Data Protection, Health & Safety
Health and safety:
We all have a legal responsibility to keep ourselves, our colleagues and our clients safe at all times within the salon/treatment area. The legislation set out under the :
Health and Safety at Work Act (HASWAA)
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 – legislation that gives rights to employees and employer.
The Health and Safety at Work act ensures that employers and employees maintain high standards of health and safety in the workplace.
A health and safety policy must be in place if an employer has more than five employees, and all staff must be aware of it.
Both employers and employees have responsibilities under this Act.
Employers must ensure that:
• The workplace is safe and does not pose a risk to the health and safety of either clients or employees
• That there is a safe system in place for handling cash, e.g. procedures to follow when taking money to the bank to pay-in.
• All equipment is safe and is regularly checked by qualified electricians
• Staff are aware of safety procedures in the workplace and have the necessary information, instruction and training.
Employee’s responsibilities include:
• Following the health and safety policy
• Reading the hazard warning labels on containers and following the advice given
• Reporting any potential hazards such as glass breakage or spillage of chemicals to the relevant person in the workplace
The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations Act 1992 – requires all employers and their employees at work to maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 – states what regulations to follow. It is essential that a place of work must have a first aid box containing: plasters, bandages, wound dressings, safety pins, eye pads, and cleaning wipes.
A first aid record book should be kept and if first aid is carried out, information that needs to be recorded is the patients name, date, time, what happened, any injury details, treatment given and any advice given.
The Electricity at Work Regulations Act 1992 – states all electrical equipment should be checked by a qualified electrician annually to make sure it is safe.
This act is concerned with safety while using electricity. Any electrical equipment used must be checked regularly to ensure that it is safe. These checks should be listed in a record book and would be important evidence in any legal action that may arise. Broken or damaged equipment or equipment with exposed wires should not be used. Cracked sockets should also not be used and sockets should never be overloaded.
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations
(RIDDOR) 1995 – states the steps that should be followed if an accident occurs at work of if someone occurs an injury.
Minor accidents should be entered into a record book, stating what occurred and what action was taken.
It is important that all concerned should sign. If as a result of an accident at work anyone is off work for more than 3 days, or someone is seriously injured, or has a type of occupational disease certified by the doctor, or even dies, a report should be sent to the local authority Environmental Health Department as soon as possible.
The Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 – states all employers and self-employed persons must hold liability insurance.
Employers must take out insurance policies in case of claims by employees for injury, disease or illness related to the workplace.
A certificate must be displayed at work to show that the employer has the insurance.
Environmental Protection Act – waste regulations – states all waste chemicals must be disposed of safely and anybody using hazardous substances must ensure that disposal of them (by a licensed company) does not cause harm to the environment or landfill site.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 1994 – instructs of ways substances deemed as hazardous to health should be stored. It is a requirement that all employees should be made aware of risks and given appropriate training. Detailed instructions must be kept regarding any products considered hazardous.
Examples of some COSHH symbols to inform the user of the potential hazards.
Consumer Protection Act 1987 – this act aims to safeguard any consumer against products, which do not reach a reasonable level of safety.
Any person injured by a product can take action against the producer, importer or an own brander.
The Local Government Act 1982 – Bylaws are laws made by your local council. Workplace bylaws are primarily concerned with hygiene and different councils around the country have different ones.
The Act states a person may not carry out their practice unless registered by the local authority and premises have to be registered to carry out treatments. This only applies to businesses which practice beauty treatments such as ear piercing, electrical epilation, acupuncture etc.
The Fire Precautions Act 1997 – the laws requires all premises to undertake a fire risk assessment and that all staff must be trained in fire and emergency evacuation procedure and the premises must have adequate fire escapes.
If five or more people work together as employees, the fire risk assessment must be in writing, and must also take into account all other persons on the premises, i.e. clients and visitors to the salon.
In the period of one year there must be at least one fire drill that involves everyone. All staff must be fully informed and trained in fire and emergency evacuation procedure.
• All fire-fighting equipment should be regularly checked to ensure its in good working order and that there is adequate amount available
• Fire exit doors should be clearly marked and should remain unlocked and must not be obstructed.
• Smoke alarms must be installed and regularly tested.
• All staff must be trained in fire drill procedures and this information should be displayed at the workplace.
Fire Extinguishers:
Fire Extinguishers are red with a different of colour just below the neck for different types of fire:
Colour RED – Contains WATER – and is used to put out fires of Natural material – such paper, wood, cloth etc.
Colour BLUE – Contains DRY POWDER – and is used to put out Electrical fires – and can also be used to put fires containing oils, alcohols, solvents, paint, flammable liquids, and gases
Colour CREAM – Contains FOAM – and is used to put out fires containing flammable liquids (not to be used on Electrical fires!)
Colour BLACK – Contains Carbon Dioxide (CO2) – and is used to put out Electrical fires (electric supply to be turned off first!) also any fires containing grease, fats, oils paint, flammable liquids (note not to be used on chip-pan or frying pan fires)
Performing Rights Act – it is a legal requirement to purchase a license if any music is played in waiting or treatment rooms as this is considered to be a public performance.
If you play music you will need to purchase a license from Phonographic Performance Ltd. These organisations collect the performance fees and give the money to performers and record companies. If you do not buy a license, legal action may be taken against you.
Using Tools and Equipment:
As you will be using sharps (needles) in with your Plasma Pen, cut down on the risk of injury and contamination by:
• Making sure that sharp tools are only used by trained staff
• Using a single use, disposable needle
• Never re-use a needle
• Taking care when fitting new needles
• Store new needles securely and safely
• Keep all equipment clean
• Wash metal products in hot soapy water and then disinfect between each client
• Dispose of needles in a proper sharps box. Never throw them in a waste bin or leave them lying around. In some areas, you can get sharps boxes from your local council, otherwise you will need to use a commercial service to deliver and collect boxes
• Have a plan in place if someone is cut. Think about contamination risks if someone has hepatitis etc.
