Salon compliance centres on chemicals, hygiene and premises registration — plus the standard staff, fire and waste duties every business carries. Requirements for special treatments genuinely vary council by council.
How to use this: every item is tagged honestly — Legal requirement means the law requires it; Strongly recommended means inspectors, insurers or licensing officers expect it. 13 items in total. Tap any item for the detail. This is general information, not legal advice.
Pavement seating, A-boards, late-night refreshment (hot food/drink between 11pm and 5am in England & Wales), music, street trading — each can need its own permission from your council.
Lapsed licences are treated as no licence. Renewal reminders from councils are a courtesy, not a guarantee.
Colourants, peroxides, cleaning chemicals and similar substances need a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health assessment, plus staff training and suitable gloves/ventilation.
Skipping patch tests is a fast route to injury claims — and your insurance may not pay out if you ignored the manufacturer's instructions.
Required from the first employee, with significant daily fines possible for going without cover.
Under 5 employees you still need a policy — it just doesn't have to be written down. Risk assessments are required either way.
Certain workplace injuries, illnesses and dangerous occurrences must be reported to the HSE. Have the reporting route written down before you need it.
Many councils require registration or licensing of hairdressers, barbers and special treatments (and byelaws on hygiene of instruments). Requirements genuinely differ city to city — check yours.
Blades are hazardous waste: sealed sharps containers and a licensed collection — never the general bin.
Business waste can't go in household bins. Duty-of-care paperwork (transfer notes) must be kept and produced on request.
Since 31 March 2025, English workplaces with 10 or more full-time-equivalent staff must separate dry recycling and food waste. Micro firms (under 10) are scheduled to follow from 31 March 2027 — start early.
Wales and Scotland run their own (in places stricter) business recycling regimes — check your council's business waste pages.
Many councils license 'special treatments' (e.g. piercing, some skin treatments) separately. Adding a treatment without checking is a common enforcement trigger.
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It varies: many councils require registration or licensing for certain premises and treatments, with hygiene byelaws attached. Check your own council's pages — the requirement differs city to city.
Ignoring manufacturer instructions — especially patch tests. If an injury claim shows you skipped the manufacturer's process, cover can be refused.
Want city-specific rules too? See our free compliance guides.
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