Free Salon Employee Handbook Template

1.Welcome

Welcome to {{Salon Name}}. Clients choose us for the way they look and feel when they leave, and they come back because of how we treat them in the chair. This handbook explains how we work together and the rules we all follow — on licenses, sanitation, conduct, pay, and time off. {{Add a line or two about your salon and the services you are known for.}} It is not a contract and does not cover every situation; when you are unsure, ask {{the salon manager / owner}}.

Open with a short, genuine welcome and one or two lines on your mission and values. This sets the tone before the policies begin.

2.Employment Basics

• Equal opportunity: {{Company Name}} is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any characteristic protected by applicable law.
• Employment relationship: {{Describe your employment relationship — e.g., employment is at-will where permitted by law, meaning either party may end it at any time, with or without cause}}.
• Employee classifications: {{Define full-time, part-time, temporary, and exempt vs non-exempt as you use them}}.
• Probationary / introductory period: {{Length and what it means, if you use one}}.

At-will employment is not valid everywhere — outside the US, and in some agreements, different rules apply. Confirm the correct wording for every location you employ people with your attorney.

3.Code of Conduct

• Treat every client and co-worker with respect and professionalism; we do not tolerate harassment, bullying, or discrimination of any kind, including conduct based on any characteristic protected by applicable law. Report concerns to {{the salon manager / owner}}, and we {{do not tolerate retaliation}} for a good-faith report.
• Perform only the services your {{cosmetology, barbering, nail, or esthetics}} license covers in {{your state}}, and only services you have been trained and approved to do at the salon.
• Recommend services and products honestly; do not pressure a client into a service or product they do not need.
• Keep a professional appearance that reflects the salon’s style: {{describe your dress code and whether staff wear the salon’s products or colors}}.
• Client relationships belong to the salon’s book while you work here; {{state your policy on taking client contact details, soliciting clients, and what happens to the book if you leave, consistent with the law where you work}}.
• Phones stay out of sight while you are with a client; use them on breaks or between clients for booking.

Cover professional behaviour, anti-harassment and anti-discrimination, attendance, dress, and conflicts of interest. Say how to report a concern and state a clear no-retaliation commitment.

4.Working Hours, Pay & Timekeeping

• Record all time worked accurately using {{the salon software / time clock}}, including opening and closing duties, cleaning, education days, and time waiting for a client when you are required to be in the salon. Off-the-clock work is never allowed.
• Pay: {{describe hourly pay, commission on services, retail commission, and how they combine — for example “the greater of hourly pay or commission”}}. Total pay always meets at least minimum wage for all hours worked, and non-exempt staff earn overtime as required by {{the law where you work}}.
• Tips belong to the employee who earned them. {{Describe how card tips are paid out, any tip-sharing with assistants that the law where you work allows, and how card processing fees on tips are handled, if at all.}} Report all tips for payroll and tax.
• We pay {{every two weeks}} on {{payday}} by {{direct deposit}}, with commission for {{the pay period / the prior period}}.
• Take the meal and rest breaks {{required where you work}}; block them in the book so they are not booked over.
• If your pay, commission, or tips look wrong, tell {{the manager}} that pay period so we can correct it.

State the standard schedule, pay periods, how overtime is handled for non-exempt staff, and how time is recorded. Wage-and-hour rules are heavily regulated — match them to your jurisdiction.

5.Time Off & Leave

• Paid time off: {{describe PTO, how it accrues, and how far ahead to request it so your clients can be rebooked}}.
• Sick leave: {{describe paid or unpaid sick time; many states and cities require paid sick leave}}. Call {{the front desk}} as early as possible so your clients can be moved.
• Holidays and closures: {{list the days the salon is closed and whether they are paid}}.
• Legally required leave — family, medical, jury duty, military, voting — {{describe what applies to a salon your size; some laws cover only larger employers}}.
• Report an on-the-job injury — including a cut, a burn, or a chemical reaction — immediately; workers’ compensation is handled per {{your state’s law}}.

List paid time off, holidays, sick leave, and any legally required leave (such as family, medical, or jury duty). Required leave varies widely by location — verify each entitlement before you publish.

