Salon owners: tips for managing staff holiday entitlement

There are many reasons why your salon staff may need to be off work, from sickness and bank holidays to annual leave and emergency time off. This is why understanding the rules around holiday entitlements will benefit your business, helping it to run smoothly with limited disruption. In the UK, by law, all employees are entitled to paid holiday.

Annual leave

Employees are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave, and this means employees who work five days per week should get at least 28 days paid annual leave.

Part-time employees annual leave will be pro-rata depending on how many hours/days they work each week. Always follow best practice and strongly encourage your employees to take all their leave.

Send out regular reminders, especially as the leave year comes to an end, as this will prevent employee burnout and will be in the best interests of both your employees and your salon.

NHBF Members can call the membership team for free expert help with annual leave entitlement, including working out how much paid holiday your full-time and part-time employees are entitled to. Find out more information on the NHBF website. 

Bank holidays

Employers can choose to include bank holidays as part of their employees 28 days holiday entitlement. For example, there are usually eight bank holiday days per year in England, including Christmas, Easter and the May bank holidays, and these would be included in the total 28 days holiday.

Remember, employees are not legally entitled to take off public holidays including Christmas Day as paid leave.

Sick leave

Make sure you have clear sick leave procedures in place. The NHBF’s ready to-use employment contracts and staff handbooks, available to all Members, sets out what your employees should do if they cannot come to work due to illness:

• Call you or their manager by phone (not text) no later than 30 minutes after they should have started work

• Let you know why they need to be off and how long they expect to be off

• Call each day with an update unless you have agreed otherwise

• Complete a “self-certification” sickness absence form on their return to work.

Maternity leave

A new mother must take a minimum of two weeks maternity leave after the baby is born. Your employee is entitled to take up to 52 weeks maternity leave, although they do not have to take the full 52 weeks.

Your employee cannot take annual leave if they are on maternity leave as annual leave and maternity leave are two separate entitlements. Your employee’s annual leave will continue to build up during their maternity leave.

NHBF Members can access the recruiting and employing people guide.

The National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF) is the UK’s largest trade body for businesses working in the hair, beauty, and barbering industries. As part of its work, it provides specialist business support, advice, and back-up to nail and beauty salons. Join the NHBF before the end of November and quote PBN25 to get £25 off your membership fee. Join now.  

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