Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Madeleine Bongiorno on June 24, 2011 at 10:39pm

Hi Erica!

I think it is pretty common, and for me is also understandable, to have a non-compete clause in a contract when you are about to become an employee.  This is probably due to the fact that the owner is the one supplying the equipment, supplies, product, and is promoting the business.  Now, it is also done by some in contracts for their independent contractors/ room lessees.  In this case it does not seem fair since that esthetician is the one investing a lot of her own money into her business and is developing it.  I have found that it occurs with  salon or spa owners much more often than with massage clinics or wellness centers.  After meeting with many of both I am about to join a massage practice.  I have found that they have no desire to control my business nor do they see me as potential competition.  Feels so much better.

 

I hope that helps to hear my experience.  I too look forward to hearing others' opinions and insight.

Maddi

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Permalink Reply by Erica Suppa on June 25, 2011 at 9:42am

Hi Maddy,

 

Thanks for the response. I understand the concept of non-compete when it is specific to trade secrets or specialized services that a business provides that are more niche or exclusive. This particular contract; however, states the following:

"agrees not to engage in similar work as a competitor of the business within a radius of 12 miles of the business for a period of 3 years following expiration or termination of this agreement. Similar work includes any and all services performed while under contract with the business".

 

In essence, this contract states that I would not be able to perform any facials, waxing, etc. within a 12 mile radius of this business for 3 years after leaving. That is unacceptable to me because these services are not exclusive to this business and I am not to be trained by this business to perform these services.

 

That is my hang-up with this particular contract. I am trying to guage whether this is typical of most spas/salons.

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Permalink Reply by felicia medlock blair on June 29, 2011 at 8:47am

Do not ever in your entire career sign a non compete or no solicitation to get a job, no matter how desperate you may be for employment. They can be enforced legally. Also there are really sneaky things they can do to add in new pages you did not even know existed. Your insurance will not cover attorney's fee's for that, and you are looking at thousands just to defend yourself. 

If they are asking for this they are insecure, professionally jealous and will probably treat you like dirt.

Take care and good luck

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Erica Suppa on June 29, 2011 at 11:14am

Thank you Felicia!

 

I appreciate a response from someone with more industry experience.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Martha Sznoluch on July 13, 2011 at 8:10pm

Hi Erica,

 

I am an esty in VA, a right to work state and in my 13+ years of practicing I have only had one employment offer that contained a non-compete clause. The overall offer was fantastic and the advanced training that I so desired was dangling in front of me but I believe that if I had accepted it could have been career suicide.

 

I was gainfully employed at a wonderful and top rated day spa but at the time I was becoming restless and I really wanted to work in a medical setting and become certified in lasers and other modalities of skin care. I accepted the position after a wonderful interview and I took it. If I hadn't read every line of the 25+ page document/employee handbook, I might have missed the part, on the very last page, in one little paragraph that outlined my non-compete. The clause outlined that it was for a 5 mile radius from the location of the medical spa and it was valid for 1 year. AND my first 30 days were a trial 30 days. NO WAY.

 

Let me just say that I stayed right where I was. At the time I was a single mother and I lived only 2.5 miles from the medical spa and the current day spa that I worked for was just shy of 5 miles. If I had taken the position and my first 30 days had not worked out, I would have been up a creek. Even if I had been allowed to return to the day spa, legally I would be in breach of the non-compete and could have faced legal repercussions. The whole beauty of a right to work state is that you as an employee can quit without cause or notice and an employer can let an employee go without cause or notification. I don't believe that this is the right way to do business but I would have given up that right and I wouldn't have been able to find employment close to where I lived if things didn't work out.

 

The best advice I can give you is to follow your gut at all costs and to always read the fine print, every teeny tiny word of it. I hope that the right opportunity presents itself for you.

