HABD Verified represents more than qualifications and insurance. It represents the professional standards, honesty, responsibility and conduct we expect from businesses and professionals carrying the HABD Verified mark.

This Code applies alongside any laws, regulations, licensing requirements and professional obligations relevant to the individual, business, service or location.

1. Professional integrity

HABD Verified professionals and businesses must act honestly and with professional integrity.

They must:

• Provide accurate information about qualifications, training, experience and professional status.
• Never claim qualifications, titles, accreditations, awards or memberships they do not hold.
• Accurately represent their experience and areas of expertise.
• Not deliberately mislead clients about their professional background or capabilities.
• Provide truthful information to HABD during verification and subsequent reviews.
• Inform HABD if information relevant to their Verified status materially changes.

2. Competence and professional scope

Professionals must only provide services they are appropriately trained, competent and legally permitted to carry out.

This includes:

• Holding appropriate training or qualifications for the work undertaken.
• Understanding the limits of their own competence.
• Referring or declining a service where it would not be appropriate to proceed.
• Maintaining and updating professional knowledge where reasonably required.
• Undertaking additional training when introducing services requiring new skills or knowledge.
• Not presenting attendance at a course as evidence of competence where appropriate competency has not been established.

Holding HABD Verified status does not extend a professional's scope of practice.

3. Insurance, licensing and compliance

Verified businesses and professionals must maintain the insurance, licences, registrations and other requirements relevant to their activities.

Where applicable, they must:

• Maintain appropriate current professional or business insurance.
• Ensure the services they provide fall within their insurance cover.
• Hold licences or registrations legally required for their work or premises.
• Cooperate with legitimate regulatory requirements.
• Notify HABD of significant changes that could affect the basis on which verification was awarded.

4. Client safety and welfare

Client welfare must take priority over commercial pressure.

Professionals must:

• Take reasonable steps to protect client health, safety and wellbeing.
• Decline or adapt a service where proceeding would be inappropriate or unsafe.
• Follow appropriate contraindication and precaution procedures.
• Give appropriate pre-treatment and aftercare information where required.
• Respond appropriately if an adverse reaction, injury or other significant incident occurs.
• Never knowingly place a client at unnecessary risk for financial or commercial reasons.

5. Consultation, consent and client choice

Clients should be given enough information to make an informed decision about the service they receive.

Where appropriate, professionals should:

• Carry out suitable consultation before treatment or service.
• Explain relevant risks, limitations and expected outcomes.
• Obtain appropriate consent.
• Respect a client's right to change their mind or withdraw consent.
• Obtain appropriate consent for photographs, videos or other client content before using it publicly.
• Take additional care where age, capacity or other circumstances require different consent arrangements.

6. Hygiene and safe professional practice

Verified professionals must maintain appropriate standards of hygiene, infection control and safety for the work they perform.

This includes, where relevant:

• Appropriate cleaning and disinfection.
• Safe use and storage of products and equipment.
• Suitable hand hygiene and personal protective measures.
• Appropriate management of single-use and reusable equipment.
• Safe disposal of waste and sharps where applicable.
• Maintaining a working environment appropriate for the services being provided.

The exact requirements will vary according to profession, treatment and jurisdiction.

7. Equality, dignity and respect

Every client, customer, student and colleague should be treated with dignity and professional respect.

HABD Verified businesses and professionals must not engage in unlawful discrimination, harassment, bullying or degrading behaviour.

Professional standards should be maintained regardless of a person's background, identity, appearance, disability, age or other protected characteristic.

Reasonable efforts should be made to provide an inclusive and respectful professional environment.

8. Honest advertising and professional claims

Verified status carries public trust. Marketing must therefore be responsible and truthful.

Businesses and professionals must not:

• Make deliberately false or materially misleading claims.
• Misrepresent qualifications or expertise.
• Guarantee outcomes that cannot reasonably be guaranteed.
• Misrepresent awards, accreditation or professional recognition.
• Manipulate before-and-after material in a way that materially misrepresents results.
• Present another professional's work as their own.
• Misrepresent HABD Verified as covering something HABD has not verified.

Promotional content should give consumers a fair impression of the service being offered.

9. Pricing and commercial transparency

Clients should be able to understand what they are agreeing to pay.

