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But we know there are still a huge number of you who support the NHF-led CuttheVAT campaign. The more of you that sign up the more likely the government will sit up and take notice.
The 258 votes are split over two entries: one entitled Reduce VAT for hair salons which has gained 203 votes and another entitled cut the VAT which has accrued 55 votes. We suggest you focus on the one with the largest amount of votes.
For those of you who have not voted please do so now. It is so easy to do.
It takes just five quick and easy steps:

1. Fill in the registration on the HM Government Your Freedom site (http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/join_form)
2. Click on “Home”
3. Type in hairdressing in the search box in the top right-hand corner of the page
4. Where you see “Reduce VAT for hair salons” click on the “Read & Rate” banner
5. Scroll down to “Add a rating” then click all the stars to gold.

Then add a comment – they really help to build our case.

It’s done. 

This is a tremendous opportunity to catch the deputy prime minister’s eye so please do not delay. Add your rating right now.

The NHF’s National Executive Committee made it policy two years ago to advise members against allowing under-18s to use sunbeds.

The Federation ensured the Department of Health knew of the policy decision and gave the issue a high profile in its publicity material.

The legislation brings England and Wales into line with Scotland which led the way in the UK on the issue.

Eileen Lawson, NHF secretary general, said: “Once again the NHF has been of considerable influence in a crucial issue of public health. Politicians are taking increasing notice of the NHF and the stance it takes on important issues. This will bode well for our future campaigns on behalf of salon owners and the wider hairdressing industry.”

This is because nothing has been done to tackle the differentials between the pay of older and younger apprentices on a contract of apprenticeship or who take part in specified government apprenticeships schemes.

Apprentices are currently exempt from the NMW if younger than 19 but those aged 19 or older are entitled to the NMW after the first year of their training, making them less cost-effective for employers. The NHF believes the different pay rates for apprentices based on age amounts to a risk of “indirect discrimination”.

The NHF believes the same opportunities should be available to all apprentices throughout the duration of their training however old they are when they join the industry because everyone deserves the same chances and apprentices of varying age bring different benefits to salons.

The NHF says the risk of indirect discrimination will continue to exist from October 1 because apprentices aged 19 and older will only qualify for the lower apprentice rate for the first year. This means younger apprentices will still be more cost-effective for employers to recruit.

The NHF noted, however, that the Low Pay Commission paid heed to secretary general Eileen Lawson’s representations about the need for clarity on the issue of what qualifies for waged time under NMW legislation and that the apprentice rate should be equivalent to no more than the Learning and Skills Council’s £95 a week recommendation that exists in England. There is no such contractual minimum payment to employed apprenticeship in the rest of the UK although there is a general requirement they are waged.

The £2.50 rate is a universal hourly rate that will be paid for all training and working hours so employers should not fall foul of having to identify apprentice wage time versus any extra hours worked outside of the apprentice system, which is currently the cause of much confusion: currently, if someone works hours others than the ones specifically set out in their apprenticeship terms, those extra hours have to be paid within the NMW structure.

Lawson said: “I am glad that the LPC listened to us about certain aspects but I am disappointed it has not applied the apprenticeship wage uniformly across all apprentices to prevent one group being discriminated against the other. Older apprentices have much to offer hairdressing and it would be a tragedy if, for reasons of cost-effectiveness, employers feel they cannot hire them.”

This was the government drawing up the political battle lines with the Conservatives rather than doing anything significant to boost recovery, far less growth, in the UK.

Meaningful measures that would provide a boost for NHF members on a sustained basis were patently lacking.

The short-term nature of announcements such as the extension of “time to pay” and the reduction in business rates for a year from October were not sufficient to enable businesses to plan for the longer term.

The NHF would have liked to have seen the chancellor come clean on what getting the UK’s finances back in order was really going to mean.

Eileen Lawson, Secretary General, said: “While the reduction in business rates can be applauded, the applause at this stage can only be muted because members do not know yet the effect of ending the transition rate and the result of the revaluation exercise.”

She said members would be worried that no further announcements were made about income tax, national insurance and VAT on the basis that they would be wondering what great shocks might be in store next time, whether in a Budget following the election or in 2011.

“What would have helped our members would have been measures to give the general public the confidence to spend on the high street but such initiatives were sadly lacking,” Lawson said.

The hairdressing trade body has accused the government of increasing the administrative burden on salons by its imposition of the new restrictive system.

HMRC is insisting that even those with only one member of staff must file their returns online by May 19. Employers with fewer than 50 staff previously had the option to file a paper return.

It warned that salon owners would be fined if they failed to file the returns in the prescribed way and in full using HMRC’s own free software to file their employee data “securely”.

The NHF believes this is a major blow for small employers because:
• The element of choice has been removed
• Not all salon employers use computers in their businesses, or have intermediaries who can file their returns electronically.
• This is just another way government is cutting costs at the expense of small business
• Government departments, including HMRC, have a poor record when it comes to data security.

Eileen Lawson, NHF secretary general, said: “This is typical of a government that says it is doing all it can to support small business when, in fact, it is doing the opposite. By forcing this move, ministers have once again highlighted their ignorance of how micro businesses which do not require computer technology in the workplace operate. The government must rethink this removal of choice for a sector that still values and very much uses the familiar paper system.

Clients are in safer hands when using an NHF-member salons because of the high professional standards the industry’s biggest trade association demands and helps nurture among its membership.

Members of the NHF are bound by the organisation’s regulations and Professional Conduct Code of Ethical Behaviour which put safety, skill and professionalism above all else.

