WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER JOINING THE SOUTH AFRICAN Association of Health and Skincare Professionals (SAAHSP)

With the enthusiasm and drive among members that SAAHSP president Feroza Fakir has created, it is little wonder membership of spas and salons have doubled since the start 2024!

The free first stage grading element, which is new and encourages professionalism and ethics in the sector, has undoubtedly sparked increased interest. However, there are so many more benefits if you belong to SAAHSP, the recognised professional body for the industry.

When you can demonstrate commitment to professional growth within your team, you gain public confidence, and in our beauty industry, one way to achieve recognition is to make sure you are part of the professional body so you can showcase your competence, professionalism, and growth.

But why is it more important than ever to join a professional body in 2024?

Our industry is one that continues to demand welltrained, competent, and professional therapists. It is no longer only your qualifications that matter, but what you do after you qualify and how you keep up with your own professional development matter most. Joining a professional body such as SAAHSP guarantees recognition of your competence, elevating your career standards and potentially leading to a higher salary.

At SAAHSP, we have changed our benefits to meet all our members requirements. We have reduced the rates so everyone can participate. With the additional new benefits, the questions about what members get are now answered, as huge savings are to be had.

So what are these benefits?

1. Membership costs have been made affordable so everyone can join. https://www.saahsp.com/about-membership

Membership Fees 2024 ( annual )

Professional Therapist / Affiliate Membership New Membership......................................................... R820 Membership renewal.................................................. R700

Salon/Spa/Clinic/Corporate Membership

Salon/Spa/Clinic Membership including 1-5 Therapists/Staff....................................................... R1,100 Salon/Spa/Clinic Membership including 6 or more Therapists/Staff............................................................. R1,800

2. Discounts for courses online, exhibitions, and various courses have up to 20% off original prices.

3. Free grading certificate for the first stage of grading (valued at R6,000) issued with membership application. Discounted legal benefit rates for members with a monthly fee of just R250, which is heavily discounted for all SAAHSP members. This minimal rate of R250 a month from Legal Sense includes the following benefits:

• Human resources (HR) and labour law assistance: HR assistance assists the member in drafting the appropriate charge sheet, preparing the member for the disciplinary hearing, and chairing the disciplinary hearing to ensure that everything has been done 100% correctly so that the Bargaining Council will have a hard time finding against your member. So, we were essentially setting up the process and assisting the employers’ organisation in successfully defending a referral because the process had been handled correctly from the start.

• POPI compliance: Spas and salons store a lot of sensitive personal information about clients and employees, and Legal Sense can help members get POPI compliant.

5. Free access to SKILLZbook to list your continual professional development for all staff. 6. Webpage listing on our webpage 7. Free staff designations 8. Free advertising space 9. Discounted rates for continual professional development courses 10. Free training and workshops for members eg Popia Act Training

Our newest loyalty rewards which are currently being launched will include the following: 1. 10% off car hire 2. 7.5% off Local Air tickets 3. Discounted rates on MSC cruises 4. Vodacom discounts 5. Telesure discounts 6. Discounted e-commerce payments – best in SA – aiming for below 2% 7. Group wide card rate for POS – negotiable down to 0.80% 8. Discounts on food vendors – TBA In June, our new loyalty rewards will be launched for 15 SAAHSP members. We can’t wait to report back on how they do.

The main benefits of joining a professional body should be to ensure that your work ethic and professionalism for your chosen career are supported and that your career can be advanced for maximum benefit.

The new SAAHSP offers:

• Membership that is open to all, thus supporting exclusive resources, networking opportunities, and career advancement with CPD training courses.

• Promoting professional qualifications through designations, which can demonstrate competence on therapists’ CVs.

• Aligning personal goals is essential to maximising the benefits of membership by using SKILLZBook to update your training.

• Showing your clients and potential employers, that SAAHSP membership as a professional body demonstrates a level of confidence in your professional’s ability to perform your job well.

• Encourage all SAAHSP professional members to pursue certifications and qualifications from professional bodies, as this will not only demonstrate their expertise but also their dedication to professional growth and industry professionalism.

• We will make sure that the correct disclaimers and indemnity documents are in place to protect the members against liabilities, injuries, and damage claims by clients.

• The members receive legal guidance, advice, and a thorough review of all contracts, leases, supplier agreements, and service provider agreements.

• Debt collection

• General dispute resolution and commercial legal advice on anything that may impact a member’s salon, spa etc.

4. Free grading certificate post with your information to promote professionalism.