Work Schedules and Pay Structures of Beauty Careers

Beauty Careers have evolved and expanded to new heights in the last decade. Say good-bye to the days of Beauty Providers being limited in terms of scope of practice and services offered and say hello to staff with an army of various skills!

Trending now is continuing education and specialized training. Service providers are building their repertoires as fast as the ever growing industry is expanding. With that being said let’s take a closer look into what a career in Beauty Looks like and what can be expected:

Hours

First and foremost– Beauty Professionals almost always work weekends! That is one thing in this industry that stays the same. Employees should expect to put in some evening shifts as these are usually the most popular appointment times.

Evening and weekend appointments are usually the first to book up so the more availability you have during these times the busier and more successful you will be. Most employers in the Beauty Industry require staff to work a minimum of 2 evenings a week and at least one of the weekend days providing they are open both. Many establishments are closed Sunday and Monday with the exception of those located in a mall which are usually always open 7 days a week.

In the Beauty Industry, it is important to be available as much as possible for those in demand time-slots. For every 5+ hours worked an employee is entitled to a 30 minute break, this can be paid or un-paid at the discretion of the employer. This can also be split into 2, 15 minute breaks if agreed upon between the employer and employee.

Wages

With service providers becoming more educated and versatile, wages have become more competitive. The more skills an employee brings to the table as a service provider the more of an asset they are to a company. This growing trend of having a plethora of skills is wonderful but has made it hard to have an a definitive answer of what to expect financially.

Here is a general outline of what some Beauty Industry professionals are being paid but keep in mind these rates vary depending on the employee’s training and experience and will continue to do so as well as increase as their skill-set and experience grows:

Hairstylist- $15-$25 per hour
Esthetician- $14-$18 per hour
Medical Esthetician- $$16-$22 per hour
Make-up Artist-$15-22
Lash Technician/ Nail Technician-$15-$17
RMT-$30-$34 per hour

Keep in mind these are guidelines only. Most Employers offer a commission either instead of or in addition to hourly pay. A lot of Beauty employers offer 50% commission but are required to pay employees at least minimum wage if the commission is lower and they are expected to be available throughout the spa or salon’s hours of operation. A detailed commission agreement will clarify some questions regarding hours of work you are expected to be available.
Some places offer a 10-20% commission on services in addition to hourly pay. Almost all places offer 10-15% commission on retail sales, this encourages you to sell, sell, sell!

Additional Training

It is so important to stay fresh and up-to-date in this industry in order to thrive. This is where additional training comes in. Keeping yourself educated and trained in new technology and products/ services will boost your confidence and help you be successful which is a win-win situation for yourself and your employer as your clientele builds and products fly off the shelves.

Sunday and Monday are popular training days in the Beauty Industry, whether it is on location or elsewhere. Employees must be paid if these training sessions are deemed mandatory and the employee is entitled to overtime if applicable. If the training is less than 3 hours the 3 hour rule still applies.

Important things to Remember to Thrive

• Stay Current
• Be on Trend
• Invest in additional Training
• Ensure your company is Fresh and Exciting!

Executive Spa Group (ESG)
201, 10518 82 Ave. NW
Edmonton, AB.
(780) 604 2772
info@executivespagroup.com

Tips on Reducing Staff Turnover

There’s 2 words to best describe the world we live in today, “more” and “better”. People are moving at such a fast pace these days, balancing their work life as well as trying to maintain a personal one! There’s always a new iphone launching, a newer version promising a “better” version of the last, with “more” features, apps and ways to stay connected. Personal connections and interactions have now been overtaken by online networking and communicating. People search for that better car, better house, better clothes…BETTER JOB. People strive for more money to obtain these better things and so it begins a constant cycle of striving for more to get better. How does this translate into careers today? Staff turnover. Staff turnover is inevitable but the ones who are affected the most by this are employers. This affects not only their business and pocket books, but most importantly the success of their establishment. There are ways for employers to decrease the turnover of their staff and lessen the chances of their employees looking for the next best job with the promises of more. Training, Appreciation and Recognition are going to attract staff and keep them as loyal and productive employees.

