Beauty industry bodies are calling for support after the Government signalled a U-turn on planned business rates increases for pubs, without extending the same relief to salons, barbershops and clinics.
The Government is expected to soften or delay forthcoming rises in business rates for pubs, following sustained lobbying from the hospitality sector and concerns about the impact on high street venues.
However, no equivalent concession has been announced for the hair and beauty industry, despite mounting pressure on independent, premises-based businesses.
The expected U-turn on the rise in rates for pubs follows fierce campaigning from the hospitality sector, with more than 1,000 pubs banning Labour MPs.
In late December, the Salon Employers Association launched a similar campaign, calling on its members to ban MPs from salons until action was taken to support the sector.
The Government's new move to support pubs has now prompted a response from the National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF), which said the decision highlights a lack of recognition for the economic and social value of the sector.
Sam Silver, head of policy and public affairs at the NHBF, said: “The hair and beauty sector contributes £9 billion to the UK economy and employs over 275,000 people, yet we’re being completely overlooked in discussions about business rates relief.
“Our independent salons, barbershops and clinics face exactly the same challenges as pubs with soaring business rates, rising labour costs and premises-based operations on the high street.
“But unlike pubs, we’re also battling a VAT threshold that’s preventing business growth and costing the Treasury.
“If the Government is serious about supporting high street businesses and economic growth, they need to extend this relief to all independent, premises-based retailers including the hair and beauty sector that serves communities across the country every single day.”
Industry bodies have repeatedly warned that rising business rates, combined with increases in the National Living Wage, energy costs and ongoing supply pressures, are putting many salons at risk.
The NHBF, Salon Employers Association and others have previously called for a fundamental review of the business rates system, arguing that it disproportionately impacts labour-intensive, high street businesses such as hair and beauty.
With many salons operating on tight margins and still recovering from the long-term impact of the pandemic, sector leaders say any relief offered to pubs should be applied consistently across all comparable businesses.
As the Government prepares to outline its next steps on rates relief, the hair and beauty industry is urging ministers to recognise the sector as an essential part of the high street economy — and to ensure it is not excluded from measures designed to support business growth and local communities.
