Self-employed barbers on the increase

There has been a big upsurge in the number of barbers who are classified as self-employed according to the latest figures from the National Hairdressers' Federation. Barbering and hairdressing has seen a huge leap from 48% in 2016 to 57% in 2017. The number of businesses in the sector has increased by 2% in 2017 compared to 2016. The latest retail figures show that barbershops, beauty salons, nail bars and hair and beauty salons occupied four of the top 10 spots for the most popular start-ups in 2016.

Hilary Hall, NHF Chief Executive said, "The government is due to respond before the end of the year on the Review of Modern Working Practices which looked into self-employment and the 'gig' economy.  We expect to see clearer definitions of what exactly self-employment means and measures to ensure that workers are not exploited by employers who are simply looking to cut costs and who can therefore undercut competitors who work on a more traditional employment models."