Terms and conditions for a reflexologist or holistic therapist

A holistic practice needs client terms that deal with the things that actually cause trouble: the health questionnaire nobody filled in properly, the prepaid block of six sessions the client wants refunded, the gift voucher redeemed two years late, and the claim on your booking page about what reflexology does. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Reflexologists, reiki practitioners, aromatherapists, kinesiologists, craniosacral and other holistic therapists in England and Wales, working from a treatment room, a rented clinic room or clients' homes. Almost every client is a consumer, which shapes what your terms can say. Some practices also treat staff under a corporate wellbeing arrangement, and that side is a business contract with different rules.

What matters in a holistic therapist's terms

Claims, outcomes and what you are promising

Your terms should state that the treatment is complementary, that you do not diagnose, and that clients should keep seeing their doctor. This matters more than practitioners expect, because under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 information the client relies on when booking is binding. A line on your website about easing a named condition can become a contractual promise you then have to meet. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 gives the Competition and Markets Authority direct enforcement over consumer law, and fake reviews are a banned practice, so testimonials need to be genuine.

Consultation, contraindications and declining to treat

Terms should make the client responsible for disclosing pregnancy, recent surgery, medication, circulatory conditions and allergies before the first session, and for telling you when anything changes at later visits. They should give you the right to adapt, shorten or decline a treatment on safety grounds, and say plainly what happens to the fee if you decline after the client has arrived. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you cannot exclude liability for personal injury caused by negligence, so the terms must allocate risk honestly rather than pretend to sign it away.

Courses of treatment, prepaid blocks and gift vouchers

Most reflexologists sell blocks of sessions and vouchers at Christmas, and prepayments are where holistic terms come apart. Keeping the client's money on cancellation without a matching obligation on you sits on the grey list of potentially unfair terms under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, so a block that expires with no refund and no flexibility is vulnerable. I draft the validity period, transfer rules and the refund position on unused sessions so they are defensible. Voucher terms should say who may redeem a voucher and what happens if the recipient never books.

Home visits, online booking and the fourteen-day right

Where you treat clients in their own homes, or take bookings by website, telephone or email, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply. The client gets pre-contract information and fourteen days to cancel, running from the date of the contract. A client who buys a course and then changes their mind pays only a proportionate amount for treatment given at their express request, and nothing where there was no such request. Where the cancellation wording is missing the period can extend by up to twelve months. Off-premises bookings of £42 or less fall outside the rules.

Late cancellations, no-shows and payment

An hour lost at short notice is an hour you cannot sell twice, so a notice window and a late cancellation charge are reasonable. The charge has to bear a sensible relationship to your loss, because disproportionate default charges are on the grey list under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A full fee demanded for a cancellation with reasonable notice will not hold. You cannot add a surcharge for consumers paying by card under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, and the price you advertise must include every mandatory charge.

Records, insurance and the oils you sell

Consultation notes are health information and the most sensitive thing in your practice, so the terms should set out confidentiality, how long you keep records and when you would write to a client's GP with their consent. Under the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 you must make available your name, address, contact details, your terms, your professional body and your insurance, and handle complaints promptly. Where you sell oils, balms or supplements to take home, those are goods under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, with a short-term right to reject, and sealed hygiene items fall outside cancellation once opened.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

I rent a room in a clinic. Do I still need my own client terms?

You do. The clinic's agreement governs your use of the room and says nothing about your relationship with the client. The contract for the treatment itself is between you and the client, and if you have no terms of your own the clinic's reputation will not protect you when a block booking or a missed appointment is disputed.

Are terms and conditions the same thing as my consent form?

They do different jobs. The consultation and consent record deals with suitability and what the client agreed to receive, and usually comes from your insurer or professional body. The terms deal with money, cancellation, expiry of prepaid sessions, confidentiality and liability. I draft the terms and make sure they sit alongside your consent process rather than contradict it.

I also run workshops and sell recorded courses. Can one set of terms cover those?

One set can cover them where the workshop and course sections are drafted separately from treatments. Recorded content supplied inside the cancellation period may be given only with the client's express consent and their acknowledgement that the right to cancel is lost. Workshops need their own rules on transfers, minimum numbers and what happens when you have to postpone.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a massage or complementary therapist
• Room rental agreement for a beauty salon or clinic

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.