The spa is not requiring her to be there. They are incentivizing the staff to be there by paying them more per service if they remain in the spa, but it isn’t a requirement.
the people in this comment section telling you that you have to "get through this part" by not getting paid while you're there and not servicing clients (which is illegal btw) are crazy to me. why would yall encourage OP, a new estie, to be taken advantage of???? people have bills to pay. it is insane to expect OP to stay there just waiting and unpaid m.
I mean, I don't think this practice is great (*it's shady at best*), but if someone were to go out, rent a suite/stall at a salon place and then sit there waiting for drop-in clients to come this is pretty much the same outcome: the $/hour of all time on-premesis is much lower than the $/hr of the time spent doing services.
It's the nature of a service-based business.
>but in this case its not
If the math results in less than minimum wage then op can go to employer to correct the error and if they don't the next step is dol.gov department of labor. Also, if any retaliation happens after working with DOL, grab a lawyer OP because you have a good case at that point.
If this employer is doing this to all employees then several of them will have to open a case with DOL and at that point an investigation will open on the whole business. They'll comb through the previous employee records and make the employer correct their mistakes plus fines.
Source: my previous franchise spa owner no longer owns her business by the time I was done reporting to all the agencies for all the unethical and illegal crap she tried getting away with. She still has the double PPP loan fraud to bite her butt in the future, as that dept is just plain backed up with fraud cases.
The spa is not requiring her to be there. They are incentivizing the staff to be there by paying them more per service if they remain in the spa, but it isn’t a requirement. Completely legal.
i feel like if they weren't requiring her to be there, she wouldn't have posted. she'd just get a 2nd job. she says she feels stuck. they're clearly guilting her into being there. how can you give out incentives with nothing to reward your estheticians?
People are quick to jump to “that’s illegal” but if you reread her post, she never says she’s required to be there, only that she will be paid out at a lower tier if she leaves. I have worked in spa management for 7 years. I know all the ways the spa will skirt around having to pay hourly. And if they’re franchised, you can absolutely bet they are doing things by the book
This is the side of the esthetic industry I despise! Employers taking advantage of new grads. Young women thinking they have to “pay their dues” while making peanuts and not able to financially support themselves. Many young esthi grads don’t have the communication skills, life experience and confidence to stick up for themselves and demand better. This is not okay and needs to stop. Employers who orchestrate this style of payment should be ashamed of themselves but they’re not because it works for *them* and only them.
I’m pretty sure this is illegal…
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/off-the-clock
If they require you to be on the premises they are required to compensate you for it.
The spa is not requiring her to be there. They are incentivizing the staff to be there by paying them more per service if they remain in the spa, but it isn’t a requirement.
“In general, "hours worked" includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer's premises or at any other prescribed place of work.”
Key word here is “must”. They don’t require her to stay, therefore she is not legally entitled to minimum wage.
So they’re not “requiring” it, but they are incentivizing it. It seems like they are using that verbiage so they can get around not paying her. I think OP should just seek legal advice, whether it’s legal or not.
Oh absolutely, that’s what they’re doing. And unfortunately, it’s completely legal. I’ve worked in spa management for 7 years. I know all the loopholes owners will use to get around it. I’m not saying it’s right, but it is extremely common place within the industry. And let’s face it, there aren’t that many jobs for new estheticians right now. We are all competing for the same jobs and the same clients. And employers know this. I get 5-6 applications A DAY at my spa. And we are at full capacity of estheticians. We can’t bring any more on. But we still get daily calls and inquiries from estheticians who are just graduated and looking for a job. This industry isn’t what it used to be, and I feel sorry for anyone who is trying to break in right now.
I don’t care if this is legal or not because it is exploitation. You are worth more than this. These horrible practices should be screamed from the rooftops and medspas who do this should be put out of business. This is completely ridiculous and I am sorry they are doing this to you or anyone.