Provide Training

First of all it is important for employers to be the “more” that employees are seeking. Offer more services, beef up your service menu and offer the most cutting-edge on trend services. Provide training for all the services you are offering and advanced training as well to take your employees to the next level and make them the best educated staff around. Training can come in may different forms including product knowledge on retail lines, hands-on training for the services you offer or things like first aid and personal development workshops. When employees are educated they feel confident and appreciated. They feel they are worth their boss investing in them and believing in them and this in return helps to put that looking for better attitude at bay. Ask Executive Spa Group how you can access grants for staff training

Appreciate Your Staff

Appreciation comes in many forms and is unique to every employer/ employee relationship. There is no right or wrong way for an employer to show their staff how appreciated they are. Staff discounts for themselves and close family members, commission on product sales, bonuses when personal and professional goals are met and a positive, well stocked, beautifully maintained working environment and a simple “Thank You” are all some great examples of employee appreciation. This is by no means a one-sided relationship, when the employee feels appreciated they will in return work harder, more efficiently and most importantly happily! It is vital for employers to schedule some time to get to know their staff outside of work, this helps to maintain healthy workplace relationships and strengthens bonds between the employees as well. One of the biggest causes of staff turnover is conflict in the workplace. It is important to resolve conflicts before they spread and involve multiple team members. Communication is key!

Recognize Your Staff

Staff recognition is an integral key to minimizing staff turnover. There are very few people who don’t like a shout-out for a job well done or a compliment. It is important for employers to celebrate the wins and strengths of their employees. Some ways for employers to do this is verbal recognition to the employee themselves, or to any and all employees who have met their goals in staff email blasts, staff meetings or some type of recognition board. Employee spotlights or features in client email blasts as well as on the company website are an amazing way to make employees feel special and introduce them as well as their strengths to existing and potential clients. There is a saying that greatly refers to the topic of staff turnover; “The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It.” If an employer invests in their staff, helps nurture their skill, builds on their knowledge and makes them feel appreciated and empowered then that helps to quell the searching cycle. If an employer is giving the “more” experience and being the “better” option then there is no reason for staff to be looking elsewhere. The best thing for employers to remember is happy staff is staff that is not online looking for the next best employment opportunity. Training, Appreciation and Recognition are the gold standard for reducing staff turnover and keeping loyal, hardworking employees.

Paying Employees

Congratulations on being ready to employ staff! This is a big step for your company. While it can be scary to put your company’s reputation in the hands of someone else, knowing your responsibilities as an employer can help ease your transition.

When you hire employees, you must register for a CRA payroll account. This account will be linked to your Business Number (BN). To open your CRA account, you will need to complete a
RC1B form.

As an employer, you will need to submit the following forms to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):
TD1AB

TD1

These forms are Personal Tax Credits Return forms that you have to give all new employees to complete. These forms help you determine what deductions you need to make from their paycheque.

What if employee is being paid hourly + commission?

It is common to pay beauty industry employees by commission, unless your employee is claiming expenses, the forms above will suffice.

Additionally, Alberta Employment Standards Code requires you to keep the following records for every employee:

**NOTE: Payroll records must be kept for at least 3 years from creation date.

PAY SCHEDULE

At the end of each pay period, you must provide each employee with a statement of earnings that includes:

• regular and overtime hours of work;
• wage rate and overtime rate;
• earnings paid that show each component separately;
• deductions from earnings and the reason for each deduction;
• time off in lieu of payment of overtime; and
• statement period.

FYI- cash shortages can only be deducted from an employee IF:
1. the employee is the ONLY ONE with sole access to the cash
2. the employee authorizes the deduction in writing with the amount and date of shortage being deducted

If you plan to reduce any employee’s wage rate, overtime rate, general holiday pay, vacation pay or termination pay, the employee must be notified before the start of the pay period in which the reduction is to take effect.
Keep in mind, these rates must always be at least the
minimum required by the legislated standards.

REMITTING TO THE CRA

You must remit to the CRA all deductions you made from an employee’s paycheque (federal and provincial income tax deductions, E.I. premiums, and CPP) before the 15TH of the month AFTER the month in which you made the deductions.

All remittances must be made in bulk for all of your employees.

You can use the Payroll Deductions Online Calculator (PDOC) to calculate payroll deductions.

ISSUING T4s
You must provide a T4form to your employees ON or BEFORE the last day of February for the previous calendar year. This T4 contains information on the total CPP, E.I. premiums, and income tax deductions you made on your employees behalf for the previous calendar year.

For more information view the Employers’ Guide
Payroll Deductions and Remittances.

If you have any questions or concerns with the information provided on this article please contact Executive Spa Group.

‘Cultivating the Beauty Industry’

---

Executive Spa Group
(780) 604 2772
info@executivespagroup

Post Chair/Room Rental Job Listings Alberta

In a previous article, LinkedIn reports IBISWorld’s notes stating that beauty industry employment will grow steadily through 2017 at a nearly 4% annual rate.

Though these are U.S. figures, Canada is expecting a similar growth rate at 3.1%. In the article What’s Next? Beauty Industry Trends Point to Blooming Booth Rental Market, Elizabeth Kraus discusses relevant industry news as well as 6 ways the growing booth rental market might change the Beauty Industry.

