Government Guidelines to Working Safely in Your Salon

The government has released guidance for close contact services which includes hairdressers, barbers, beauticians, tattooists, sports and massage therapists, after input from industry bodies.

The umbrella term “beautician” covers beauty and nail bars, makeup artists, spray tanning studios, wellbeing locations such as spas. The guidance applied both to mobile and in salon thereapists. This guidance follows the news that hairdressers are allowed to open from the 4th of July, for hair treatments only, and other personal-touch sectors will be reopened when the government deems it is safe for them to do so.

The main aim of the government guidance is to help you make a risk assessment and addresses the risks of COVID-19, using this guidance to inform your decisions and control measures. This means identifying sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace - such as removing magazines for your clients or wiping down surfaces used after clients. If you have fewer than 5 workers, or are self-employed, you don’t have to write anything down as part of your risk assessment. We’ve outlined the main points from the guidelines for you.

The employer’s duty is to reduce risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking preventative measures, in order of priority. This should be done by:

- Ensuring both workers and clients who feel unwell stay at home and do not attend the premise.

- In every workplace, increasing the frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning.

- Take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between their staff.

- Where a space of 2m(1m is acceptable) cannot be retained protective equipment must be worn.

- Keeping the activity time involved as short as possible

- Using screens or barriers to separate clients from one another. If the practitioner is wearing a visor, screens will not provide additional protection between the practitioner and the individual. Everyone working in close proximity for an extended period of time must wear a visor.

- Using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible

- Using a consistent pairing system, defined as fixing which workers work together, if workers have to be in close proximity (defined as being within arm’s-length of someone else for a sustained period of time).

- In your risk assessment, consider whether your workers are especially vulnerable to covid-19.

- You will need to assess whether some treatments should not go ahead, these will be treatments. within the ‘highest risk zone’ of clients (defined as the area in front of the face where splashes and droplets from the nose and mouth, that may not be visible, can be present and pose a hazard from the client to the practitioner and vice versa), for the entire duration or the majority of the time the service is being provided. These should not be resumed unless they can be adapted in line with the guidance.

You must share the results of your risk assessment with your workforce. It is also expected this will be shared with your clients through the use of posters online and in your store in a visible area or cards. You can get these printed professionally with us here. Alternatively, every order of PBL Magazine July - September issue will include one A4 poster and 10 cards.

Keep your clients safe by

- Keeping a record of your visits for 21 days. This will be easiest when an appointment system is kept.

- Decrease the need for raised voices in your salon by turning down music or anything that could make conversation difficult.

- Encourage clients to use hand sanitiser or wash hands before their treatment.

- Avoid overlap between clients and where possible ask clients to attend on their own. Give clients guidance on what they can expect and guidance prior to entrance.

- Ask your next client to wait outside if they arrive early or maintain social distance in your waiting areas. When waiting areas can no longer maintain social distancing, consider moving to a ‘one-in-one-out’ policy.

- Minimise the duration of your treatment.

- Introduce Covid-19 related screening questions.

- Stagger opening hours to reduce amount of people coming into your salon at once.

Client Toilets

Client toilets should remain open however measures must be taken to ensure/promote good hygiene, social distancing, and cleanliness in toilet facilities.

- Use signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency and to avoid touching your face, and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available.

- Make hand sanitiser available on entry to toilets, and ensure water soap and drying options are available.

- Increase the frequency of cleaning in line with usage, and consider disposable cloths or paper towels.

- Keep facilities well ventilated.

Keep your clients informed

- Provide clear guidance clients and workers on expected client behaviours, social distancing and hygiene they should be following before their visit, and throughout your premises.

- Providing a safety briefing of on-site protocols, rules for shared areas and key facilities, for example, handwashing, in particular for freelance workers who may work at multiple locations.

- Where necessary, informing clients that police and the local authorities have the powers to enforce requirements in relation to social distancing and may instruct clients to disperse, leave an area, issue a fixed penalty notice or take further enforcement action as well as request the removal of face coverings for the purpose of identification.

Social Distancing for workers

You must ensure workers maintain social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable) wherever possible, including while arriving at and departing from work and while in work. This can be done by

- Staggering arrival and departure times at work to reduce crowding into and out of the workplace, taking account of the impact on those with protected characteristics.

- Providing additional parking or facilities such as bike-racks to help people walk, run, or cycle to work, recognising this may not be possible in smaller workplaces.

- Discussing with clients before arrival whether parking facilities are available for those providing treatments in the home.

- Reducing congestion, for example, by having more entry points to the workplace, where possible.

- Providing handwashing facilities (or hand sanitiser where not possible) at entry and exit points.

Furthermore, it is essential to maintain social distancing as far as possible while people travel through the workplace by Implementing physical changes like barriers or screens between, behind or in front of workstations where possible, such as between clients, for example at wash stations, and in reception areas and providing floor markings and signage to remind both workers and clients to maintain social distancing wherever possible, particularly in client interaction zones. In the cases of mobile beauty, it should be discussed with the client ahead of a visit to other people’s homes to ask that social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable) is maintained from other people in the household.