Keeping equipment clean and sterile:
All waste should be disposed of into a lined pedal operated waste bin immediately after use. Waste should never be left on a trolley. All surfaces should be wiped down with sanitiser after each use. Methods of sterilisation and disinfection should be used for tools and equipment.
Disinfection – destroys some bacteria and organisms i.e. barbicide
Sterilisation – Destroys all bacteria and organisms i.e. an autoclave
Professional Ethics:
It is essential to develop a trusting and confident relationship with your clients by using a professional attitude and an excellent standard of work. This can only be achieved through hard work and practice. Your knowledge and skill base will be the deciding factor for a client returning to you for treatments.
This intensive training course will provide the knowledge of the treatment which will help you to provide an excellent service, but this is only the beginning, and it will take many hours of practice to master the technique. You must be prepared to spend the time to develop your skills and techniques to enable you to always provide the best treatment possible to your future clients.
Your standards must be exemplary at all times. You should always strive to be the best you can be – your work promotes not only yourself but your salon and colleagues so ensure that you always provide treatments to the best of your ability, in a totally professional manner.
You should always work to the following Code which is recognised within the industry:
1. Always work within the law
2. Do not ever treat or claim to be able to treat a medical condition – any concerns should be referred to their GP
3. Client confidentiality should be respected at all times
4. Always show respect for related professions by referring clients appropriately, i.e. to a GP, Chiropodist etc.
5. Always maintain high standards of hygiene and safety in your work
6. Ensure that where necessary certain treatments are only undertaken with written permission of the client’s GP
7. Always be respectful and helpful where possible to other beauty therapists
8. You should never try to take other therapists clients, or undermine their work/ability.
9. You should always undertake your work in a principled manner, particularly when working with members of the opposite sex.
Insurance
One other essential requirement you have is to ensure that you are fully insured to provide treatments. Therefore, you MUST hold a Professional and Public Liability insurance, which must be in place before you practice on the public or charge for your service. This can be obtained from one of the following companies:
Insync Insurance
Telephone: 01202
Website: www.insyncinsurance.co.uk Or www.finch.co.uk
Data Protection:
The Data Protection Act 1984 – states all information taken from the client must remain at all times private and not disclosed or discussed with anyone else apart from the client
The Data Protection Act requires client information be used by the therapist only and not given to anyone else without the client’s permission. Client information and any notes you keep must be secure in an area where no-one else will have access to them, i.e. in a locked drawer or password protected area if kept on a computer. Clients have the right to ask to see personal data you hold on them.
It only seems like five minutes since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force across the European Union (EU), sending countless business owners into a mad panic about the way they manage sensitive personal data about their customers and employees. Yet here we are, months down the line and still, many of those businesses haven’t yet taken the necessary steps to ensure they’re compliant with what is often referred to as the biggest change in data protection laws for 20 years.
If you’re one of them, don’t worry, we get it.
Between looking after your customers, managing staff and taking care of the thousands of little tasks that come as part and parcel of running your own salon business, you’ve got enough on your plate without worrying about privacy policies and fair processing notices.
So it’s understandable, sure, but that doesn’t mean you should risk leaving your GDPR duties much longer. The fines for non-compliance can be pretty severe, and the Information Commissioner’s Office (the organisation responsible for overseeing GDPR in the UK) isn’t playing around when it comes to dishing those fines out when they need to.
That’s the bad news. Now, here’s the good news: even months after GDPR came into effect, it’s still not too late to ensure your salon is fully compliant. Better yet, doing so doesn’t have to be half as long, or half as complicated as it might first seem.
Here, we’ve put together your complete, easy-to-follow GDPR compliance checklist for salons, looking at everything you need to know to ensure you’re bang up-to-date with the new law. Before we get into that, however, let’s take a moment to address some of the major concerns raised by the salon owners we’ve chatted to about GDPR.
I was already complying with the Data Protection Act – why do I need to bother with GDPR?
When the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 first came into force back in the late ’90s, it was perfectly good enough for that time period. 20 years down the line and things have changed dramatically. The way we collect, use and manage data is drastically different than it was back in the 90s, which means the DPA isn’t really fit for purpose any more.
The same applies to similar data protection laws in other EU member states. That’s why GDPR was created in the first place.
It’s designed to make data protection law relevant and appropriate for the modern digital age by replacing outdated legislation like the DPA. In other words, the 1998 version of the Data Protection Act as you once knew it is no longer the legislation that governs data protection in this country, which is why you need to ensure your salon is GDPR compliant.
That said, you don’t necessarily have to start from scratch.
If you were already taking steps to ensure your business was compliant with the DPA, then you’ve already done much of the hard work needed to ensure you’re compliant with GDPR. Still, that doesn’t mean you can afford to ignore GDPR altogether. There are still some differences, and it’s important to pay attention to them if you’re to keep the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) from showing up at your salon with a nasty fine.
Client Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an important part of the therapeutic relationship between a client and a therapist. Whilst carrying out a consultation it is important for you to stress that all personal information relating to the client will remain completely confidential, and that information will not disclosed to a third party without the client’s written consent.
You can help maintain client confidentiality by:
• Carrying out the consultation in private, or as privately as possible
• Ensuring that all consultation and treatment records are stored in a secure place and never left lying around
• Never discussing a client’s personal details or their treatment with another person