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Original poster

Help! DD getting sued for £1Million for rubbish hair do!

133 replies

dolldaggabuzzbuzz · 30/07/2011 20:48

Eldest DD has just phoned from her bf's house in floods of tears. She recently qualified as a hairdresser and had just started her first job as a 'self employed hairstylist' last Monday. She should have received her first wages today. She won't be receiving anything this week. She has done a perm today on a lady who insisted on having it done despite DD advising her that her hair was not in good enough condition and the end result would not be good. DD should not have gone ahead but she did and the result was worse than she had expected. The lady's hair broke and had to be cut an inch short. The lady is going to sue DD. I have tried to reassure devastated DD over the phone. What should she do now?

OP posts:
SiamoFottuti · 30/07/2011 21:10

Why would you be getting wages if you are self employed? And either way there will be insurance.

This is a load of bollocks. Hmm

Mitmoo · 30/07/2011 21:13

A million is overstating the mark a lot but she wanted curls and got a baldie, I'd be totally devastated.

Can't your daughter buy her a wig and bung her a tenner?

dickiedavisthunderthighs · 30/07/2011 21:14

My hairdresser is self employed and works out of a local salon. The salon cashier deals with her takings and she pays the salon 'rent' from that. They certainly don't pay her 'wages'.
She is fully insured herself, not through the salon, and totally apart from that you have to jump through hoops to be self employed - you don't just qualify and then you get to work somewhere.
I don't really understand any of this.

Flisspaps · 30/07/2011 21:16

I don't think the woman has a leg to stand on. If your DD advised her not to do it, and she still insisted, then it's her own bloody fault. If your daughter cannot prove she warned the customer, by the same token surely the customer cannot prove your daughter DIDN'T warn her it would be disastrous.

It may well be that the woman is furious with herself and won't actually take it any further.

This is coming from a common sense perspective however, which doesn't necessarily mean the legal perspective would be the same.

LoveBeingAtHomeOnMyOwn · 30/07/2011 21:18

Sounds like her boss is over egging the pudding to me.

Original poster
dolldaggabuzzbuzz · 30/07/2011 21:19

This is what I don't understand. She has been taken on as a self employed stylist but has to come in to work on hours set by the salon owners (52 per week) whether she has clients booked in or not. She rents the chair space and pays a percentage of her earnings to them. She gets paid weekly each Saturday. She has to sort her own tax and NI. I was hoping that someone in the industry could throw some light on the way it works?

OP posts:
BooyHoo · 30/07/2011 21:20

ok, your daughter will not be sued for 1 million pounds. the salon owner was stating this figure because that is the cap on what your DD's insurance as a self employed stylist will pay out. i am a qualified beauty therapist and my cap is the same. it is pretty standard across the board that 1 million is the maximum that will be paid out. tbh i dont like the sound of the salon owner if they are throwing out ridiculous comments like that to a newly qualified and obviously worried stylist. they should be reassuring her that the client hasn't a hope in hell of suing after being advised not to proceed with the treatment.

tell your daughter to relax and learn from this experience. no-one can force her to carry out a treatment if she thinks it is a bad idea. if she is self employed, she will literally live off her reputation so going along with pushy customers will do her no good in the long term.

StealthPolarBear · 30/07/2011 21:25

The woman wouldn't get a million if your dd chopped part of her ear off! Ridiculous

MogTheForgetfulCat · 30/07/2011 21:28

She doesn't sound self-employed to me.

diddl · 30/07/2011 21:35

My niece has a similar employment set up.

(Not in UK)

But it´s taking the p!ss imo & just about paying for the privelidge of working.

diddl · 30/07/2011 21:36

privilege!

Original poster
dolldaggabuzzbuzz · 30/07/2011 21:40

Well, working full time has cost her 20 quid in bus fares so far and she hasn't made a bean and now she's worried that she's gunna be ruined!

OP posts:
thisisyesterday · 30/07/2011 21:41

i really don't think they can not pay her...

it sounds to me like this is a good way of getting out of paying any holiday/sicknes pay (cos they're self employed) but still getting them to come in and do all the hours under the sun

very dodgy if you ask me

squeakytoy · 30/07/2011 21:42

How can she not have earned anything? Has she done other customers this week?

The woman has no right to withold your daughters wages.

TheMagnificentBathykolpian · 30/07/2011 21:44

She needs employment law advice.

If the salon dictates wages, working hours and terms, then she is not self employed, is she?

SugarPasteFrog · 30/07/2011 21:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SugarPasteFrog · 30/07/2011 21:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

jeckadeck · 30/07/2011 21:50

a million quid for a dodgy haircut? I could have made a mint over the years if I'd sued anyone who'd given me one of those... the woman is almost certainly just threatening your dd and doesn't intend to go through with it. Once she's calmed down and if she gets as far as talking to a lawyer (which I doubt will happen) she will realize no court in the land will uphold that and that your daughter doesn't have a million quid anyway. What an idiot.

OrangeHat · 30/07/2011 21:55

There is a lot of iffyness surrounding self employed/employed, and people who are actually employers insisting that people who work for them go self-employed, it makes life much easier for them.

It is definitely the case that salons rent chairs to people -at least 2 of my local ones do - one a cheapy and one a proper one - they have to pass a test and interview etc. As they are trading under the name and the salon needs to protect it's rep.

I feel sorry for your DD but the salon sound like arses. Why are they renting to a newly qualified person with no support? Why wasn't someone more experienced on hand to back up her "no" to the woman? Why are they saying she will be sued for £1Million? Bollocks.

My suggestion is that she cuts her losses with that bunch, does not put it on any CVs or anything, and looks for a job elsewhere. I know it's hard, but working for these shits will ruin her confidence and if they are witholding pay... Well. Your DD is green and they are taking advantage. She needs to put it behind her.

I am normally a "stick it out at all costs" person but this is not a time for that approach.

GotArt · 30/07/2011 21:59

Tell her not to worry until she's been served.

Besides, the woman was advised not to. I use to get perms all the time in the '80's and it is normal to have a least an inch taken off after the perm... your suppose to have it cut after.

OnEdge · 30/07/2011 22:02

LOL @ zigzag shit condition Grin

Original poster
dolldaggabuzzbuzz · 30/07/2011 22:05

This is DD's first job since recently leaving full-time college. She was interviewed a fortnight ago and started work (long hours!) 5 days ago. She didn't have the money for insurance and I have only paid for her food and bus fares so if she has insurance this must have been arranged and paid for by the salon owners. TBH I was not all that keen on this self employed business for her but was glad that she wasn't going on the dole. I have a copy of her contract and there are some weird things in that. I would like her to look for a job closer to home anyway. It takes her an hour and a half to travel to work on 2 buses.

OP posts:
squeakytoy · 30/07/2011 22:09

Sounds to me like the salon are completely taking the piss and she needs to get herself taken on by a proper salon, in a proper paid job.

She wont have enough experience yet to be self employed I wouldnt have thought. She needs to gain some proper work experience on the shop floor as an employee.

honeyandsalt · 30/07/2011 22:09

Afraid I'm not well up enough on employment law but self employment to me means you get to choose your own hours. It sounds to me as though the salon owner is taking advantage of your DD's naiveity. I'd get her to citizen's advice/legal aid if I were you, about the whole caboodle.

Whatmeworry · 30/07/2011 22:11

DD just needs to say she advised the customer not to have a perm but the customer insisted. One persons word v another.

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