Salon owners urge Budget VAT cut as staffing pressures grow

Rising costs are making it harder for businesses to employ staff and invest in apprenticeships, he says, while more salons are turning to self-employed models to survive.

"Seeing salons close on the high street is very scary," he said. "I'm very scared myself. Luckily it hasn't happened yet but who knows what the future holds?"

Perkins is among more than 2,000 salon owners who have signed an open letter calling on the Chancellor John Healey to cut VAT on hair and beauty services from 20% to 10% in this week's Budget.

However, the industry has also seen growing numbers of stylists move into self-employed arrangements, with hairdressers often renting a chair within a salon rather than being directly employed.

A Treasury spokesperson said hair and beauty businesses played an important role in supporting jobs, apprenticeships and thriving high streets.

While traditional salons said they faced rising pressures, a recent report from the British Beauty Council found that hair and beauty salons and shops made up almost a third of all leisure sites across UK retail centres.

This year alone, Perkins said he had spent about £2,000 on courses and travel costs to support her training.

"It's upsetting really," he said. "We help people, we train, we nurture, we mentor. We help the next generation because if we don't help the next generation, what happens to our future?"

Financial pressures and concerns over inconsistent training standards had led salons to take on fewer apprentices, with 53% of salon owners reporting a reduction, external in the number they trained, according to a Future of Hairdressing report.

He argues that creates an "unlevel playing field" because traditional salons often shoulder the costs of training future hairdressers.

"At the rate it's going we're not going to have many salons left open and there's no-one going to be able to do hair," she said.

Research from the British Beauty Council highlighted the role hair and beauty businesses play in supporting local high streets, encouraging spending and providing opportunities for social connection.

She said the salon was about much more than appearances.

"Every time I come in I go home feeling so much better," she said. "It isn't just having nails and hair done, it's the whole package."