Updated 2026-07-11 · 3 min read
Who this is for. This describes the Spanish Labour Inspectorate and applies to salons in Spain, including the many run by owners who don't read Spanish. If your salon is elsewhere, this does not apply to you: your country has its own inspection body and its own paperwork.
The doorbell rings and it isn't a client: it's a labour inspector with her credentials. It isn't a scary scene if your salon is in order — it's half an hour of showing paperwork. The problem is that «in order» has a specific definition, and plenty of owners discover it during the visit, which is the worst possible moment. Here's the full definition, in advance.
How an inspection arrives (the three doors)
A complaint is the most frequent route: a current or former employee (often after a badly handled dismissal), and sometimes a competitor. It's confidential: you'll never know who it was. Sector campaigns: sweeps are periodically planned across sectors with high turnover or informal work — hairdressing and beauty come up regularly. Data cross-checking: algorithms match your turnover, utility usage and declared staff; if a salon with six chairs declares one employee on 20 hours, the system raises an eyebrow on its own.
What they check, in order of frequency
- 1. Who is working right now: the first check is visual — they count people with scissors in their hands and cross-check them against Social Security registrations. «The cousin who's helping today» is the most expensive and most common penalty in the trade.
- 2. The time record: compulsory since 2019 for every employee, for the last 4 years, reliable. A spreadsheet reconstructed the night before is detectable and counts as not having one.
- 3. Contracts and payslips: that the contracted hours match the recorded hours and reality (the 20-hour contract with 38 hours recorded is the sector's classic).
- 4. Risk prevention: a prevention plan (the chemicals in colour work are no joke), a risk assessment, training and health surveillance — the forgotten subject of small salons; an external prevention service sorts it for very little a month.
- 5. Visible information: the working calendar and opening hours.
The peace-of-mind checklist (go through it this month)
- Everybody who works there (including the one who «just helps out on Saturdays») registered and on a contract.
- A digital time record, daily, that each employee fills in herself, tamper-proof and exportable in minutes.
- Contracted hours = recorded hours = real hours. All three numbers the same.
- Payslips up to date and handed over.
- A risk prevention plan contracted and the training done.
- A folder (physical or digital) with all of the above, findable in 10 minutes.
If the visit comes: the calm protocol
Ask for the credentials (it's your right and they expect it), carry on normally without shutting the salon down, answer what you're asked without going off on tangents (spontaneous over-explaining is the classic source of problems), and if they ask for documents that aren't on the premises, request time to provide them — that's usually granted. If you disagree with the report, there's a formal stage for submitting objections: that's where you want your accountant or an employment solicitor, not a war at the front desk.
An inspection isn't a lottery that lands on you: it's an exam with the syllabus published. And you've just read it. A weekend of getting up to date costs less than the cheapest penalty — and you'll sleep better.