Income Protection for Hairdressers

Hairdressing looks like one of the gentler jobs on this list and has one of the highest rates of occupational skin disease of any trade.

Hands are wet, then in colour, then wet again, forty times a week. Arms are raised at shoulder height for most of every appointment. Feet are on a hard floor for nine hours. None of it is dangerous and all of it adds up.

Income protection pays monthly while you cannot work, and for a chair renter or a self-employed stylist it is the only safety net there is.

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The short answer

Hairdressing damages hands and shoulders, and occupational dermatitis is common enough in this trade to be a recognised industrial disease rather than bad luck. Most stylists either rent a chair or are self-employed, so there is no sick pay at all. Income protection replaces a monthly amount while you cannot work.

What actually stops you working

Occupational dermatitis, which is common in this trade and can end a career outright
Shoulder and neck problems from working at shoulder height all day
Hand and wrist strain, including carpal tunnel, from scissors and repetitive work
Back and foot problems from standing on hard floors for long days
Asthma and respiratory reactions to products, particularly with keratin and colour work
Pregnancy-related complications, which matter in a workforce that is largely women of working age

Sick pay, if you get any

Almost never anything. Chair renters are self-employed and get nothing, and even employed stylists in small salons usually have statutory sick pay only. The chair rent itself frequently continues whether you are standing behind it or not, which means an injury can cost money rather than simply stopping income.

Why the definition of incapacity decides it

A stylist with dermatitis on both hands is entirely well and cannot work, because the job requires wet hands and chemicals all day. That is one of the clearest illustrations on this site of why the definition decides the claim. An any occupation policy will see somebody perfectly able to do plenty of jobs, which is true and pays nothing.

Dermatitis Is An Occupational Disease Here, Not Bad Luck

This is the risk that defines hairdressing and the one least often insured against.

Hands that are repeatedly wet, then exposed to bleach, colour and shampoo, then wet again, lose the barrier that protects them. It starts as dryness, becomes cracking, and in bad cases becomes a condition severe enough that any contact with water or product is impossible. At that point the person is completely well and completely unable to work behind a chair.

Gloves and good aftercare reduce it substantially and do not eliminate it. Because income protection responds to illness as well as injury, a skin condition that stops you working is a covered cause, and any existing skin problem is worth declaring honestly when you apply rather than at the point you claim.

Chair Rent Does Not Pause

Most stylists do not realise their position is worse than a straightforwardly self-employed trade until they stop working.

A plumber who is off earns nothing and spends nothing. A chair renter who is off earns nothing and, depending on the arrangement, may still owe rent for a chair nobody is standing behind. Some salons are flexible and plenty of agreements are not, so an injury can produce an outgoing rather than merely the absence of an income.

That is a strong argument for a shorter deferred period than the price list would tempt you towards, and for knowing exactly what your agreement says before you need to.

If you stop

Clients are loyal to a person rather than a salon, which cuts both ways. They will wait a fortnight and they will not wait three months, and once somebody else has done a colour they liked the relationship has usually moved. A column that took five years to fill empties quickly.

A Column Of Clients Is Not An Estate

Hairdressing builds something genuinely valuable that cannot be passed on.

A full column represents years of relationships, and it is worth nothing to anybody else, because clients follow the person. There is no stock, no premises for a chair renter, and no business to sell. A salon owner has more, though a salon without its name stylist is worth a fraction of one with.

So life cover carries the household on its own. For a stylist supporting children it is worth sizing against rent or mortgage and childcare rather than against earnings alone.

A Lump Sum For Hands That Cannot Do It Any More

The characteristic ending in this trade is skin or a wrist, and the person is otherwise entirely healthy.

Someone with severe occupational dermatitis or carpal tunnel that surgery has not fixed is finished behind a chair and perfectly able to do other work. Monthly cover pays while they are unfit; it stops when they are declared fit, which may be long before they can earn a comparable living.

Capital funds what comes next: retraining, moving to salon management or education, or reducing outgoings enough that a different job works. Check which conditions a policy actually pays on, because specified-condition cover will not respond to every version of this.

Common questions

Do chair renters get any sick pay?+

No. Renting a chair makes you self-employed, so there is no statutory sick pay and nothing arrives while you are not working. The position can be worse than other self-employed trades, because depending on the agreement the chair rent may still be due for a chair nobody is standing behind. Check what your agreement says before you need to know.

Is dermatitis really that common in hairdressing?+

Yes, it is one of the recognised occupational diseases of the trade rather than bad luck. Hands that are repeatedly wet, then exposed to bleach, colour and shampoo, lose their protective barrier, and in bad cases any contact with water or product becomes impossible. Gloves and aftercare reduce it substantially without eliminating it. Income protection responds to illness, so a skin condition that stops you working is a covered cause.

Would a policy pay if I can work but not do hair?+

That depends entirely on the definition, and hairdressing is one of the clearest cases for getting it right. Somebody with severe dermatitis is completely well and completely unable to work behind a chair. An any occupation policy will find them fit; an own occupation policy asks whether you can do hairdressing. Check that clause before comparing premiums.

I own the salon rather than renting. Does that change things?+

It changes what you are protecting. A salon owner has staff, rent and business costs that continue while you are not working, so the benefit usually needs to cover more than household bills. There may also be a case for cover written through the business depending on how it is set up. Tell us the structure and we will go through what fits.

How long would I keep my clients if I was off?+

Longer than most trades and not indefinitely. Clients are loyal to a person rather than a salon, so they will generally wait a fortnight; three months is a different matter, and once somebody else has done a colour they liked the relationship has usually moved. That is worth factoring into the deferred period, since the cost of being off is the column as well as the income.

Cover that often goes with this

The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.