Workstations

Social distance should be maintained as far as possible in workstations. For people who work in one place, workstations should allow them to maintain social distancing wherever possible. Workstations should be assigned to an individual as much as possible. If they need to be shared, they should be shared by the smallest possible number of people.

To ensure social distance in work stations the following steps should be taken:

- Reviewing layouts and processes to maintain social distancing (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable) between clients being served simultaneously, ensuring there is sufficient spacing between client chairs, for example, closing off alternate chairs.

- Using floor tape or paint to mark areas to help people comply with social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable).

- Avoiding overrunning or overlapping appointments and contacting clients virtually to let them know when they are ready to be seen, where possible.

- Asking clients to arrive at the scheduled time of their appointment and only providing a waiting area if social distancing can be maintained.

- Using a consistent pairing system, defined as fixing which workers work together, if workers have to be in close proximity. For example, this could include a stylist and apprentice.

- Minimising contacts around transactions, for example, considering using contactless payments including tips, where possible.

- Minimising how frequently equipment is shared between workers, frequently cleaning between use and assigning to an individual where possible and using disposable items where possible, for example nail files, and ensuring non-disposable items are cleaned between clients.

Common Areas

Steps will need to be taken to ensure social distance in common areas such as break rooms, this can be done by

- Staggering break times to reduce pressure on the staff break rooms or places to eat and ensuring social distancing is maintained in staff break rooms.

- Using safe outside areas for breaks.

- Creating additional space by using other parts of the working area or building that have been freed up by remote working.

- Installing screens to protect workers in receptions or similar areas.

- Encouraging workers to bring their own food and drinks. Not allowing food or drink to be consumed in the salon by clients other than water in disposable cups or bottles.

- Reconfiguring seating and tables, such as in waiting areas, to optimise spacing and reduce face-to-face interactions.

- Encouraging workers to remain on-site for their shift.

- Preparing materials and equipment in advance of scheduled appointments, such as scissors or hairbrushes in hairdressers, to minimise movement to communal working areas.

- Scheduling appointments to avoid client congestion in waiting areas, particularly in establishments with smaller waiting areas.

- Only the client should be present in the same room for appointments in the home.

- Providing a secure area where social distancing is maintained for a client when services or treatments require development time, for example hair colouring.

In an emergency, for example, an accident, provision of first aid, fire or break-in, people do not have to comply with social distancing guidelines if it would be unsafe.

Cleaning the workplace

The workplace should be cleaned before, during and after treatments. To keep the workplace clean and prevent transmission by touching contaminated surfaces the following should be considered:

- Spacing appointments to allow for frequent cleaning of work areas and equipment between uses, using your usual cleaning products.

- Frequent cleaning of objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, including door handles or staff handheld devices, and making sure there are adequate disposal arrangements for cleaning products.

- Clearing workspaces and removing waste and belongings from the work area at the end of a shift, including not providing reading materials such as magazines in client waiting areas.

- Sanitising any reusable equipment, including client chairs, treatment beds, and equipment, such as scissors used after each appointment, and at the start and end of shifts.

- Encouraging staff not to wear their uniforms at home or to and from the workplace, to change uniforms on a daily basis and to wash immediately after use.

- Maintaining good ventilation in the work environment, for example keeping windows or doors open.

PPE

In the beauty industry, it is likely to be difficult to maintain social distancing, as employees need to work in close proximity to their clients, usually for an extended period of time. An extended period of time refers to the majority of the working day, irrespective of the number of clients served during the day. The person providing a service (such as hairdressers, because of the period of time spent in close proximity to a person’s face, mouth and nose) should therefore wear further protection in addition to any that they might usually wear. This should take the form of a clear visor that covers the face and provides a barrier between the wearer and the client from respiratory droplets caused by sneezing, coughing or speaking. Visors must fit the user and be worn properly. It should cover the forehead, extend below the chin, and wrap around the side of the face.

Both disposable and re-usable visors are available. A re-usable visor must be cleaned and sanitised regularly using normal cleaning products. There is no requirement for the client to wear any additional protection such as a mask or face covering, when the practitioner is wearing a visor. There is no benefit to either the client or the practitioner of wearing additional PPE to that which they would usually use, beyond the clear visor mentioned above.

The most effective methods of preventing the transmission of COVID-19 are still social distancing and regular handwashing. These steps must still be followed as much as possible, even when practitioners are wearing protective equipment. In instances where you are contacted via the test and trace service, having been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, you will still need to self-isolate even if you are wearing a visor at work. This is because the risk of transmission cannot be ruled out, even if wearing a visor reduces that risk. Employers should support their workers in using face coverings safely if they choose to wear one.