The NHF’s Code demands the welfare of clients should be tantamount; that salons should not bring themselves or the craft of hairdressing into disrepute; they should be suitably and adequately insured and there is a duty on all hairdressers to maintain and expand their competence.

Federation president Harry Walker and his vice-president Mark Coray are leading the challenge for members of the public to be more discerning, not least when undergoing chemical treatments such as colouring and hair-straightening.

Walker said: “NHF members operate to the highest standards. The public can be confident that when they use an NHF-member salon, their hairdresser has their best interests at heart. Look for the NHF sticker on the door.”

Coray said: “Every now and again a newspaper article or a television programme highlights examples of where hairdressing treatments have gone wrong. I urge all clients to check that the salon they want to visit is an NHF member. An NHF-member salon is never far away and clients can be sure that any chemical and colour treatments offered are done so in accordance with the strictest industry guidelines.”

Harry Walker, president, took the opportunity to remind chancellor Alistair Darling and Tory opposite number George Osborne that the reduction of VAT for hairdressing services to 5% would be a sure-fire way of propelling growth in the sector while embracing more salons into the VAT system thereby increasing government revenues overall.

He also cautioned the Conservatives against the much speculated on increase of the overall rate of VAT to 20% should they form the next government. Walker said this would dramatically impact on disposable incomes and money destined for salon tills.

Walker said: “The opportunity exists now for the government to nurture growth. This can be achieved by taking the NHF-led cross-industry CuttheVAT campaign on board and pledging to implement its stipulations in the lifetime of the next Parliament, as permitted by European finance ministers on the Economic and Financial Affairs Council last year.

“The government can also help by not pricing apprentices out of the market which is a great risk with the threatened absorption of apprentices into the national minimum wage structure. Simplification of regulations in general would help eliminate some of the costs incurred on our members forced to navigate red tape and convoluted legal requirements and result in increased sector profitability.”

Walker said: “The NHF will continue to lobby government to ensure it puts in place measures that are of benefit to the hairdressing sector and that will facilitate sustained growth. Anyone cracking open the Bollinger would be well advised, however, to keep the cork in place for now. All 0.1 per cent growth warrants is a miniscule drop of heavily discounted Liebfraumilch at best.”

Burnham has thrown his weight behind Julie Morgan MP’s private members’ Bill, the Sunbed Regulation Bill, which is scheduled to have it second reading on January 29.

Burnham said: “We should not allow young people to be using sunbeds. They are putting their health at risk. I think there’s an onus on the government to take extra steps necessary to protect young people.”

The NHF’s 13-strong governing council voted in May 2008 to advise salons not to let this age group use sunbeds because of the risk of overexposure of young skin to ultraviolet rays.

Eileen Lawson, secretary general, said: “This was a brave decision our council took on a matter of principle showing that NHF members put the health and safety of their clients before profit. I am delighted the health secretary has listened to us, taken our policy on board and understands the seriousness of this issue.”

Salon owners are unclear about whether they have to pay staff who fail to turn up because of the adverse conditions. Dedication to their clients has meant thousands of salon owners have opened their doors to give those clients who are sufficiently stoic to keep their appointments a warm welcome.

The NHF's Legal Lifeline advises that salon owners who decide to shut because of the weather must pay their staff. However, salon owners do not have to pay staff who remain at home if the salon opens.

Stay-at-home hairdressers would have to take any days off as holiday, try to make up any missed hours over the next few days or take time off as unpaid leave.

The leading trade association for hair salons believes it is important to provide clients with a choice of payment options because the essence of good service is the provision of choice and convenience. The elderly are the heaviest users of cheques and will often pay using this method as an alternative to cash and chip and PIN.

Eileen Lawson, NHF secretary general, said: "Cheques have been around for 350 years and will be sorely missed by many people. Their phasing out will restrict choice among clients and salons that have happily used the cheque payments system for years".

She said the loss of cheques as a method of payment might encourage more cash payments among those who were not at ease with plastic. "This presents a potential security risk to salons which we are always advising not to keep large amounts of cash on-site".

Eileen Lawson, secretary general, said Alistair Darling's provisions demonstrated a complete lack of understanding for labour-intensive small businesses at a crucial stage of the economic cycle.

She said the hike in employers' National Insurance Contributions from the current 12.8 per cent to 13.8 per cent in 2011 was punitive and represented a tax on employment and a tax on customers. She said the increase would have to be passed on to clients who, after suffering from the worst recession in living memory, would be less inclined to spend in the sector. "This increase will impact on salon revenues and it will also serve as a disincentive to recruitment in a sector that is already suffering from the lowest level of new entrants in years," Lawson said.

Harry Walker, NHF President, said the return to the 17.5 per cent rate of VAT in the New Year would compound the problem which is why the NHF and its partners would be intensifying the CuttheVAT campaign to achieve a 5 per cent rate of VAT for hairdressing services.

Walker said: "Squeezing wealth creators by making them pay more national insurance is not going to get the high street buzzing again. It is all well and good the Chancellor saying that anyone earning less than £20,000 will not be affected, but they will be because their employers are still paying the extra tax and will have less money to invest in staff training and development. The industry at large will be affected because salons will be less able to afford to recruit fresh blood."

Lawson added: "We call on whoever is in government after the General Election to think long and hard about the effect taxation decisions have on labour-intensive small businesses. Squeezing extra money out of such firms to line the Treasury's coffers is a short-term win for the Exchequer but a long-term loss for the salon sector."

Our Januray issue reports that they were due to be phased in for smaller employers in the three years from October 2012. This was the situation until the pre-Budget report was announced on December 9.