LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS FOR HAIRDRESSERS & BEAUTICIANS – Annual Leave and Leave Loading

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Posted December 4, 2017

Annual Leave is an important part of all employees working contract, ensuring that staff are given an appropriate vehicle by which to take a break each year, bringing them back into salon fighting fit and fresher than ever, ready to give their best to your clients. But managing Annual Leave can quickly become a headache for salon owners who are not on top of the obligations they have to their staff or the intricacies of managing said Annual Leave – but HABA has the answers.

 

All employees within your business, except casuals, are entitled to Annual Leave as part of their working contract. Part-time employees are also entitled to annual leave, they just earn it at a proportionate rate to the amount they work.

 

SALON POLICIES & PROCEDURES MANUAL

For Annual Leave in particular, HABA recommends having a clear Annual Leave Policy in your Salon Policies and Procedures Manual. This ensures the protection of the salon owner in providing all staff members with strict guidelines to abide by; and ensures that all staff are properly educated in the ways that the salon operates, heading off disputes and discussions before they occur. We recommend reviewing your Salon Policies and Procedures Manual annually with all staff, and with new staff when they sign their initial contract with your salon.

 

PAY RATES & LEAVE LOADING

Employees must be paid at their base rate of pay during any period of annual leave. During annual leave the employee is to receive whichever is the greater but not both, either leave loading of 17.5% for hours taken or the relevant penalty rates they would have received if they worked. If a public holiday falls within the period of annual leave taken by a staff member, they get paid that day as a public holiday, at the same base rate of pay and the public holiday does not get deducted from their annual leave balance. On termination of employment, a salon owner must pay their employee any accrued unused Annual Leave, including the 17.5% leave loading.

 

ANNUAL LEAVE

There is no minimum or maximum amount of accrued Annual Leave that must be taken by an employee at any one time. Annual Leave can be cashed out by employees only when there is in excess of 4 weeks annual leave and the amount taken should leave 4 weeks remaining in balance. A written agreement must be put in place for cashing out annual leave to ensure that there is a clear understanding between salon owners and their employees about the terms of cashing out said leave.

 

At this time of year, it is particularly important to note that the Hair and Beauty Industry Award states that employers can direct their employees to take annual leave by giving at least four weeks’ notice as part of a close-down of its operations, like many salons will do during the Christmas and New Year Period. HABA wrote previously about the in’s and out’s of this approach, so click here for more information.

 

HABA Members have access to a range of resources that are particularly helpful at this time of year, including a sample Salon Policies and Procedures Manual, an Application for Annual Leave letter and a written agreement for cashing out Annual Leave. HABA can also assist salon owners in calculating Annual Leave for full time and part time employees, ensuring that you are compliant at all times with Annual Leave and Leave Loading requirements for your staff. Take full advantage of the range of resources available to HABA Members by joining HABA here.