Hairdressing apprentices

Learn more about the rights and responsibilities for employers and hairdressing apprentices.

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Pay rates

Most apprentices in hairdressing are covered by the Hair and Beauty Award.

Under this award, pay rates for apprentices start at $13.58 for juniors and $25.65 for adults. They apply to an apprentice who:

  • hasn’t completed year 12 at high school
  • started their apprenticeship after 1 January 2014.

These rates apply from 1 July 2024 and can vary depending on:

  • when the apprentice started
  • if the apprentice finished year 12
  • if the apprentice has completed a pre-apprenticeship
  • if the apprentice was an adult or junior when they started the apprenticeship, an adult being someone who is 21 years or over.

Use our pay tools and guides

Download the Hair and Beauty Pay Guide for a summary of pay rates.

To calculate pay rates, penalties and allowances, use our Pay and Conditions Tool.

Weekends, public holidays and overtime

Apprentices also get higher pay rates for hours worked on weekends, public holidays or overtime. For example, a hairdressing apprentice working on Saturday would be entitled to an extra 33% of their pay.

For apprentice pay rates, use our Pay and Conditions Tool or download the Hair and Beauty Award Pay Guide.

Pay slips

Pay slips need to be given to all employees within one working day of pay day – even if the employee is on leave.

Pay slips can be given either electronically (for example, via email) or in hard copy.

Certain information needs to be put on a pay slip. This includes the pay period, the amount (both gross and net) and any penalty rates that apply.

For more information:

Hours of work and breaks

A full-time employee gets the following number of breaks, depending on the hours they actually work (not their rostered hours).

Number of hours workedRest breaksMeal breaks
Less than 5 hours00
5 or more hours21

Understand breaks

A rest break is a 10 minute paid break that counts as time worked.

A meal break is a 45 to 60 minute unpaid break that doesn't count as time worked. An employer and employee can agree to a 30 minute unpaid meal break.

Check all the rules for breaks on our Breaks page. Select 'hair and beauty' for the industry to get tailored information.

Record My Hours app

Our free Record My Hours app makes it quick and easy for employees to record the hours they work.

Employees can use the app to:

  • record their hours of work and rosters
  • take and add photos of information that belongs to the employee, like their own pay slips
  • back-up information collected to iCloud or Dropbox and recover it easily.

Find out more at Record My Hours app.

Leave

All apprentices are entitled to leave.

Learn about the types of leave available and the rules that apply:

Use our Pay and Conditions Tool to calculate annual leave and sick and carer's leave balances.

For downloadable leave application templates and leave record templates, visit our Templates page.

Ending employment and notice

When starting an apprenticeship, the employer and apprentice should talk about whether the apprentice will stay on at the salon when the apprenticeship is completed. It’s important to discuss this early on because it could determine whether an apprentice gets notice of termination.

A notice period is the length of time that an employee or employer has to give to end employment.

An apprentice will have to give or get notice of termination when they’re quitting or if they’re fired unless they're:

If an apprentice is only going to be employed for the time of their apprenticeship, they won't get notice of termination when it ends.

Check the employment contract

It can help to look at an employee's employment contract to see if they've been employed for a set period of time or task.

Use our Notice and Redundancy Calculator to check notice periods. To access more information on ending employment, see:

There may be other requirements to formally end a training contract. An employee and employer should check with the Registered Training Organisation and the state or territory training authority for more information.

Unpaid work

Apprentices have to be paid for all the time they've worked. This includes:

  • time worked at the salon
  • opening and closing the salon
  • compulsory out-of-hours activities (for example, on-site training or meetings)
  • off-the-job training related to the training contract (for example, at a Registered Training Organisation).

School-based apprentices get paid differently for time spent in training. Find out more on our Apprentices page.

In the hair and beauty industry, unpaid work arrangements typically include:

  • work trials - testing a person's job skills
  • work experience - giving a person experience in a job or industry as part of a vocational placement.

There are rules about when unpaid work is allowed and when someone should be getting paid.

To find out more about unpaid work in the hairdressing industry, access our Unpaid work - hair and beauty industry fact sheet.

Other apprentice entitlements

Visit our Apprentices page and select ‘hair and beauty’ from the industry list to find out about other entitlements including:

  • pay increases during an apprenticeship
  • payment for overtime and shiftwork
  • reimbursements for training costs such as fees and textbooks
  • payments for certain travel costs to and from training.

Tools and resources

Related information