Verified businesses should:

• Present prices and significant additional charges clearly.
• Make relevant booking fees, deposits and cancellation terms available before commitment where reasonably possible.
• Avoid deliberately misleading pricing.
• Clearly explain significant changes to agreed costs.
• Operate promotional offers honestly.

HABD does not set prices or require businesses to charge a particular amount.

10. Confidentiality, privacy and client information

Client and customer information must be handled responsibly.

Professionals must:

• Respect client confidentiality.
• Store and use personal information appropriately.
• Follow applicable data-protection requirements.
• Not disclose private client information without an appropriate reason or permission.
• Obtain appropriate permission before publicly sharing identifiable client images, testimonials or information.

11. Complaints and professional accountability

Mistakes and disagreements can occur even within good businesses. HABD expects concerns to be handled professionally.

Verified businesses should:

• Provide a reasonable way for customers to raise concerns.
• Respond professionally to legitimate complaints.
• Keep appropriate records where necessary.
• Avoid intimidation or retaliation against someone for raising a genuine concern.
• Cooperate with legitimate HABD enquiries concerning their Verified status.

HABD is not an alternative to the courts, regulators, insurers or other statutory bodies and does not determine ordinary consumer disputes.

12. Professional behaviour

HABD may consider conduct outside the immediate treatment or service where it is directly relevant to professional integrity, client safety or the credibility of HABD Verified.

This may include serious professional misconduct, fraudulent professional activity, deliberately misleading business practices or behaviour that creates a legitimate concern about whether the individual or business continues to meet the HABD Verification Standard.

This is important because otherwise the Code only governs what happens inside a treatment room.

13. Education, training and professional influence

Where a Verified business or professional provides education, training, coaching or professional advice, additional responsibility applies.

They must:

• Accurately describe courses, training and learning outcomes.
• Be clear about accreditation or recognition.
• Not mislead students about what a qualification enables them to do.
• Have appropriate competence in the subjects they teach.
• Provide appropriate practical education where required.
• Represent potential career or financial outcomes responsibly.
• Avoid exploiting their position of professional authority.

This matters because your verification scheme isn't limited to salons; your Standard also covers educators, coaches and mentors.

14. Brands, suppliers and commercial relationships

Where applicable, Verified businesses should be transparent and responsible in their commercial activity.

Product, equipment and service claims should be supportable and should not knowingly mislead professionals or consumers.

Paid partnerships, endorsements or other commercial relationships should not be presented in a way that deliberately creates a false impression of independence.

15. Events and professional organisations

Verified event organisers and other industry organisations are expected to provide clear and accurate information about their events, including relevant pricing, booking conditions and significant terms.

Marketing should accurately represent the event, its speakers, judges, awards, opportunities and professional recognition.

16. Use of HABD Verified

The HABD Verified mark may only be used:

• While verification is active.
• By the business or professional to whom it was awarded.
• Within the scope shown on the live HABD Verification Record.
• In accordance with HABD branding and usage requirements.

The mark must not be altered or presented in a way that suggests HABD has verified services, individuals, qualifications, products or activities outside the recorded scope.

If verification expires, is suspended or is removed, use of the Verified mark must stop.

17. Duty to keep verification accurate

Verification is not a one-time promise.

Verified members are responsible for keeping relevant information accurate and notifying HABD of significant changes that may affect their status.

HABD may request updated evidence or carry out an additional review where necessary.

18. Concerns, review and enforcement

HABD may review Verified status where credible information raises a concern about whether the Verification Standard or this Code continues to be met.

Depending on the circumstances, HABD may:

• Request information or evidence.
• Require information on the verification record to be updated.
• Place verification under review.
• Suspend Verified status while a serious concern is assessed.
• Remove Verified status.
• Decline renewal.

A concern or complaint does not automatically mean that a business has breached this Code. HABD will consider the information available before making a verification decision.

Serious misconduct, deliberate deception, misuse of the HABD Verified mark or repeated failure to meet the Code may result in immediate review.

The HABD commitment

HABD also has a responsibility to apply its Verification Standard fairly and consistently.

We will not guarantee that a Verified professional or business will never receive a complaint or make a mistake. Verification means that HABD has assessed the evidence and professional standards within the stated scope and that the verification remains subject to ongoing accountability.

HABD Verified should mean something — to the professionals who earn it and to the public who rely on it.