A new bill to make serving drinks at hair salons legal has surprised the industry, with many unaware they were in breach of the law.
East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick said a 2008 regulation made serving things such as tea, coffee, or alcohol athair salons illegal, which the new bill sought to change.
“We just think people should be able to relax a bit, have a glass of bubbles while they get their hair transformed and basically have a good time,” she said.
Hair salon owner Grant Bettjeman told Checkpoint he thought the industry as a whole was “blissfully oblivious” that the practice of serving drinks was illegal.
No health inspector had ever raised any concerns, he said.
A 2008 regulation made it illegal to serve drinks at hair salons. Photo / 123rf
“We have health department checks and we’re very strict about health and hygiene and our sort of industry ... but they’ve never, in my memory, ever said that we couldn’t serve a hot drink in the salon.”
Clients would be “very disappointed ” if they were no longer able to be served refreshments at the salon, Bettjeman said.
“Not to be able to have a coffee or a tea while you read the latest magazine while your hair is processing just seems unbelievable really.
“I don’t think they’d like it one iota, and I think we’d see it as a huge drop in service.”
