What a $500 Human Rights Ruling Means for Your Salon or Spa

A recent Quebec tribunal ruling against a hair salon is a wake-up call for BC salon owners to review how they list and price their services.

A hair salon in Quebec was recently ordered to pay $500 in damages after a non-binary client filed a human rights complaint. The reason? The salon’s online booking system forced clients to choose between a “men’s” or “women’s” haircut. No other option existed.

The amount was small. The message was not.

It applies here in British Columbia, too. Our province’s Human Rights Code explicitly protects gender identity and expression when it comes to services offered to the public. That means if your booking system or service menu forces clients into a binary gender choice, you could face a similar complaint through the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

So what can you do about it?

Several salons across BC are already shifting to service-based pricing — sometimes called gender-neutral pricing. Instead of listing “men’s cuts” and “women’s cuts,” they price by time in the chair, hair length, or service complexity. It works because it reflects what’s actually being delivered, not who’s sitting in the chair.

Before you make any changes, it’s worth asking a few honest questions.

• Does your booking system require clients to select a gender to complete a booking?
• Does your current menu language feel exclusionary to any client?
• Would switching to service-based pricing actually affect your revenue?
• Your client demographics matter here, too — and so does whether your booking platform can accommodate the change without a full overhaul.

Most modern platforms like Vagaro, Fresha, and Square allow you to rename services and make gender fields optional. It often doesn’t require a system overhaul — just a closer look at your settings.

This kind of change doesn’t just reduce legal risk. It can simplify your menu, make online booking easier for new clients, and eliminate awkward conversations at the front desk.

Download the worksheet to help you in this process

BeautyCouncil members can download our full guidance document, which includes a criteria checklist to help you assess your current setup and a step-by-step action checklist to plan any changes. See the worksheet below. you can download or print the worksheet.