NHBF Backs UK Workplace Health Plan, Warns of Cost Risks for Salons

Nearly 40% of UK hair and beauty employers cut staff in the last quarter, according to new survey data that the National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF) is using to push back against parts of the government's workplace health reform package.

The NHBF's latest Employer Survey shows 39.7% of respondents reduced their workforce during the previous three months, while just 13% said they were definitely or likely to recruit over the following three months.

The federation laid out those figures in its formal response to Keep Britain Working: A National Growth Opportunity, a government report setting out a proposed Workplace Health System aimed at keeping more people healthy and in employment.

What does the Workplace Health System propose?

The report centres on giving small and microbusinesses access to occupational health services, specialist advice and resources that would normally sit beyond their reach. NHBF President Fiona Johnston framed the proposal as a potential win for the sector, but only if the financial and administrative load does not fall back on employers already under pressure.

"Keeping Britain working means the government backing the small businesses that provide the jobs," Johnston said. "This could be a really positive initiative if it genuinely gives small employers access to the occupational health support, advice and resources that many simply cannot access at the moment."

What are the cost concerns?

The federation's central reservation: any new system must not pile extra cost, paperwork or statutory duty onto small operators. Salon, barbershop and beauty owners are already adjusting to upcoming changes to Statutory Sick Pay and the associated burden of managing sickness absence, the NHBF said.

Johnston warned that layering a Workplace Health System on top of those reforms risks the opposite of the government's stated goal.

"But we have to make sure that solving a national challenge does not mean transferring additional cost and responsibility onto small employers," she said. "If we want businesses to employ more people, any new system must make that easier, not inadvertently add further barriers."

How does self-employment complicate the picture?

Because the proposed Workplace Health System is built primarily around the employer-employee relationship, the NHBF argues it will bypass a large share of the trade. Johnston said rising employment costs and administrative friction will accelerate the drift to self-employed models.

"Our sector is increasingly being pushed towards self-employment by the current tax system," she said. "If it becomes progressively more expensive or administratively difficult to employ somebody, more businesses will naturally consider self-employed models — exactly the opposite direction to the ambition of keeping people securely in employment."

What is the NHBF asking for in return?

The federation's Budget submission calls for a 10% VAT rate on qualifying hair and beauty services, targeted employment support and broader apprenticeship funding. It wants microbusiness owners directly involved as the Workplace Health System is shaped.

"We want to work with Government to make inclusive employment achievable for even the smallest businesses," Johnston said. "Our sector can make a real contribution to keeping Britain working, but employers need the capacity and support to do it."

The next marker to watch is the timetable for the Workplace Health System rollout and the implementation date for the Statutory Sick Pay reforms already in train — both will determine whether the government's keep-Britain-working ambition lands as a relief or another cost line for salons.