How to Hire Employees into Your Salon Outside of the UK Post Brexit

 

According to the new UK Visa rules post Brexit, hiring from the EU is still possible but may require a little more red tape than we are used to, however, the process itself can take as little as three weeks.

You’ll usually need a Sponsor Licence to employ someone to work for you from outside the UK and the employee will require a Skilled Workers visa - if their job is eligible. This includes citizens of the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland who arrived in the UK after 31 December 2020.

UK Skilled Workers Visa

In order for an employee to be eligible to receive a Skilled Worker visa, the following requirements must be met:

  • your job is eligible for this visa

  • you’ll be working for a UK employer that’s been approved by the Home Office

  • you’ll be paid at least the minimum salary for the type of work you’ll be doing

Although it is the common understanding that roles related to the personal care sector are not included in the skilled workers list - this is not correct. The “Skilled Worker visa: eligible occupations and codes” is limited in its reference to professional beauty, however occupation code 1253 refers to “Hairdressing and beauty salon managers and proprietors” and in particular related roles such as:

  • Hairdressing salon owner

  • Health and fitness manager

  • Manager (beauty salon)

While the role needs to recruit for a role that included management or leadership - it is not limited to only management and leadership, meaning that for example, a beauty therapist may be hired who has a leadership role and carries out day to day therapist tasks.

Sponsor License

The following requirements must be met in order to employe a hairdressing and beauty salon manager and proprietor:

Your business must be eligible

  • You must not have unspent criminal convictions for immigration offences or certain other crimes, such as fraud or money laundering

  • You must not have had a sponsor licence revoked in the last 12 months

  • You’ll need appropriate systems in place to monitor sponsored employees and people to manage sponsorship in your business.

You must employ a skilled worker and apply for a worker license

  • When employing, you must be emplying from the list of skilled workers - which we have ascertained that only beauty professionals with a role in management are applicable for.

  • The type of Sponsor License your business will need to apply for is a Worker License. The skilled work can be for a short time, long-term or permanent depending on the worker’s visa.

Sponsorship management

  • You need to appoint people within your business to manage the sponsorship process when you apply for a licence.

Keith Mellen of Anne Veck Oxford has been investigating the scope of overseas employment as along with many salon owners, this area has been a key ingredient to deepen recruitment opportunities in the UK. On behalf of Anne Veck Oxford, Keith has successfully made an application for a Sponsor’s License-Skilled Worker from the Home Office and is now in receipt of a license that allows for recruitment from the EU or anywhere internationally, for a period of four years.

Commenting on this application, Keith shares;

“Our successful application was for a training director, the job description included hairdressing duties, expert skills and lead role in in-salon education. For me, the interesting and useful point that I want to share with colleagues in the industry is that the phrase "salons manager" as stated in the Eligible Occupation Codes, appears to be a steer to applying for senior positions with management responsibilities rather than literally a salon manager.  The other notable factor is that we pay £30,000- £38,000 for senior stylists and style directors and I was surprised to see the going rate of pay to be as low as the guide suggests at £19,300.  As supporters of the Living Wage, it is more important for us to recruit good people who will remain in the business for a significant term rather than go for the lower pay rates.” 

You can apply for a license for your business here. The cost of application is £536 for small businesses and £1,476 for large businesses.

 
Business and EducationNatalia Kulak