Massage Therapist Wages???

[NJKay]

Just been offered a job as Swedish Massage / Hot Stones and Reiki Therapist in Gloucestershire and they have offered £6.25 per hour - is this the going rate does anyone know?!! Seems a bit stingy as I was on £10 per hr in London..... Help

 

[Playah]

depends on who you want to work for. Remember London rates are generally higher.
I would go and work in a supermarket for more ph than work for minimum wage / £6.25.

Have you thought about going self-employed?

 

[pregnant...]

That does sound stingy, but I don't have any experience as to how it compares with other employed therapists. I've always been home based, self-employed in this field so consider the whole therapy charge as being my wage!!
OK, I do have to consider overheads, pension contributions, tax etc etc, but I forget about that from 1 year end to the next!

 

[merserandynag]

Hi,

This is very mean indeed - how much are clients being charged per hour - the divide should be about 30%/70% with the higher amount going to the therapist.

I really believe if you work for this money you would resent it and start to feel negative about being exploited, because being exploited is what you will be.

Phone around a few therapists in your area and find out from them what the going rate is - yellow pages will give you numbers - research it and get back to this company and tell them what the going rate of pay is for masseuses.

Good luck

Luv Binah
xx

 

[PLAYBOY]

if you ask most beauty therapists working at salons, they are on minimum wage or just above.

I don't work for anything under £15ph. but obviously with being self-employed, you work longer hours with self-promotion, etc, but at least its for yourself. Plus I will do the odd free talk/demo, etc.

 

[pezza]

Alot depends on if you are going to have deductions - PAYE, income tax etc, or are you only going to work minimum hours? I would see £6.25 as being the very minimum wage, and expect a wacking great increase after a 3 week probationary period, to something like £10 per hour. If there is unlikely to be a raise, then do not accept those terms. Not sure you would get more than than £10 outside London.
I was offered a job in 1998 in a 5+ star hotel, to work in their spa as a massage therapist - £5 per hour. The clients were being charged £50 per hour. I declined, as it was going to be a 35 hour week. I wouldn't have got much after tax etc!

 

[i<3electronics2]

Dear Dip

I would tell them where to stuff it! £6.25 per hour that's awful (you would get more than that in Cornwall, one of the poorest counties in Britain)! The problem is there is always another mug who will. The things you have to consider is:

Can you work all day, massage after massage, day after day?
What about your wrists, thumbs and posture. Is RSI worth £6.25 per hour?
Will this generate poor self-esteem by becoming a dogs body?
Will you make more money being self-employed?

Hoping you make the best decision.

Dave the Pixie

P.S. Gloucestershire is quite wealthy area and if you are offering hot stone massage etc, make them pay up!

 

[Happiest in the kitchen.]

I have worked at a London spa where massage treatments were back to back and endured it for 3 years after which i felt quite burnt out energetically and needed a break from it. Other people do get RSI, and other injuries which further limits their career.

When I started off nearly 20 years ago myself and the other therapist felt we were being underpaid, then we got £8.50 per hour, which we soon increased to £10 and then £12.50.

You must work for what you think you are worth - think of training costs, clothing, your health of body and mind.

Luv Binah
xx

 

[calibabe]

It also depends if it is a busy clinic where you will be doing back to back treatments all day, or if the hourly rate applies if you are there, even if you are not doing treatments.
70% of one treatment per day is not much, 6.25x8 and only doing one treatment is OK, 6.25 for one treatment and no pay for the rest of the day is low.

Figure out what you think you are worth, let the spa charge what they want, if you start thinking They're making too much money off me, it's easy to get resentful, but the spa can have huge expenses, receptionist, cleaner, fit out, product, ect (I know of one spa using Pevonia, the cost of the prodct for one of the facials was 35% of the treatment cost, their therapists got 50% leaving 15% for the spa, most of the other treatment product charges were much less, but it gives you an idea of how what the spa can be paying that you don't know about). Find out if you are meant to be washing linen for free the rest of the day, or if you get the 6.25 for that, or if you are only meant to do the treatments. Are you meant to be supplying anything?

 

[~*?KIM?*~]

Hi

I think you need to keep in mind what a valuable asset YOU will be to that clinic. If they are looking to employ someone then they must be growing or turning customers away due to lack of staff. By just working there you are helping them keep custom, the business continues to grow and the word of mouth brings in new customers.

I recently had an offer of a room at a salon and spoke to a business advisor about it. She said she would not give them less than a 20/80 split of the money. By this she meant they get 20% of the money and you get 80% for each treatment you do.

As massage therapists we are very specialised and it is a very physically demanding job. I think offering you minimum wage is insulting and I wouldn't even think about it. If you think it will be good for your career to work at that particular salon then try negotiating with them. If they are not interested then move on or start your own business. Never undersell yourself or what you are worth or you will always be the one working like a dog while the owner is raking in all the money.