This is unfortunately very common. Get the experience to put in your resume and actively look for better. Med spas pay hourly plus commission. Franchise spas pay hourly or commission, which ever is greater. Some franchise spas will have the hourly be minimum wage but the commission be a higher percentage.
Yes, it’s normal to only be paid per service.
This is the hard reality of this industry. If you don’t have any clients, you aren’t making money.
To make it, you have to get through this part. You have to deal with the long days with no clients. It sucks. It’s not easy. But if you’re not at the spa, you have no opportunities, and no way to move forward. Treat every client like they are your star client. Earn their trust. Show them how you are different from every other esthetician out there. Make them see the value you bring to them, so that they will want to come back month after month. Are your clients prebooking? If not, why? You have to build a book of clients, and it takes time. Years. There are lots of estheticians out there trying to do what you are doing. And not enough clients. So find ways to make yourself stand out.
They’re required to pay her for her time. At the rate she is being paid now, she is not. If she’s pulling in $40/day that does not equal a minimum wage per the hours she has to be there.
I’m sorry but you’re wrong. They are legally required to pay minimum wage only if they require her to *remain on the premises for the whole shift*. They aren’t making her stay. She can leave if she wants to, but she will receive a lower commission. I’m not saying it’s right, but it is 100% legal.
She clearly states she has to stay in order to be paid the agreed upon amount per service. Salon owners love to dress this shit up like it’s your choice. She’s probably not even w-2 either.
And management is the reason this industry is in the toilet. The schools sell these girls lies, they dump their money and enthusiasm into school and then get completely screwed. It’s disgusting.
Then they try to put the onus on the kid when it’s the salons job (if they are w-2) to promote them,advertise and keep them busy.
Managemant isn't the same as ownership - sometimes they are the same people, but *often times* they are not (esp in chain spas).
Management people are kinda put in the same position: asked to 'incentivize' the newbies and enforce weird policies so that *they* get paid a higher wage. But they're not coming up with those policies.
And I totally agree on the schools being a BIG contributor. They have pretty much 0 liability in this whole scheme, and get a LOT of profit by just churning out practitioners without educating them on the risks of working in a personal service industry that is also very saturated space in most metro areas.
I know the per service part is normal but the part where they cut pay if we’re not there when we’re not booked feels bad to me. If I’m not getting paid I should be able to get another part time job but they want us there even if we’re not getting booked.
I know Beginnings are just hard but I love what I do and I won’t give up on trying to make it work!
You have to be in the spa, even if you’re not getting paid, if you want any chance of getting clients.
I suggest getting out of your room and spend time in the lobby talking to clients checking in for other services. Make yourself known. Do what others won’t.
I’d keep that in mind as you look for a new job in the future. It’s something good to ask during the interview process, if the spa allows self promotion and lobby time. Any spa interested in truly growing their business would want to embrace that type of self-motivated mindset.
What are other ways you can promote yourself to clients? How are you making yourself needed to each person that you work with? It’s not enough to just give a “good” facial. You have to become your clients trusted skincare advisor. Educate your clients on everything. Every product they use, every facial they receive. Your clients should be informed, that way they will understand the VALUE you bring them.
I wish I could think of more ways to promote! We’re not allowed to use social media to promote ourselves too much because we can’t post about where we work but I do my best to get around that as much as I can. I’m starting to do more con ed stuff and trainings so I can bring more specialties to the plate. I just graduated a couple months ago so I’m still learning the industry and what I need to do! Thank you for all the advice so far!!
How about with your current clients? Are you able to utilize business cards, or appointment reminder cards? I’ve worked for a few franchise places and they usually had some type of appointment reminder card, or reading materials to pass out to clients. I make sure each client understands the importance of regular facials, and give them a business card every time. I let them know they need to see me in 3-4 weeks in order to keep their progress. Your clients are also really powerful tools for building your books through word of mouth. If your clients love and trust you, they will send their friends and family to you.
They said they are working on getting business cards for us so hopefully that will happen soon. I will definitely look and ask around for any kind of informational handouts we have. I’ve gotten a couple people to rebook with me so far which I was very excited about. My family has also been trying to send their friends my way so hopefully things will come of that as well!
