ChatterBank25 mins ago
Cleaners
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Not sure this is the right category but......a friend of a friend is looking for some extra cash and I have been on for about getting a cleaner for ages so it would seem the ideal solution would be for me to employ her as my cleaner! My only problem is - how much should I pay her? - I have no idea what the going rate is - can anyone help? Also - any advice on cleaner etiquette?
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Believe it or not when I was working full time I employed my Mum as a cleaner as she doesn't work and was looking for a bit of something to do. I used to pay her �7 an hour, I know I was probably being generous because it was my Mum, but if I was employing anybody to do my cleaning I wouldn't pay any less than �6.00 per hour for about three hours per week although I suppose it depends on what part of the country you live in. With regards to the etiquette, as I see it the cleaner is there to clean not to tidy away all your rubbish, for example, I wouldn't expect them to pick dirty clothes off the floor so that they could hoover it. I would draw a little informal (seeing as its your friend) list up to say what you expect them to clean and to what standard and you should provide the cleaning materials too. Hope this helps, as its your friend though it could cause trouble if you are not happy with their work.
Employing someone on a casual basis is usually fine but a word of warning based on my experiences. I have had two sorts of cleaners - contract and casual (friend of a friend) The contracts were brilliant you could really tell when they had been! If they broke anything - which they did twice over three years the articles were replaced by their boss without question. They were realiable but became too expensive when the company became VAT registered.
The casual cleaner was fine too at first but when she broke two or three items they were not replaced. Another thing was that the contract cleaners just got on with it whereas the casual friend wanted to chat a lot of the time - and it's hard to say "please get on I'm paying you to clean, not to talk!"
The other big problem I can see is if the casual cleaner has an accident while in your employ. If she falls or has any sort of accident she could sue you! Contract cleaners are fully insured and you have therefore no liability. This is not meant to scaremonger - it's just a fact of life these days! 6 ponds an hour is about right - she probably won't declare it as taxable income so it's worth far more as cash in hand.
The casual cleaner was fine too at first but when she broke two or three items they were not replaced. Another thing was that the contract cleaners just got on with it whereas the casual friend wanted to chat a lot of the time - and it's hard to say "please get on I'm paying you to clean, not to talk!"
The other big problem I can see is if the casual cleaner has an accident while in your employ. If she falls or has any sort of accident she could sue you! Contract cleaners are fully insured and you have therefore no liability. This is not meant to scaremonger - it's just a fact of life these days! 6 ponds an hour is about right - she probably won't declare it as taxable income so it's worth far more as cash in hand.
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