The British Beauty Council (BBCo) has announced changes to the hair and beauty industry’s Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, helping professionals to define their roles in official documents.
It follows seven years of campaigning by the Council and marks the first change to the industry’s SIC codes since 1948.
SIC codes are used to describe what a business does, and allow Governments and agencies to measure and understand different sectors of the economy.
Why has the BBCo lobbied Government for SIC changes?
Until now, the hair and beauty industry had a single SIC code, which grouped the sector with ‘other personal services’ such as laundry, dry cleaning and funeral services. This meant that the industry has been ‘overlooked politically, economically socially, despite a significant, combined £30.4bn contribution to UK GDP,’ shares the Council.
The introduction of four SIC codes for the global hair and beauty industry helps to recognise the sector and diverse array of professional services within it. “The collection of key economic data is legitimised and standardised for our industry across the world,” adds the Council. This provides policymakers with an accurate understanding of the industry’s size, scale and contribution, so they can better support it.
The codes also mean that workers across the professional services industry – including those who are self-employed, can define the sector they work in on official documents.
The new SIC framework
The UK hair and beauty SIC codes are now as follows, and are expected to be implemented in UK data gathering over the next few years:
962: Hairdressing, beauty treatment, day spas and similar activities
9621: Hairdressing and barbers activities
9622: Beauty care and other beauty treatment activities
9623: Day spa, sauna and steam bath activities
The British Beauty Council has provided explanatory wording for the codes, and shares that nail treatments are included within the 9622 code. “This class includes beauty treatment activities not performed by medical specialists, e.g. by cosmetologists such as facial massage, manicure, pedicure, permanent make-up, depilations, tanning,” the wording explains.
International impact
The Council has also secured updates to the International and European industrial classification frameworks, ISIC and NACE. “Changes to these international classifications will impact how the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and wider Government Statistical Services (GSS) gather data on our sector, and will give the hair, beauty and spa services sectors the visibility they deserve,” notes the BBCo.
Millie Kendall OBE
Millie Kendall OBE, CEO of the British Beauty Council, comments: “This has been an issue close to my heart and a core focus of our work since the conception of the Council. The classifications were outdated and no longer represented the breadth of the multi-faceted industry.
“We have been told time and time again that it’s near impossible to change how our industry is listed as it was a global coding system, but we persevered and developed a strong argument for change with the support of our stakeholders. This is a fantastic win that will always be one of my proudest achievements.”
By achieving these changes, the Council is committed to further updates to the industry’s SIC codes in future.