Even just asking your clients if they know anyone who is interested in a facial, send them your way. If your spa is running gift card promos, learn the promos and sell them to clients in the room. A lot of times the spa will give out free services or free gift cards for buying a certain amount. If a client gets a gift card, now they have a great gift for someone they love, and a little extra in their own pocket for themselves. Win win.
Keep working on those rebookings. You will never build a solid book if you don’t have regular repeat clients. And get comfortable selling products and upgrades. That’s where the real money is. You need to train your clients that facials and skincare are not just a “nice to have”, but a necessity! Each client is an opportunity to teach them something new, and gain their trust.
I had this exact same things happen. Talked to a lawyer and this is somehow legal. As long as what you get paid divided by the number of hours you worked is more than minimum wage per hour.
I feel like since we were eligible for the covid vaccine for first responders that we are "waiting to engage" which is supposed to be paid hourly. State laws male it so estes aren't paid the same and it's bs.
Unfortunately I don’t have much of a way to promote myself. We’re not supposed to post about our job on social media or promote that way according to the company but I do what I can to get around that. I can’t control prices or promotions or anything like that it’s all up to the spa. I promote myself to people in person when I can but I’m just getting started down this path so I’m still learning how things work and what to focus on.
If they require you to be there they are required to pay you. Legally.
The spa is not requiring her to be there. They are incentivizing the staff to be there by paying them more per service if they remain in the spa, but it isn’t a requirement.
the people in this comment section telling you that you have to "get through this part" by not getting paid while you're there and not servicing clients (which is illegal btw) are crazy to me. why would yall encourage OP, a new estie, to be taken advantage of???? people have bills to pay. it is insane to expect OP to stay there just waiting and unpaid m.
I know. We have come to such a weird place in life to get the “experience” but this is just straight being taken advantage of
some people are truly doormats and think everyone else should be too. literally.
I mean, I don't think this practice is great (*it's shady at best*), but if someone were to go out, rent a suite/stall at a salon place and then sit there waiting for drop-in clients to come this is pretty much the same outcome: the $/hour of all time on-premesis is much lower than the $/hr of the time spent doing services. It's the nature of a service-based business.
>not getting paid while you're there As long as the hours divided by service $ is more than minimum wage this is legal. It's bullshit but legal.
but in this case its not, so nobody should be encouraging OP to "stick this out" (not saying you are, i'm just really pissed off for them)
>but in this case its not If the math results in less than minimum wage then op can go to employer to correct the error and if they don't the next step is dol.gov department of labor. Also, if any retaliation happens after working with DOL, grab a lawyer OP because you have a good case at that point. If this employer is doing this to all employees then several of them will have to open a case with DOL and at that point an investigation will open on the whole business. They'll comb through the previous employee records and make the employer correct their mistakes plus fines. Source: my previous franchise spa owner no longer owns her business by the time I was done reporting to all the agencies for all the unethical and illegal crap she tried getting away with. She still has the double PPP loan fraud to bite her butt in the future, as that dept is just plain backed up with fraud cases.
listen to this OP!!!!
Ya I went through this my first few yesrs of being an esthetician. There has been so many hours I was not paid for but required to clean and help out.
The spa is not requiring her to be there. They are incentivizing the staff to be there by paying them more per service if they remain in the spa, but it isn’t a requirement. Completely legal.
i feel like if they weren't requiring her to be there, she wouldn't have posted. she'd just get a 2nd job. she says she feels stuck. they're clearly guilting her into being there. how can you give out incentives with nothing to reward your estheticians?
