Luxembourg's Occupational Health Department of the Ministry of Health, the Accident Insurance Association and the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines have joined forces with the Multi-Sector Occupational Health Service and the Chamber of Trades to implement a sectoral awareness campaign in hairdressing.

This long-term initiative differs from the information campaigns on coronavirus health measures already organised in May 2020 for companies providing "personal care".

According to the authorities, craft businesses have a real desire to put preventive measures in place. Some are successful in the exercise, but others may feel helpless in the face of the magnitude of the task. As such, the key players in occupational health and safety have come together to carry out a series of sectoral initiatives based on raising awareness and providing advice, starting with hairdressing as the pilot project. 

The initiative was coordinated by the Multi-Sector Occupational Health Service and the Chamber of Trades in close cooperation with the Hair Beauty and Tattoo Guild Confederation and Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), with the financial support of the aforementioned institutions.

The objective of the hairdressing sector awareness campaign is to present the risks in terms of health and safety in hairdressing and, above all, the systematic means of prevention in order to avoid, if not limit, any exposure to the related risks of the hairdressing profession for the business owner, employees and customers. In hairdressing, the risks can be physical, chemical, biological or environmental and can relate to posture, body language, handling and the psychosocial environment.

During two information sessions on the subject of safety and health in hairdressing, business leaders will learn of potential sources of risk and of individual or collective means of prevention.

A guide for employers ("employeurs – coiffure") has been drawn up and presents an inventory of the risks associated with the hairdressing profession as well as information and recommendations on the measures to be taken to prevent them. This will be sent out to companies together with several practical mini-posters intended for employees which employers can display in their lounges.

The relevant authorities recommended that Luxembourg's 500 business owners in this sector inform their 2,300 employees about the risks present in their activity and motivate them to act for prevention. A mini-brochure for employees ("salariés – coiffure") has been drawn up summarising the risks and the actions to be taken to eliminate or limit these risks.

Given the current health crisis, customers are particularly aware of the subject of health and risks. This hairdressing information and awareness campaign is therefore accompanied by a poster for the general public entitled “Hairdressers & Customers: Safety and health - a priority for all!” ("Coiffeurs & Clients: La sécurité et la santé - une priorité pour tous!") - a poster which could be displayed in the window of hairdressers in the coming months.

Tom Oberweis, President of the Chamber of Trades, stressed: “It is important that employers see the preventive measures as strategic measures, likely to strengthen the well-being of the employees and the brand image of the company. Designated workers, who constitute important reference persons especially in small businesses such as hairdressing salons, will be able to boost and perpetuate the safety and health approach to employees and teams".

Luxembourg's Minister of Health, Paulette Lenert, added that “whilst questions relating to the responsibility of the entrepreneur are at the centre of all the discussions around the arrangement of a sustainable strategy of health and safety at work, we must not forget that each employee must also take responsibility by taking care, according to his possibilities, of his / her health and safety as well as that of other persons concerned as a result of his / her acts or omissions at work, in accordance with his training and the instructions of his employer. I can only appeal to all involved: make occupational health and safety one of your priorities!”.

The Chamber of Trades and the Multi-Sector Occupational Health Service together with their institutional partners also intend to set up a strategic action plan ("sécurité et santé au travail") for the benefit of the craft industry next year, which will cover issues such as building cleaning and aesthetics. The Health Ministry will support this initiative in line with the VISION ZERO strategy.

The documents (in French and German) produced as part of the hairdressing campaign can now be downloaded from www.stm.lu.