As a Salon Owner do I pay for a Skills Tests, a Trial or during Probation?

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Posted September 5, 2016

When employing staff in the hair and beauty industry, it is important as a salon owner to understand what aspects during the recruitment process are required to be paid for and what tasks can be considered unpaid. Within the hair and beauty industry there are often three aspects which need to be considered, skills test, trials and probationary periods. As a salon owner you need to understand the difference.

• Skill Tests

A skills test is generally unpaid however it is important to understand the nature of a skills test.  A skill test is used within the recruitment process to allow a potential hair and beauty employee to demonstrate their abilities in relation to the duties that would be required for the position within the salon. A skill test is generally for a short period of time, no more than two hours and should be no longer than it would take to perform a core service. This is a demonstration of skills and therefore should not be on paid clients and should be undertaken on volunteers or models.  Skills tests can be undertaken the same day as an interview or at a scheduled later date.

•  Trial Period 

 A trial is generally a short period of time, the norm in a hair and beauty salon is one week, to further assess if an individual will fit into your salon’s environment.  Trials must be paid for at the wage rate of the position the person is applying for, or in the case of apprentices, as a salon assistant. It is important that the salon owner documents these people’s details such as tax file declaration, rates of pay, superannuation fund and any other applicable information. It is also advisable to issue the person with a document confirming that this period is a trial. Note there is no such thing as an unpaid trial.

•  Probation Period

A probation period is generally a short period of time (three months) from the date of commencement of employment with a salon, in which the salon owner assesses the suitability of the employee for the role and the employee has the opportunity to determine if the role is suitable to meet their needs. Probationary periods also allow either party to end the employment with one week’s notice, taking into consideration that a salon owner cannot infringe on workplace rights or terminate for discriminatory reasons. During the probation period the employee is to be paid as per the position and has full entitlements under the Hair and Beauty Award and the Fair Work Act.

Need clarification, contact Hair & Beauty Australia on 02 9221 9911. Be Informed Stay In Front.