Zero-hour contracts changes and how they affect your salon
For many salon owners, zero-hour contracts have been the secret to managing an unpredictable business.
When Saturday’s fully booked, you need all hands on deck. When Tuesday afternoon’s dead, you don’t want to be paying staff to reorganise the product shelves for the third time.
This flexibility has worked both ways. Stylists building their client base picking up extra hours when available. Parents wanting school-hour shifts only. Experienced professionals covering holidays without having a regular commitment. Zero-hour contracts made it all possible.
But the Employment Rights Bill is about to change the game entirely. From 2026, workers on zero-hour contracts will have new rights that fundamentally alter how flexible working operates. For salons built on this flexibility, it’s a seismic shift.
These changes will increase your costs, add complexity to scheduling and require a complete rethink of how you manage your casual staff. Understanding what’s coming and starting to adapt now could make the difference between a smooth transition and chaos.
Why salons rely on zero-hour contracts
Walk into any salon on a Wednesday morning versus a Saturday afternoon, and you’ll understand immediately why flexible staffing matters. Client demand fluctuates wildly, not just day to day but hour to hour. You can’t predict when three clients will cancel last minute or when a wedding party will book out your entire Saturday.
Zero-hour contracts let you match staff to demand. Your junior stylist who’s still training? They can pick up hours when you’re busy, gaining experience without committing you to covering their full-time wages. The experienced colourist who retired but misses the buzz? She can cover your holidays and sick leave, keeping her hand in without the regular commitment.
Then there’s the seasonal variation. December usually needs double the staff of January, as your clients get ready for partying over the festive period. Wedding season brings weekend chaos, while autumn Tuesdays can echo with emptiness. Fixed contracts would mean overstaffing your quiet periods or turning away peak-time business.
For new stylists especially, zero-hour contracts provide a proving ground. They allow them to build their clientele while you assess their skills, reliability and fit with your salon culture. It’s been the perfect solution for an imperfect industry… until now.
What’s changing under the new rules
The Employment Rights Bill’s overhaul of zero-hour contracts introduces four fundamental rights for workers that will transform how flexible staffing works. Each change is designed to provide more security for workers. But together, they’ll require salon owners to rethink their approach to casual staff completely.
Right to guaranteed hours
The headline change. Workers on zero-hour contracts who work regular patterns can request those hours to be guaranteed. It means if someone’s worked every Saturday for three months, they’ll have the right to a contract reflecting that pattern.
You can’t refuse these requests. You’ll need legitimate business reasons. “We prefer flexibility” won’t cut it. The Government is still consulting on exact timescales and processes, but the direction is clear – regular patterns create the expectation of regular hours.
Reasonable notice of shifts
Forget texting someone on Thursday night about Friday’s shift. The new rules require ‘reasonable notice’ of work schedules, with compensation for shifts cancelled at short notice. What’s ‘reasonable’ remains to be defined through consultation, but expect at least a week. For salons used to calling in staff when the book fills up, this removes a crucial flexibility. You’ll need to predict demand further ahead or pay the price… literally.
Payment for cancelled shifts
Send someone home early because their appointments are cancelled? You’ll need to pay them anyway. Cancel their shift the night before? Compensation required. The exact amounts are still under consultation, but the principle of giving workers greater income security is established. For salons where quiet days mean sending staff home, this transforms your cost base. Every scheduling decision becomes a financial commitment.
Agency workers
If you use agency staff to cover gaps, they’ll have the same rights as your zero-hour employees. No more treating agency workers as the ultimate flexibility. They’ll need notice, guaranteed hours if working regularly, and compensation for cancellations, too.
The potential impacts on your salon
Let’s talk numbers. Say you regularly use zero-hour staff for 100 hours monthly, across various shifts. Under new rules, if those patterns become guaranteed hours, that’s immediate fixed costs added to your wage bill. Add compensation for any cancelled shifts and reasonable notice requirements preventing last-minute scheduling, and your staffing costs could increase by 15%-20%.
That’s before considering the administrative burden of managing requests and ensuring compliance.
You’ll also need to predict demand weeks ahead, maintaining flexibility within a more rigid framework. When a regular Saturday stylist calls in sick, you can’t just text your usual cover. You’ll need someone willing to accept a shift with proper notice.
Your clients’ expectations add another layer of complexity.
They’re used to booking last-minute appointments when you’ve got staff available. Under the new rules, you might have to turn away business because you couldn’t predict demand far enough ahead.
But perhaps the most significant change is cultural. Zero-hour contracts often created a casual relationship between employer and employee – work was available when needed, no hard feelings when it wasn’t. The new rules formalise these arrangements, creating expectations and entitlements.
You’ll need to build stronger relationships with your casual staff, making them feel valued enough to accept shifts with proper notice rather than seeking more predictable work elsewhere. The ‘come in when we need you’ approach will become obsolete, by law, in 2026.
Alternative approaches to consider
Smart salons are already exploring alternatives.
Part-time contracts with overtime provisions offer some flexibility while providing base hours. A stylist might contract for Saturdays with availability for additional shifts when needed.
Annualised hours contracts, where staff work more in busy periods and less in quiet times but receive consistent monthly pay, could help you deal with variations in seasonal demand.
Term-time contracts – guaranteed work during school terms, unpaid leave for holidays – might suit parents with school-age kids. And job share arrangements let two stylists cover one full-time role, providing cover for each other’s absences.
All these approaches require careful planning and expert HR support but can provide security for all parties.
Some salons make self-employment work by ensuring real autonomy for stylists who run their own businesses within your workspace. Others are building ‘banks’ of casual workers who accept shifts via apps, maintaining some flexibility within the new framework.
Each approach has trade-offs. The key is finding what works for your salon while respecting the spirit of the new legislation.
Practical steps for transition
Getting ahead of these changes is essential and will help ensure your salon is compliant when the new rules come into force, which could be as early as next year.
So, start by auditing your current use of zero-hour contracts. List every casual worker and look at their actual working patterns. Who works regularly enough to claim guaranteed hours? What would that cost you?
Consult your team now. Understanding their preferences will help you plan. Some might welcome guaranteed hours, while others value flexibility. Design new arrangements collaboratively rather than imposing changes.
Calculate the financial impact. Include guaranteed hours, compensation for cancelled shifts and the cost of maintaining flexibility. Build these projections into your business planning.
Review alternative contract types and decide which suit different roles. Update your contracts and policies accordingly to ensure they’re ready for the new regime.
Finally, train anyone involved in scheduling on the new requirements. They need to understand that casual texts and last-minute changes could cost your salon money.
Making it work for your salon
These changes feel overwhelming, but they’re also an opportunity. Building a more committed, secure workforce could reduce your staff turnover and improve client service. When your stylists know their income is stable, they’ll invest more in your salon’s success.
The key is starting now. By the time these changes kick in, you want your new systems and processes embedded and working smoothly, not scrambling to comply with rules you don’t understand.
So, if you need help navigating these changes, contact Hill HR today for expert HR guidance tailored to your salon. We’ll help you maintain flexibility while building a compliant, committed team.