Lupin x

 

[maybe its Emilyy:)]

Guys, Thank you so much for your responses - it seems that the general consensus here is that they are being mean and it's taking the mick... this is the way i feel. However, i do massage for myself in the eves and the weekends, whre i charge between £20-£40 depending on the treatment etc. So, basically i am earning an ok amount from this to supplement my husbands wage. I was looking for a spa job for the company mainly - as the job can be quite isolating when you are on your own all day, as you know. So, my husband said I should go for it for a few months and maybe another door will open from it - and it's not about the money etc etc (and he doesn't even claim to be spiritual!!!) You are all right though, the spa is making a lot of money - it's back to back with appointments and has quite elite clientele - so i guess they can pick and choose therapists.... I am confused - i don't want to undersell myself, but I also don't want to turn down an opportunity either!!! maybe i could ask once more if they would consider upping it a bit???! The only thing I am scared of is them turning around and telling me to stick it, when I could work there and see what doors it opens. They said they will train me in wraps and scrubs too etc. Oh maybe i'll ask the angels too!!!!!!! Thanks all of you for responding tho - you are all great xxxx

 

[Ordimbiriut]

This is very lucky, when I worked at a prestiage Health spa in Scotland. I got paid £4.75 per hour, and that was four years ago.

In a local salon the therapists are paid £6.00 per hour.

Self- Employment is a better option.

 

[Hazel K]

Hi ya Dippy

I can understand the reasons for considering this job. There is more to life than money, but at the same time will this situation provide you with happiness?

Personally I've find over the years the more I turn down offers of work in various clinics (because I wasn't happy with the terms and conditions), the more doors opened up afterwards. If you have the vib that you are worth more, the "universal dinner lady" will serve you something much better!

Cheers

Dave

 

[prettylittlething]

I agree with the consensus - it sounds very low wages (but it depends on the 'package').

Tongue firmly in cheek - I suggest you tell us all where the job is and we all apply. Then we all turn it down on the basis of low wages. That way the salon gets the message that highly trained and professional therapists think that they are real cheapskates!

InTouch

 

[Inge Wernig]

hiya,
now that you have explained the situation at a deeper level, I can understand you considering taking the job. If you do work their for say 6 months, then you will learn a lot, especially if they have agreed to train you up. It also looks good on your CV that you have worked at a prestige spa for say 6 months, and you can also mention that if you go for other jobs.

I have worked freelance at a prestigious spa for 2 years, they offered me minimum wage and I turned it down. They then rang me back and asked if I would provide 3 treatments that they didn't do, on a different rate. I worked their for 2 years, and then one day I went into the staff prep area and on the noticeboard, they were offering free training in 2 of the treatments that I I did. So now they only need me for 1 specialised treatment.
If I mention that I work at this spa, you can see people are impressed.

 

[Griffyn]

GET THIS!!!
Thought I would update you - I hadn't heard from the spa since they offered me the job, so i called them today - basically they had rota'ed me in to work 4 days a week including saturdays (which i hadn't agreed to) and then dropped the bombshell that it was actually £5.85 per hr as i wasn't a beautician as well!!! And after 3 months it may go up to £6.00 - Well Whooooppeeedoo!! I think I may be ringing them tomorrow and telling them where to stick it??!! Can't believe it!! I'm 34 not 16!!! She did say that we are not in this business "to make money" - yeah, the therapists don't but the spa owners are raking it in!!! Cheek.

 

[jwthoughts]

tell them that their rate of pay is unacceptable to you with your qualifications and experience, and see if they will up it.

When I was interviewed at that spa I mentioned, by a very uppity therapist, she told me it was minimum wage, which I audibly gasped at. She gave me a pitying look and said condescendingly, that if I was an exceptional therapist, who won awards, like her, you could expect to earn up to £6.50 an hour. You could see dust where I had just been sitting, I couldn't get out of their fast enough. When I started working their freelance, she would go out of her way to be unhelpful.

 

[Pompal 09.]

doing massage/hot stones/reiki, I'd have thought the overheads would be relatively minimal - Oil, towels, dressing gowns, central heating, reception, wear and tear on a couch, advertising and presumably a heating pot for the stones.
None of which are extortionate, and all of which a Salon would have in place already.
How much would they be charging for your services? somewhere in the region of £30-£40 per hour I'd have thought?
So your percentage cut (if you look at it that way) would be approximately 15-20%

Essentially, they'd be expecting to earn ~£55k a year out of you (assuming 8 hours a day, 4 days a week) or which they'd be paying you ~£9k.
so their take would be £46k, less expenses I'd estimate at ~£2-3k.

Another way of looking at it is that you'd be on essentially minimum wage, so the chances are that the receptionists are earning more than you, for better work conditions and probably less hastle and more flexibility.

It's a rip off, but unfortunately one that's unlikely to change for as long as there are enough people out there who are willing to work for that / too scared to go self-employed.

 

[Nan Hawthorne]

these places rely heavily on people straight out of college that are a) happy for the experience, and b) want some experience of working in a spa environment.
What makes me laugh is why these spas wonder why they can't keep their staff.

the spa that I did some work at, used to put pressure on the staff to sell the products from their shop, and would have a chart up of which team and which individual had sold the most. they would have incentives for the team and individual that had sold the most, and the team leader would get a bonus too. They usually got to use the spa facilities free for the day, with some of them getting a treatment or some of the products as a gift.