I’m sure this post is going to cause a war between salon owners and salon employees, but these things need to be said. These are my opinions and I’m sure a lot of people (mostly salon owners) will disagree with me, but the way this industry is run is a complete joke. Currently, the “standard” compensation method in many salons is “commission-only.” Some weeks, your paycheck (when averaged against the hours you’ve worked) may end up far less than minimum wage and some weeks you’ll make considerably more than minimum wage

. In either case, in most salons, you’re expected to sit around in empty salons, do laundry, clean floors, answer phones, and perform a whole litany of other menial tasks that fall far outside your job description as a nail technician or hair stylist–tasks you may not be getting compensated to do. Most American workers are covered by the FLSA (the Fair Labor Standards Act), which is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The FLSA dictates that if you are a commission-only employee, your paycheck (when averaged into hourly pay for a two week pay period) must equal or exceed the prevailing minimum wage. If it doesn’t, the employer must make up the difference.

The FLSA doesn’t care what you’re doing at work. If you’re there at the request of your boss, you need to be getting compensated. If your employer requires you to sit in the salon and wait for business, they should be paying you.Whether you’re folding towels, sweeping the floors, answering the phones etc. Too many of you are being treated as servants. You’re told that you have to “pitch in” and “do your share” and “be part of the team.” It is one thing to clean up after yourself and help out your coworkers, it is an entirely different thing to work for free.

It costs an owner nothing to fill a salon with bodies and tell them to “sit and wait.” I know of salon owners who have never paid for reception services or cleaning services. Why would they when they can order their stylists do it for free? Some salon owners have even gone so far as to intentionally sabotage an employee’s books so they’ll be available to run the front desk, assist, or clean. These owners will keep their salons full of employees because they aren’t paying anyone hourly. It doesn’t matter to them that each of their workers is barely making enough money to pay their mortgages because the owners are simply collecting income from them. There’s no risk of loss involved, so they hire indiscriminately.

Salon are normally full of employees who spend every day sitting around, waiting to build their book–yet, the owner still hires until all the empty stations are full. Everyone in the salon is unhappy. The senior stylists and techs are frustrated because they haven’t built yet and are having to share the limited walk-in business with several new people. Every commission-based employee knows that a new stylist often means a pay cut for everyone in the salon.

You cannot point the finger at your team and blame them for their lack of income. You are the captain of the ship. Your leadership determines whether or not the salon succeeds. Every salon has an employee or two who consistently under-performs due to their own inabilities, but if every single one of your team members are floundering, the problem is with you; not them. You are failing them as a leader and you’re failing your business.

MORE TO COME