Drafting General Terms and Conditions for Pedicurists

As a pedicurist, you work on your clients' feet daily, often on a regular basis and frequently with vulnerable groups such as diabetes and rheumatism patients. Precisely because of this, you run risks that can largely be covered by good general terms and conditions: a client who fails to show up, a payment dispute regarding a series of treatments, or a liability claim following a minor wound on a sensitive foot. General terms and conditions form the "rules of the game" for your practice and ensure that you and your client know exactly where you stand in advance.

General terms and conditions are legally recognized under Article 6:231 of the Dutch Civil Code. A well-drafted set of terms prevents you from having to renegotiate cancellation, payment, and liability for every appointment. For a pedicure practice—often a sole proprietorship with personal contact—this is an accessible way to structure your business professionally and legally soundly.

Terms and conditions only apply if the client could reasonably have taken notice of them before or at the time of concluding the agreement. This follows from Article 6:233 of the Dutch Civil Code (a clause may be voidable if the user has not offered a reasonable opportunity to take notice) and Article 6:234 of the Dutch Civil Code (the manner of provision). In practice, this means: display your terms and conditions visibly in the practice, hand them out at the first appointment, or refer clearly to them on your website and in your appointment confirmation.

For a pedicurist, this is of particular importance because many appointments are made by telephone or via an online calendar. Ensure that the client can read the terms and conditions in advance – for example, via a link in the confirmation email. Handing over a receipt afterwards stating "terms and conditions apply" is legally too late and makes your terms vulnerable to annulment.

The biggest practical pain point for pedicurists is missed appointments. An empty chair immediately costs revenue. Therefore, you stipulate a cancellation period in your general terms and conditions—common in the industry between 24 and 48 hours—and determine that you may charge (part of) the treatment costs in the event of a late cancellation or a no-show. For a consumer liable for payment, it is important that such a clause is reasonable; compensation that significantly exceeds the actual damage can be unreasonably burdensome.

Additionally, clearly document when and how payment is to be made (immediately after the treatment, in cash, or electronically) and what happens in the event of non-payment. If you work with treatment series or punch cards, include whether you require a deposit and whether an agreed price may be increased during the course of treatment. This will prevent disputes at the reception desk.

Liability is the most legally sensitive subject for a pedicurist. You treat the feet of people with diabetes, rheumatism, or impaired circulation, where a small wound can have major consequences. In your terms and conditions, you stipulate that the client is obliged to disclose all relevant medical information prior to the treatment – ​​such as diabetes, rheumatism, anticoagulant medication, or skin conditions.

Subsequently, you limit your liability for damage arising from incorrect or incomplete information provided by the client. However, you remain responsible for damage caused by an attributable failure on your part or that of your employees; you cannot contract this away entirely. Moreover, an exclusion of liability for your own serious errors is unreasonably burdensome and therefore voidable. A professionally drafted liability clause strikes the right, legally sound balance in this regard – often linked to the coverage of your professional or business liability insurance.

Virtually all your clients are consumers. They are afforded extra protection. The law includes a "black list" (Article 6:236 of the Dutch Civil Code) containing clauses that are always unreasonably onerous, and a "grey list" (Article 6:237 of the Dutch Civil Code) containing clauses that are presumed to be unreasonably onerous. A clause that completely excludes your liability, imposes an unreasonably high penalty on the consumer, or requires you to unilaterally modify the performance, will easily fall under these lists and can be annulled by the client.

This makes copying arbitrary sample terms and conditions risky: a clause formulated too broadly is not "extra safe," but is actually legally worthless as soon as a client challenges it. Terms and conditions for a pedicure must therefore be tailored to the consumer and remain within the limits of the black and grey lists.

If you are a medical pedicurist and treat healthcare clients (for example, diabetic or rheumatic foot care reimbursed by health insurance), you fall under the Healthcare Quality, Complaints and Disputes Act (Wkkgz). This act obliges you, among other things, to have a complaints procedure and to be affiliated with a recognized dispute resolution body. Your general terms and conditions must comply with this and may not restrict the client's statutory rights to complain and dispute.

In addition, you process health data – a special category of personal data under the GDPR. In your terms and conditions (or a separate privacy statement), you specify how you handle this data, how long you retain it, and that you do not share it without a legal basis. Also, count on hygiene and treatment standards (the code of conduct and hygiene guidelines) applying; by referring to these, you demonstrate that you work according to professional standards.

Many entrepreneurs believe that general terms and conditions are only valid after filing with the Chamber of Commerce or the court. This is a misunderstanding. Filing is not mandatory and does not determine validity – what counts is that you provide the terms and conditions before the appointment (Article 6:234 of the Dutch Civil Code). Filing can be useful as proof of the content and date, but is usually not a necessity for a pedicure practice.

More important than filing is being able to demonstrate that and how you made the terms and conditions known to the client. Therefore, keep your appointment confirmation with a reference to the terms and conditions, or have new clients sign for agreement on the intake form.

Standard sample terms and conditions from the internet rarely align with your specific practice: they fail to take into account your target audience, your treatment series, your medical foot care, or the limits of consumer protection. An untenable clause provides you with a false sense of security that collapses at precisely the wrong moment—in the event of a dispute.

MKB Juristen drafts custom-made general terms and conditions for pedicurists: legally correct, tailored to your practice, and with a liability and cancellation policy that holds up. You know the cost in advance, at a fixed price with no surprises afterwards. This way, you lay a professional and legally solid foundation for your business.