Beauty claims usually entail the claimant getting hurt inside of a beauty salon due to some type of accident. You may have suffered from a trip or a fall or perhaps were hurt due to the aggression of an employee. However, as you may have noticed, Covid-19 has become more of a risk factor in salons than any kind of physical injury. Lockdown has ended and beauty salons were officially allowed to re-open on the 13th July 2020. That’s why it’s essential for you to follow UK government guidelines to ensure that you remain safe.
It is also important for beauty salons to be implementing social-distancing in their stores. If they are not, you do have the right to send in a formal complaint. This is because they are not following official procedure for protecting clients and staff from Covid-19. If you do get sick, there is the potential to ask for compensation, however you will need to discuss this with your solicitor. Make sure to check out our beauty claims page to learn more about making beauty claims for compensation!
What beauty services are available in the UK?
Already, you may have seen that hairdressers have re-opened in the UK. Well, now you will see that beauty salons, nail salons, spas, tanning salons, and tattooists have also opened up their doors to the public. However, strict policies will be in place to safeguard any clients that wish to be pampered. According to the National Hair and Beauty Federation:
“Government officials have confirmed that face coverings do not need to be worn by the public in beauty salons, hairdressers or other close-contact services. These settings already have extensive protective measures in place including handwashing, screens, visors and social distancing. Clients may wear face coverings if they wish. Workers must wear visors but can wear face coverings as well (not instead).”
As you can see these are strict policies that must be adhered to if Covid-19 transmission is to be avoided. However, there are some services that still will not be available until after the 1st August 2020. This includes:
- Facials
- Eyelash tinting
- Make-up services
- Microblading
- Facial waxing
- Eyebrow shaping
- Dermarolling/Dermaplaning
- Facial electrosis
You will not be able to get any sort of facial treatment until later on in the year. This is to ensure the safety of both you and the staff of the salon.
What should salons be doing to keep you safe?
Beauty claims come from the negligence of employers. This is the same for work accident claims and employees. In any sort of commercial building or business, certain policies should be put in place to make sure that the people who enter the workplace are always safe. Understandably, different workplaces should have different rules. For instance, the rules on a construction site should be different to some sort of retail store. For beauty salons in particular, they should be:
- Wearing face-masks/facial visors, gloves and glasses
- Socially distancing customers through screens
- Regular cleaning of equipment, tables and facilities
- Staggering appointments and beautician/employee shifts
- Limiting numbers of clients/employees inside beauty salons
However, there is a chance that they may not be following these new guidelines. Not every salon may take these new policies seriously, and some may think that they can simply go back to the way business was run previously. However, this is certainly not the case anymore. Make sure you are prepared to ask about their policies if you do not think they are safe.
Your beautician should be making you aware of all of the potential outcomes of your treatments and what is expected of you as a customer of the salon. If they do not, and you encounter a problem (be it Covid-19 or perhaps an accident in general) and it is not fixed, you may have the opportunity to make a beauty compensation claim if you get hurt. Take a look at our example below to see what could happen that could warrant beauty claims:
Beauty Claims: What sort of accidents could happen in a beauty salon?
Outside of catching Covid-19, it’s important to think of the risks of visiting a beauty salon. That way if you are prepared in advance for any sort of injury, you can prove that you were not at fault for the accident. Remember, you can only ask for compensation if you can prove that the accident was not your fault. Instead, you need to show that the person/employee responsible for your treatment breached their “duty of care” during the services. This includes not: asking you to sign a waiver (aka. an acknowledgement that you understand the risks of the service); telling you about chemicals; asking you about your allergies; or doing a spot test before the treatment.
If you are involved in an accident in a beauty salon, this could include:
- Slips and trips
- Skin reaction
- Cuts and burns
- Waxing burns
- Chemical burns
- Sensitive skin damage
- Infections
- Violent altercations
Even the safest salons may occasionally have accidents that simply came about due to mistakes. However, if you do think that your injuries came about due to negligence, and that the accident could have been prevented, you can ask for compensation. All businesses are legally required to have employer liability insurance. That means they will not need to pay you out of their own money. Therefore, you do not need to feel worried about financially damaging the business that you are claiming from.
Keep in mind that if you did get hurt due to someone else’s negligence, you should still claim for compensation from your employer. This is because the injury happened during business hours and whilst you were working. That means they did not take the appropriate steps to protect you. Their duty of care has been breached.
