Hairdresser wins landmark case – not self-employed

A self-employed hairdresser has won the right to claim for notice, holiday and redundancy pay in, what her lawyers say, is a ‘landmark’ case for thousands of beauty industry workers.

The claimant argued that, although her contract was as a self-employed hairdresser, the level of control she had over her working practices effectively made her an employee. She worked for six years at a Terence Paul salon in Manchester and claimed that she had to work hours set by the salon, who she also said kept 67% of her takings.

The hairdresser joined Terence Paul, which at the time ran six luxury salons, as a 19-year-old trainee in 2013. She later began work on a contract, headed ‘Independent Contract for Services’, as a self-employed hairdresser.

Terence Paul have claimed the company’s self-employed hairdressers had control over the hours and days they worked, their starting and finishing times, treatments they could give and their holidays.

But the claimant disputed this, saying she had to work from 9am until 6pm from Monday until Saturday. She also claimed that she had no control over pricing or offering discounts, had to use the company’s products, conform to Terence Paul’s standards of dress, and had to tell the salon if she wanted time off.