Hairdressers say they are flouting closure rules as finances BLACKMARKET LOCKDOWN AS
Salons and barber shops were forced to close when the country went into lockdown in March.
The measures have hit the industry hard and with no date set for when Scottish businesses can reopen, hairdressers and barbers have been left in limbo.
Now hard-pressed workers are putting themselves and others at risk by cutting customers’ hair at home despite pleas from industry leaders for them to stop.
However, they claim they have “no choice” but to flout lockdown restrictions because it is their only source of income.
Hairdressers working within a salon on a “self-employed” basis are not entitled to furlough and will not receive any support from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which was rolled out last week.
Others say benefits such as Universal Credit are not enough to make ends meet while much of Scotland is closed for business.
Salons look certain to be last to have restrictions lifted due to workers being in close contact with customers.
One barber told how he was cutting clients’ hair from his Clydebank home. He charged £15 for a haircut – an increase from £ 8 – to feed his young family.
He said: “People in the industry are really struggling and many won’t qualify for furlough.
“Some only hire a chair in a salon and that effectively makes them self- employed. Others lucky enough to be employed might be having theirr wages paid by the Government but they rely heavily on tips. Now that money is gone too.
“There’s Universall Credit but that doesn’t stretch far enough until grant paymentsts are made.
“Applying for a grantant has not been straightforward.rd. Some people are listed as sole traders and not limited mited companies and I know ow they’ve had difficulty ty meeting the criteria. a.
“I’m doing about five ve customers a day and nd charging them £15 when it’s usually £ 8. They’rere happy to pay me because of thehe risk involved. Lots of hairrdressers are doing the same. TheyT feel they’ve no choice.”
The dadda said hairdressers had growngr frustrated at how people cutting their own ow hair or families trimming tr each others’ locks lo had become a source sou of humour.
First Fir Minister Nicola Sturgeon last month shared images on TTwitter of her carrying out a DIY ccut while getting tips from a styliststyli online.
And JaneJanet Street Porter had This MorningMorn hosts Phi l l ip Schofield anda Holly Willoughby laughing whilew attempting to cut her own hair on the ITV show. The salonsalo manager said: “It’s no lauglaughing matter but it seems to be amusing a lot of people. Everyone I know in hairdressing is feeling a lot of stress.”
The barber added that he thinks salons could re- open sooner if workers wore personal protection equipment and restr icted the number of customers in their premises.
He added: “We clean our tools with an anti- bacterial that’s strong enough to kill the HIV virus so it would do the same with coronavirus.”
One ha i rdresser f rom Motherwell, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “I’ve been working what some would call ‘ illegally’ from my garden for nearly five weeks and