that the “riots” are going to cost the country, and the insurance industry, millions of pounds with the latest estimates, published by the trade magazine, Insurance Age, suggesting a figure in excess of £700m.

If you’re concerned that you, your property or your business is at risk over the coming days the following tips should help you to mitigate the risk:

• Liaise with your local police authority to gather the most up to date intelligence. Local police will be aware of potential trouble-spots and will, if they can, advise you of any imminent threats.
• Carry out an audit of your security to ensure that premises are adequately protected. Particular attention should be paid to the ground floor and basement level, but don’t forget windows, emergency escape doors and roof-lights accessible from external fire escape staircases, scaffolding and roofs of adjoining buildings.
• Remember to brief your staff - aim to minimise opportunities for confrontation by discouraging doorstep cigarette breaks, avoid lunching out and instruct them to walk away from provocation.
• Review your contingency plan so that you are prepared in the event of building damage, and for emergency repairs, boarding-up, cleaning-up operations, etc. Make a list of your local emergency repair centres and their contact details
• A lot of damage has been caused by fire, to help minimise the risk of damage you should make sure that all exteriors of buildings are cleared of combustibles and waste materials to which the public may have access.
• Be particularly aware of any unusual or suspicious activity and ensure you maintain tight control over any entrances or exits to your property.

If you have been unfortunate enough to have been affected by recent events, you should act fast and speak to your local insurance broker or insurer as many insurance policies DO cover your property against riot and civil unrest. Whether you have cover in place or not you may only have 7 days to report a claim to your insurer as they will wish to seek compensation themselves from the local police authority under the auspices of the Riot Damages Act 1886.

This act states that the local police authority has a legal responsibility to reimburse you if you sustain damage to property as a result of a riot, however there is a 14 day window for notification and, if you are going to make a claim through your insurer, you will need to give them plenty of time to inform the authorities within the notice period themselves. This being the case they will normally require notification within 7 days of the incident occurring.

To claim you will need to obtain a crime reference number and inform the police that you intend to make a claim against them under the act.

You will need to make sure you can prove the losses and this may mean producing a schedule of loss within a week of the incident occurring. Your insurance company or local insurance broker will be able to advise you of the best course of action so, please contact your local broker immediately for advice if you have any further concerns.

Mike Stephenson from Coversure Insurance Services, the NHF’s approved insurance broker said, commenting on the riots, “This is the quite possibly the worst act of mindless violence and wanton destruction I have seen in many years. Individuals and business are in turmoil, yet it’s vitally important, they don’t delay in making a claim and contact their insurance broker or insurer as soon as they can.”

1. Review their insurance documents (especially plate glass): it is often the case in commercial premises that the liability for plate glass and general buildings is split. They also need to ensure they have appropriate risks covered in their terms: some will have riot excluded.
2. Review their lease: salons may well recall entering what is called a fully repairing and insuring lease: if this is the case there may be an obligation to reinstate the premises irrespective of insurance coverage. If salons rely on their Landlord to insure and reinstate then their should be a clause suspending rent pending this
3. Review their contracts of employment: it is perfectly reasonable to expect salaries not to be paid if employment cannot be given (because the salon is inoperable); if salons have employment cover with a major group like Cromer (via the NHF, for example) then they should be calling their helpline to check the position as they need to ensure their next moves are covered by that policy too
4. Review any HP terms on larger items: does the HP or lease agreement allow them to suspend payment (or even to cancel the contract) if the item is unworkable or stolen
5. Review employers liability from a Health & Safety perspective: be sure that the salon is a safe place to work: salon owner obligations extend both inside and travelling to the salon