Yes — refusing on the grounds of dementia alone risks a disability discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010. But consent has to be handled properly, and a signed form from a relative is usually not the answer.
Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (England and Wales; Adults with Incapacity Act 2000 in Scotland), capacity is assumed unless shown otherwise, and it's decision-specific and time-specific. Someone may lack capacity to manage their finances but retain capacity to agree to a haircut. Judge the decision in front of you, on the day.
Practical steps:
- Ask the client, not the companion. Explain the treatment in short, plain sentences. If they can understand it, retain it briefly, weigh it up, and communicate a choice, they have capacity. Proceed as normal.
- A family member cannot consent for an adult unless they hold a registered Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney or a court deputyship. A daughter saying "she'll be fine with a perm" is not legal consent.
- If capacity is genuinely absent, low-risk grooming (a dry cut, a manicure) can proceed in the person's best interests. Anything invasive, chemical, or irreversible — colour, perming, waxing, lash tint, needling — should wait for an attorney's authority or be declined.
- Watch for ongoing assent. Distress, pulling away, or repeatedly asking to leave withdraws consent regardless of what was agreed at the start. Stop.
- Check your insurer's wording. Some policies exclude treatments where documented consent is absent.
Record who consented, on what basis, and what you explained. Re-check at every visit — capacity fluctuates, and last month's note is not this month's consent.
If a cut-down version is needed, the insurer bullet is the safest one to drop — it's the least legally load-bearing.
Every client, remembered — safely.
SAY-OS keeps each client's contraindications, allergies and history in one place, and flags them at booking — so the right call happens before they're in the chair.
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