Renting space in your salon/spa has pros and cons. Success in this personnel model depends primarily on 2 factors: your knowledge of rules and regulations on this topic, and the tenant/landlord relationship you conduct.

Like Judiffier Pearson says in the behindthechair.com’s article Booth Renting 101: A Guide for Owners and Renters, “The true spirit of booth renting is a tenant-landlord relationship”. Remember, this is an article from the U.S. thereby Canadian information may differ.

If you are well-informed, renting space in your salon or spa can be an excellent method of secure income.

---

Executive Spa Group provides Alberta beauty industry employers an opportunity to promote their rental opportunities. This is a complimentary service we offer to cultivate Alberta’s beauty industry.

Our job bank features a Room/Chair Rental category where you can post as many details you would like to describe.

Our job bank is free, fast and easy to use. When you post your listing with Executive Spa Group, you are able to post multiple listings for up to 30 days at a time. Candidates submit their resume and other application material directly to you, thereby allowing you to be fully in control of the screening and hiring process.

By advertising in our room rental job bank, you will ensure your posting is seen by beauty professional job seekers across Alberta. Our room rental opportunities job bank can help you reach more qualified service providers than ever before. Simply complete our template outlining the skill set you require and submit it for posting. It’s that easy. And because Executive Spa Group specializes in the beauty industry, finding service providers has never been so easy!
Why post with Executive Spa Group?

• Our job bank is Alberta Beauty Industry focused
• Our job bank is visited by Service Providers in Alberta looking for their next employment opportunity
• Executivespagroup.com attracts top industry employers and job seekers
• Our job bank is easy-to-use
• Our job bank is absolutely FREE!

To post your chair/ room rental job listings click HERE.

---

EXECUTIVE SPA GROUP

Renting Space (CHAIR/ROOM RENTAL) in the Beauty Industry- Self-Employment Minus the Headache?

Alberta’s Beauty Industry allows for many ways to make money. You can find an employer that pays an hourly wage, a commission, or a mixture of the two.

Another route to making money in this industry is to rent space in an already established salon or spa. This path is for independent, creative persons who would like to dip their feet into self-employment, but are not yet ready to take the plunge.

Renting space allows you to make your own work hours as per your agreement with the business owner. Keep in mind that most business owners will ask that you create your work schedule around their hours of operations, so keep this in mind when you are looking for a salon/spa to rent space from.

Another benefit of renting space is the ability to offer your own services. This allows you to expand your service menu and only take training that is of interest to you. When you rent space from an already existing business, your services are not legally associated with the services offer by the salon/spa you rent from. In order to avoid a conflict of interest, it is very important to come to a written agreement with the business owner clearly describing the services you are allowed to offer from their salon/spa. Its best to rent space from a salon/spa that does not offer your specific services, otherwise, you may end up creating an ugly, competitive environment for yourself.

The ability to use your creativity to attract new clients is another benefit of renting space. As a space renter, it is your responsibility to get new clients to give your services a try. If you rent space from a thriving salon/spa, you will see a steady flow of clients, however, this does not mean they will become your clients too. You will need to create marketing material to promote your services. This can include business cards, social media, posters, etc. Ensure you and the business owner agree to your marketing methods and how much space in the salon/spa will be designated for your marketing material. For example, will you be allowed to put your sign on the front window? Remember, all these things will matter as your services become more popular and you grow. A sound, clear, thorough contract will help to eliminate unwanted matters in the future.

Renting space allows for control of your work/life balance. As long as you work within the salon/spa’s hours of operations, you book your own clients thereby controlling your own schedule. You also process your own payments, so only you know your financial standing at the end of each month, thereby you decide how you will balance your work/life budget.

Sounds good so far? Consider this…

• You will need to make a small financial investment with the potential for loss. This small investment is pocket change in comparison to how much you would have to spend if you were opening your own business.
• You will work independently, however, if you choose a positive environment you will have a support system of the salon/spa staff.
• You will be giving up benefits, such as E.I., holiday pay and sick days, but your schedule is always up to you.
• You will have to manage an unpredictable income, so ensure your life situation allows for a certain degree of uncertainty.

Still can’t decide if renting space is for you? Your decision can only be made after careful consideration of several factors.

Your personal situation, including your health, your family’s health, your financial situation, your support system, your family responsibilities, and your commitments all matter.

In addition, your skills and knowledge must be evident to your clients. Also, you must be willing to work hard and persistenty, and build long-lasting realtionships with your clients and distributors.

WHAT DO YOU LAWFULLY NEED?

• Insurance
• Business license
• Certification (as per occupation)

For more information, contact Executive Spa Group. Whatever decision you make, we wish you the best of luck!

Executive Spa Group
Cultivating Alberta’s Beauty Industry
(780) 604 2772
executivespagroup.com