It is common practice in the UK for hairdressers and barbers to rent a chair in a salon. The majority of them are self-employed, taking their opportunities to build and expand their client portfolio while freelancing.
Salons have room for additional chairs or treatment rooms which are often unused all of the time. To maximise the potential of your salon you could consider renting out a chair space or treatment room to other hair stylists, beauticians and therapists in the area. You can either rent on a day-to-day or on a long-term basis.
So, whether you own a salon or rent one, you can always make a little extra by renting out a chair. We talked about sub-letting and license assignment in a previous blog, so go ahead and read it here. It will give you some guidance regarding legal matters when sub-letting.
But if you want to know everything about renting a salon chair, this blog covers it all.
Salon owners considering chair renting
The National Hair and Beauty Federation has come up with guides for both salon owners and chair renters. The guide sets out clear guidelines between the two.
It’s important for salon owners to understand that chair renters are not their employees. They can not interfere in their business in any way. A chair renter who is self-employed can choose their clients and the way they run their business. This includes working hours, breaks, which products they use, how much they charge, what services they provide and so on.
If you are worried this may affect your reputation and brand you can protect yourself with an agreement. Having the proper contract in place will determine how costs for shared services like laundry, utilities and other expenses are being paid for.
If you are a salon owner it’s often best if you rent a chair rather than hire employees. Renting a chair is cost-effective, meaning you won’t pay for insurance, holidays, sick leave, or maternity, among others.
The other advantage to renting a chair as opposed to having employees is that you are not bound by the regulations of Employment Law. This means that you don’t have to have employer and employee relationship obligations with your chair renters.
Salon chair renters
As a self-employed salon chair renter, you don’t have the same rights as an employee who has a ton of benefits (for instance, as self-employed, you are responsible for your own tax and insurance). But at the same time, you have much lower costs than those salons with employees too.
The NHBF is aware of this somewhat unfair competition. So they are trying to influence the chair rental legislation and determine the employment status alongside the responsibilities that come with it.
Chair rental agreement
A chair rental agreement is required when the hair stylist or barber wants to rent out a chair in the salon and manage their business through the salon owner. This type of contract is signed between the independent contractor/freelancer, be it a hairdresser, a barber or a beautician and the salon owner.
Having a chair rental agreement is crucial if you want to protect your brand and your business as a chair renter.
There are a few options to chair rental agreement terms. But the following three approaches are the most common:
- Fixed rental fee. This term requires the chair renter to pay a fixed amount of rent in a given period of time.
- A percentage of takings. This agreement ensures the salon owner receives a percentage of what the salon chair renter makes, usually from 40 to 60%.
- A combination of percentage and fixed rental fee. This combined approach involves a chair renter paying a combination of fixed rent or a percentage of takings to the salon owner.
We can draft a bespoke chair/treatment room rental agreement for you. For maximum protection it is tailored to how you want the relationship to work. A typical chair rental contract will include key points such as rental availability and product sales. But also client protection, length of the contract, termination, and more. If you are intereseted in putting in place a chair or treatment room rental agreement then contact us here. We are lawyers that arefamiliar with the beauty and aesthetic industry. We can therefore ensure you have a legally compliant contract that will protect you.