Beauty Claims: Could I claim compensation for catching Covid-19?
Now, this is where things get a little more complicated. The Covid-19 pandemic is like nothing the UK has ever seen before. Many people are going to feel compelled to make injury and illness claims to their place of work and other types of public businesses if they catch Covid-19, especially if they have not been put on sick leave or on furlough. However, people cannot sue based on exposure alone. It entirely depends on whether or not you have suffered from damages or losses. You will also have to prove that it was the salon specifically that you caught Covid-19 from. If you have visited other places during the day then it is very unlikely that you will be able to prove that you caught Covid-19 from the beauty salon.
If you are thinking about making a claim like this, you will need to think carefully about it. Speak to a solicitor about your options and whether or not it is worth pursuing. They can advise you on your claim and let you know information about what sort of evidence you can use to prove your case. This may get complicated easily. For instance, if you caught Covid-19 from the salon, can you prove that it was due to someone else being positive in the same building? There is also a chance that you could be accused of not taking precautions to adhere to social distancing or face-protection. Having the appropriate law experience on your side can guide you in your claim.
What should I do if I am injured in a beauty salon?
Traditionally, if you have had an accident in a beauty salon, the first thing that you need to do is report it to the employees. They are legally required to write it down in their work accident book. Make sure to ask for a copy of this statement to provide it with your evidence. You may also want to include CCTV footage of your accident to show an unbiased perspective of the events that occurred. With that said, make sure that your main priority is your health. You should go to hospital if your injuries are severe. Even if they are not, then make sure you go to a walk in centre or get first-aid to help assess whether or not you need medical attention or medication.
Now that you have reported your accident, if you are going to have a valid beauty claim, you need to provide evidence. If you don’t then it is very likely that you will either receive a lower amount of compensation or you may not get any pay-out at all. A court case cannot go in your favour if it is based on “he said-she said”. Instead, consider the following as examples of evidence that can prove you deserve to be compensated for your losses:
How long will it take to make a beauty claim?
This will depend entirely on how quickly you make your claim and how complicated the case is. You should never leave your claim till later, namely because you don’t know how much evidence you will lose. Not only that, but Covid-19 has caused a serious delay in the court system due to the lockdown. That means that it is very likely that it may take longer than usual to get your court date and to receive your compensation. If you are interested in pursuing a claim, it is recommended that you see a beauty claims solicitor for help. They can help you understand more about your claim and make sure that it is valid. You can never go wrong when you have an experienced legal representative on your side.
How much could I get from a pay-out of a beauty claim?
Again, this depends on the severity of your injuries and the extent of your losses. Some claimants could receive thousands if they have experienced life-changing injuries. A trained solicitor can help you estimate how much you could be owed in compensation. Make sure to write down your losses and provide evidence for each of them. The more evidence you have, the more likely that you will have a successful claim.
Gowing Law Solicitors can help you with your beauty claims
Beauty claims can be complicated to deal with if you do not have the right legal representation to help. That’s why you should ask for help from Gowing Law Solicitors. We are specialists in cosmetic negligence claims and are ready to help you get the pay-out that you deserve. Our help and consultations are free of charge. We can also work remotely to help you with your claim if you are worried about Covid-19. If you do decide to work with our experienced lawyers, we can offer our services on a “no win- no fee” basis. That means there is no risk for you to lose any money with our law firm.
Want to learn more? Why not contact Gowing Law today! We can be reached by phone on 08000418350, email at info@gowinglaw.co.uk and through our contact page. Once you have contacted us, one of our friendly team members will be in contact to discuss your claim. Let us know if you have any questions! We would be more than happy to answer them.
Want to learn more about cosmetic negligence claims?
Gowing Law Solicitors keeps its blog updated with a series of different articles on beauty claims. Take a look at some examples below of our blogs:
- Beauty Injury Compensation: How Bad are my losses?
- What can I claim beauty treatment compensation for?
- Cosmetic Negligence: Disfigurement, Blindness & Fillers
Our blog covers a wide range of topics like financial mis-selling, public and workplace accidents, criminal damage claims and RTA compensation. We also talk about our latest projects, charity work and much, much more. All you need to do is click on our blog to learn more information about what we get up to. If you can’t find the topic you want, why not write in to us to let us know? We can cover it in our next blog! All you need to do is email info@gowinglaw.co.uk. We can then let you know if we can cover the topic.
We look forward to hearing from you soon and wish you the best of luck with your beauty claim!