 

~Martha

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Permalink Reply by Crystal on September 9, 2011 at 9:45pm

NOOOOO!  Unfortunately, these contracts have become necessary in some salon owners' eyes to protect themselves from loss of revenue, i.e. CLIENTELE when an employee moves on.  The contract I signed once had to do with clients also.  They were "property" in a way of speaking of the salon and any personal info that was shared with the salon was not yours.  They will most likely sue in the case that you try to get away with it and it will hold up in court.  There is no reason any owner of a salon should think so highly of their business that they would believe that the client is not going to follow you if they have been coming to you loyally for some time.  We are the ones in the room using our hands on these clients and gaining their trust and recurrent business.  Any great esthetician can do that no matter whom they work for, how much the owner of the salon has invested in them or their equipment, ect.  The real power lies with our skill and connection with the client.  To try to stop an esthetician from moving on and doing their job at another location with the clients that they've worked hard to attract and maintain is awful.  It is a greedy move by  the people who make money off of you.

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Permalink Reply by Stevie Adamovsky on September 10, 2011 at 12:08pm

Thanks for this great advice ladies, must appreciated!

 

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Permalink Reply by Patience on September 15, 2011 at 11:37am

Do NOT sign this! A spa I worked for decided to change the pay scale so that everyone made less money, but had to work more hours. I decided to leave and open up a small practice in the same town. I took no clients that I had known from this spa. I had been doing $9,000 - $10,000 per month for the old spa getting paid 30%, then they lowered it to 28% (that's when I left). I though this would make the contract void, it didn't. They came after me full force and I nearly had to close my place down after the attorney bills and threats. Lucky for me the contract I had signed was as a massage therapist, I'm an esthetician. So nothing happened to me, but others that left were forced to either close down or leave a job they had taken in order not to be sued for thousands of dollars.

 

Its just not worth it. I could understand if we made $100,000 per year, but on the average esty salary, it is just wrong to force an employee to either quit her job and move or stay at a place where they feel taken advantage of and are unhappy because of a non-compete.

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Permalink Reply by James Mason on December 2, 2011 at 11:26pm

It's true that Non-Competes can be tough, but many states are beginning to clamp down and refuse to enforce them.  Any contract that's ridiculous can be vacated by a court.  The five mile, 1 year non-compete sounds reasonable, but a twelve-mile, 3-year Non-Compete would probably be vacated.

I signed one of these once, and when I left the company, I started doing the same job in the same City, despite the fact that I HAD agreed to not work anywhere within the Metropolitan area.  HOWEVER, I got an opinion from a lawyer, who said that it probably was unreasonable (seriously, was I supposed to move out of the area in order not to run afoul of the agreement?  Crazy).  Of course, they threatened to sue me, and talked about attorney's fees and the cost of litigation.  It irritated me to no end, so I sent back a snippy little letter to the plaintiff's attorney, in which I said, among other things, "If your client believes he has a case, let him bring it; otherwise, I do not expect to hear from you again."

I don't recommend this unless you are SURE of your standing, and I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't completely sure the attorney would take the case if it had advanced.  Long story short (really?), it never went anywhere.

Having said ALL of the above, I agree with posters who said, in essence, "trust your gut."  On the other hand, if it's reasonable, and you're sleeping with a lawyer, or plan to, I say sign the non-compete.  As long as you think you can last more than 30 days, I mean.

James.

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Permalink Reply by Siostra Rodzona on December 12, 2011 at 12:52pm

Great advise!  
Me, I'd never sign such papers, even with invisible ink!  

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Edwards on December 12, 2011 at 6:05pm

Most independent/self owner spas usually don't have them but if you work for a franchise spa business for example like Massage Envy & Spa they most like will have a non-compete contract stating that you can't open up your business within a 10 mile radius of them or leave with any of their clients....I'm actually trying to find out for myself if European Wax Center has this in their contract....hope this helped!

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Permalink Reply by Crickett Enos on January 3, 2012 at 10:54pm

Hi Erica,

I realize this is an old post, but where are you located?  I live in California and non-compete clauses do not hold up.  Even if you sign one it doesn't mean anything.  You cannot be stopped from earning a living.  Make sure they are valid in your state, if not it's a piece of paper.

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