Government to test nail salon licensing scheme in Manchester

The Government’s Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has announced plans to carry out a scoping exercise, likely to be in Greater Manchester, to measure the scale and threat of modern slavery in nail salons, and to determine whether a licensing scheme would help stop the problem.

The recommendation to tackle modern slavery in this way came from the Labour Market Strategy report in May 2018, as a result of the impact nonstandard salons are having on the wider beauty industry.

The Government has also accepted other measures to crack down on employers who exploit and underpay workers, including a “naming and shaming” scheme whereby the names of employers will be published along with average arrears per worker.

As of April 2019, legislation will also require all employers to provide payslips for each member of staff, with total hours worked and hourly rate of pay stated. See page 145 for more on the proposed changes to employment law.