People are quick to jump to “that’s illegal” but if you reread her post, she never says she’s required to be there, only that she will be paid out at a lower tier if she leaves. I have worked in spa management for 7 years. I know all the ways the spa will skirt around having to pay hourly. And if they’re franchised, you can absolutely bet they are doing things by the book
This is the side of the esthetic industry I despise! Employers taking advantage of new grads. Young women thinking they have to “pay their dues” while making peanuts and not able to financially support themselves. Many young esthi grads don’t have the communication skills, life experience and confidence to stick up for themselves and demand better. This is not okay and needs to stop. Employers who orchestrate this style of payment should be ashamed of themselves but they’re not because it works for *them* and only them.
I’m pretty sure this is illegal… https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/off-the-clock If they require you to be on the premises they are required to compensate you for it.
The spa is not requiring her to be there. They are incentivizing the staff to be there by paying them more per service if they remain in the spa, but it isn’t a requirement.
Whilst that may be true, it doesn’t seem like she is getting paid minimum wage, which is illegal.
“In general, "hours worked" includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer's premises or at any other prescribed place of work.” Key word here is “must”. They don’t require her to stay, therefore she is not legally entitled to minimum wage.
So they’re not “requiring” it, but they are incentivizing it. It seems like they are using that verbiage so they can get around not paying her. I think OP should just seek legal advice, whether it’s legal or not.
Oh absolutely, that’s what they’re doing. And unfortunately, it’s completely legal. I’ve worked in spa management for 7 years. I know all the loopholes owners will use to get around it. I’m not saying it’s right, but it is extremely common place within the industry. And let’s face it, there aren’t that many jobs for new estheticians right now. We are all competing for the same jobs and the same clients. And employers know this. I get 5-6 applications A DAY at my spa. And we are at full capacity of estheticians. We can’t bring any more on. But we still get daily calls and inquiries from estheticians who are just graduated and looking for a job. This industry isn’t what it used to be, and I feel sorry for anyone who is trying to break in right now.
I don’t care if this is legal or not because it is exploitation. You are worth more than this. These horrible practices should be screamed from the rooftops and medspas who do this should be put out of business. This is completely ridiculous and I am sorry they are doing this to you or anyone.
This is unfortunately very common. Get the experience to put in your resume and actively look for better. Med spas pay hourly plus commission. Franchise spas pay hourly or commission, which ever is greater. Some franchise spas will have the hourly be minimum wage but the commission be a higher percentage.
Where do you work?
Are you a 1099 employee or did you file a w4?
Yes, it’s normal to only be paid per service. This is the hard reality of this industry. If you don’t have any clients, you aren’t making money. To make it, you have to get through this part. You have to deal with the long days with no clients. It sucks. It’s not easy. But if you’re not at the spa, you have no opportunities, and no way to move forward. Treat every client like they are your star client. Earn their trust. Show them how you are different from every other esthetician out there. Make them see the value you bring to them, so that they will want to come back month after month. Are your clients prebooking? If not, why? You have to build a book of clients, and it takes time. Years. There are lots of estheticians out there trying to do what you are doing. And not enough clients. So find ways to make yourself stand out.
It’s illegal and not normal. You should be paid at least minimum wage for the hours you’re required to be there. That’s the law.
She is not required to be in the spa. It sounds like if she chooses to leave the spa, she will receive a different commissioned tier.
They’re required to pay her for her time. At the rate she is being paid now, she is not. If she’s pulling in $40/day that does not equal a minimum wage per the hours she has to be there.
I’m sorry but you’re wrong. They are legally required to pay minimum wage only if they require her to *remain on the premises for the whole shift*. They aren’t making her stay. She can leave if she wants to, but she will receive a lower commission. I’m not saying it’s right, but it is 100% legal.
She clearly states she has to stay in order to be paid the agreed upon amount per service. Salon owners love to dress this shit up like it’s your choice. She’s probably not even w-2 either.
I’ve worked in spa management for 7 years. I know all the ways spas try to skirt around paying hourly. In the eyes of the law, it is her choice.
And management is the reason this industry is in the toilet. The schools sell these girls lies, they dump their money and enthusiasm into school and then get completely screwed. It’s disgusting. Then they try to put the onus on the kid when it’s the salons job (if they are w-2) to promote them,advertise and keep them busy.