6.Benefits Overview

This section summarizes the benefits {{Company Name}} offers, including {{health insurance, retirement plan, and any others}}. Official plan documents govern in all cases; where this summary and a plan document differ, the plan document controls. {{Describe eligibility and enrolment.}}

Keep benefits descriptions short and point to the official plan documents for detail. Never let the handbook contradict an insurance or retirement plan document.

7.Workplace Health & Safety

• Follow {{your state board’s}} sanitation and disinfection rules for every client: clean and disinfect tools and surfaces with {{the disinfectant and contact time your board requires}}, discard single-use items after one use, and store clean tools separately from used ones.
• Read the safety data sheet before using a product for the first time. Chemical products have safety data sheets in {{location}}, and you will be trained on the hazardous chemicals you use — color, lighteners, relaxers, acrylic and gel products, and smoothing treatments.
• Use gloves, ventilation, and the application methods the manufacturer specifies; never mix products outside their instructions, and report any skin reaction or breathing problem to {{the manager}}.
• Do a patch or allergy test when {{the product instructions or our policy}} call for one, and record it on the client’s card.
• Keep your station and the shampoo area dry and free of trip hazards, unplug hot tools when not in use, and report damaged cords or equipment immediately.
• If a client is cut, stop, wear gloves, clean the wound, and follow {{your board’s blood-exposure procedure}} for tools and surfaces.

Cover how to report injuries and hazards, emergency procedures, and any safety rules specific to your workplace. Reference the safety regulations that apply to your industry by name.

8.Licensing, Certification & Training

• Hold a current {{state}} license for the services you perform, and display it {{at your station / at the front desk}} as your state board requires. Give {{the manager}} a copy at hire and after each renewal.
• Complete the continuing education your state board requires for renewal, and tell {{the manager}} at least {{30 days}} before your license expires; you may not perform licensed services while your license has lapsed.
• Assistants, apprentices, and students work only within {{your state’s apprenticeship or student rules}} and under the supervision those rules require.
• {{Describe salon education — product-company classes, advanced color or cutting training — who pays for it, whether the time is paid, and any repayment agreement, which is restricted in some states.}}

List the licences and certifications the job actually requires, who pays for them, and who is responsible for keeping them current. Say what happens if one lapses — that is the question this section gets asked.

9.Technology & Acceptable Use

• Use {{the booking software}} for appointments, client cards, and payments under your own login; never share it.
• Protect client information — phone numbers, allergy notes, and payment details — and do not export or copy the client list.
• Before-and-after photos may be posted on the salon’s channels only with the client’s consent; {{describe whether stylists may post salon work on personal accounts and how to tag the salon}}.
• {{Describe any cameras in the salon, what they record, and who can view them.}}
• Report a lost or stolen salon tablet or card reader immediately.

Set expectations for company devices, accounts, email, and data. Be clear about what is monitored and what is private, and reference your data-protection obligations.

10.Confidentiality & Company Property

Employees are expected to protect {{Company Name}} confidential information, customer data, and intellectual property during and after employment, and to return all company property on departure. {{Reference your confidentiality or IP agreement where one applies.}}

Tie this to any separate confidentiality, IP-assignment, or data-protection agreement employees sign, rather than restating it all here.

11.Discipline & Leaving the Company

This section describes how {{Company Name}} addresses performance and conduct issues and what happens when employment ends — including notice expectations, final pay handled per applicable law, return of property, and any exit steps. {{Describe your progressive-discipline approach, if you use one, and keep it consistent with the at-will language above.}}

If you describe a progressive-discipline process, add that the company may depart from it at its discretion — otherwise it can be read as a promise that undercuts at-will employment.

12.Acknowledgement of Receipt

I acknowledge that I have received and read the {{Company Name}} Employee Handbook. I understand it summarizes current policies and is not a contract of employment, that employment is {{at-will, where permitted by law}}, and that {{Company Name}} may update these policies at any time. I agree to follow the policies it describes.

Have every employee sign and date this page, and keep the signed copy on file. It is your record that the handbook was received and understood.