Fair Work Commission National Minimum Wage Increase for Hair & Beauty Industry

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Posted June 20, 2022

There have been a number of changes to the pay conditions of salon workers in the past few weeks, including compulsory increase to superannuation and updates to paid family and domestic violence leave. For salon owners struggling to staff their salons, the end of government benefits for small businesses from the pandemic and struggling under the weight of inflation, it can feel overwhelming as everything involved in the running of a salon becomes more expensive.

 

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) decided last week that there will be a 5.2% ($40) rise to the National Minimum Wage (NMW), while most workers who are covered by award rates will get an increase of 4.6%.

 

The decision results in an increase to the NMW to $812.60 a week or $21.38 an hour.

Any award rates which are below $869.60 a week will increase by a total of $40. This means that salon assistants or unqualified and Cert II qualified beauticians will receive a $40 increase to their weekly wage rate.

 

Rates for the other classifications under the Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010, including Senior Stylists and Casual Staff,  will rise by 4.6%.

 

The FWC expects to publish determinations around 27 June 2022. HABA aim to have the updated wage advices available for members by the end of June. The new rates will be operative on or after the first full pay period commencing 1 July 2022.

 

We know that many of our HABA members are paying well above base award wages in order to attract the best staff and retain their top-performing staff. This also has to flow on to the cost of your services – salon owners cannot be expected to wear the continued increases in the cost of operating their business. As consumer wages increase and as consumers become more aware of inflation across the board, they too will expect higher prices for premium services. We may start seeing clients stretching out their appointments, but if a premium service is continued to be provided in salon, most will accept the price increase.

 

It’s important for salon owners to do regular “Health Checks” on their business, assessing both revenue, outgoings and percentage profit to ensure that your margin remains healthy and you can remain in business.

 

Further advice or assistance

For further advice or assistance on this topic, or any workplace relations matter, please #AskHABA by calling the HABA Advice Line on 02 9221 9911 8:30am-5:30pm AEST Monday to Friday