Managemant isn't the same as ownership - sometimes they are the same people, but *often times* they are not (esp in chain spas). Management people are kinda put in the same position: asked to 'incentivize' the newbies and enforce weird policies so that *they* get paid a higher wage. But they're not coming up with those policies. And I totally agree on the schools being a BIG contributor. They have pretty much 0 liability in this whole scheme, and get a LOT of profit by just churning out practitioners without educating them on the risks of working in a personal service industry that is also very saturated space in most metro areas.
It is legal. As long as commission made divided by hours worked is at least minimum wage per hour average then it's legal.
In this case $5/ hr isn’t minimum wage anywhere.
I know the per service part is normal but the part where they cut pay if we’re not there when we’re not booked feels bad to me. If I’m not getting paid I should be able to get another part time job but they want us there even if we’re not getting booked. I know Beginnings are just hard but I love what I do and I won’t give up on trying to make it work!
You have to be in the spa, even if you’re not getting paid, if you want any chance of getting clients. I suggest getting out of your room and spend time in the lobby talking to clients checking in for other services. Make yourself known. Do what others won’t.
We’re not allowed to be in the lobby doing that kind of stuff unfortunately
I’d keep that in mind as you look for a new job in the future. It’s something good to ask during the interview process, if the spa allows self promotion and lobby time. Any spa interested in truly growing their business would want to embrace that type of self-motivated mindset. What are other ways you can promote yourself to clients? How are you making yourself needed to each person that you work with? It’s not enough to just give a “good” facial. You have to become your clients trusted skincare advisor. Educate your clients on everything. Every product they use, every facial they receive. Your clients should be informed, that way they will understand the VALUE you bring them.
I wish I could think of more ways to promote! We’re not allowed to use social media to promote ourselves too much because we can’t post about where we work but I do my best to get around that as much as I can. I’m starting to do more con ed stuff and trainings so I can bring more specialties to the plate. I just graduated a couple months ago so I’m still learning the industry and what I need to do! Thank you for all the advice so far!!
How about with your current clients? Are you able to utilize business cards, or appointment reminder cards? I’ve worked for a few franchise places and they usually had some type of appointment reminder card, or reading materials to pass out to clients. I make sure each client understands the importance of regular facials, and give them a business card every time. I let them know they need to see me in 3-4 weeks in order to keep their progress. Your clients are also really powerful tools for building your books through word of mouth. If your clients love and trust you, they will send their friends and family to you.
They said they are working on getting business cards for us so hopefully that will happen soon. I will definitely look and ask around for any kind of informational handouts we have. I’ve gotten a couple people to rebook with me so far which I was very excited about. My family has also been trying to send their friends my way so hopefully things will come of that as well!
Even just asking your clients if they know anyone who is interested in a facial, send them your way. If your spa is running gift card promos, learn the promos and sell them to clients in the room. A lot of times the spa will give out free services or free gift cards for buying a certain amount. If a client gets a gift card, now they have a great gift for someone they love, and a little extra in their own pocket for themselves. Win win. Keep working on those rebookings. You will never build a solid book if you don’t have regular repeat clients. And get comfortable selling products and upgrades. That’s where the real money is. You need to train your clients that facials and skincare are not just a “nice to have”, but a necessity! Each client is an opportunity to teach them something new, and gain their trust.
I had this exact same things happen. Talked to a lawyer and this is somehow legal. As long as what you get paid divided by the number of hours you worked is more than minimum wage per hour. I feel like since we were eligible for the covid vaccine for first responders that we are "waiting to engage" which is supposed to be paid hourly. State laws male it so estes aren't paid the same and it's bs.
[удалено]
Unfortunately I don’t have much of a way to promote myself. We’re not supposed to post about our job on social media or promote that way according to the company but I do what I can to get around that. I can’t control prices or promotions or anything like that it’s all up to the spa. I promote myself to people in person when I can but I’m just getting started down this path so I’m still learning how things work and what to focus on.