HJ DEBATE

“Should Stylists Take Clients With Them When They Leave? „

BARRIE STEPHEN, FOUNDER BARRIE STEPHEN HAIR

“It’s important that team members understand that if you’re employed by a salon, then you are just that, employed. The clients you work with are clients of the business, they don’t belong to any one stylist. I know that stylists move on. People grow, ambitions shift, and opportunities arise. But how you leave says a lot about who you are and in this industry, reputation is everything. While you’re employed, you’re exchanging your talent and services for a salary. In that agreement, the business provides the clients, the tools, the time, and the platform. That also means the content created during that time belong to the business. It’s not okay to take that content and reuse it for self-promotion elsewhere. Equally, when someone leaves, it’s not acceptable to poach or solicit clients. Touting for business from your previous employer’s client base isn’t just bad form it can breach your contract. This is someone’s livelihood, often one they’ve spent decades building. Respect that. I’ve had to enforce restrictive covenants before, and I will again if needed. But more often than not, it never comes to that because we build a culture of respect. We talk openly about what’s expected. We explain why boundaries matter and when people understand that, they usually do the right thing. I always say: leave professionally, leave with elegance, and the door stays open. That’s how we maintain good relationships and a positive industry reputation. Everyone wins when we act with integrity.”

DANIEL GRANGER, FOUNDER DANIEL GRANGER HAIRDRESSING

“It depends. Realistically, they will go after their own clients anyway, so I believe in doing the right thing. If someone leaves on bad terms, then it usually means something wasn’t working, either for me or for them and in that case, I won’t support them taking clients. But if it’s a natural time for them to move on to new pastures, I’d absolutely gift them the ability to take their clients with them, no judgment. I’d probably support them and help where I can. Ultimately, I’m here to look after the client as well. If a client wants to stay with my salon because they value what we offer, then they’ll stay. We’re transparent, we usually send out an email saying, “Stylist A has now left the company and this is where they’re going.” I always think about the stylist who’s starting out, trying to build something, a business within a business. When people join me, I tell them: “These are your clients. They’ll follow you, just as mine follow me. It’s your purpose within this business to build your own mini-empire. Grow it each day and take care of it as if it were your own. One day, when you move on, you’ll want to take those people with you. That’s your fan base.” While they’re here, we work together. And when the time comes to part ways, we aim for a respectful, communicative handover. Clients come first, we’ll always ask them who they’d like to see. If they want to stay, we’ll recommend another stylist in the salon. If they want to follow their stylist, we’ll tell them where they’ve gone.”

SAMANTHA CUSICK, FOUNDER OF SAMANTHA CUSICK LONDON AND STĀ STUDIOS

“This is one of those questions that gets people really fired up. But when I think about it from a first principles perspective, my answer is simple: if your main worry is clients leaving with a stylist, then the deeper issue might be that your team is leaving in the first place. In the first eight years of running my salons, the biggest challenge wasn’t clients walking, it was team turnover. Longevity is what builds a strong salon brand. If you focus on creating an environment where your team feels valued, supported and seen, then retention takes care of a lot of your other business worries. If your stylists are happy, they’re more likely to stay, and when they stay, so do the clients. That said, people grow and change. Stylists evolve, and sometimes they need a different environment to thrive. That’s a reality, and I don’t think the answer is to hold on tighter. I think the answer is to build a business model that’s flexible enough to grow with your people. That’s one of the reasons I opened Sta Studios, a space that supports freelance stylists. So even if someone chooses to go freelance, they don’t have to leave the business entirely. They can evolve within the structure instead of outside of it. It’s a more forward-thinking way to support talent and keep relationships intact, for both stylist and salon. So, should stylists be allowed to take their clients? I think the better question is: what can we build that helps stylists to stay? Because that’s where the magic really happens.”