To think 10 pounds per hour is very little to receive for cleaning?

[FakeUp]

This seems to be the standard payment as far as I am aware. The work is often physically demanding, especially if someone is cleaning two or three places every day. Let's say someone cleans two places for 30 pounds each Monday to Friday, they earn around 1200 / month (pre tax). This may have been fine in the time when women had a cleaning job to supplement their husband's salary, but now when many women are single or divorced and supporting themselves, it seems like a very small amount to survive on.

[pessimisticstateofperception]

I'm a cleaner and on minimum wage. A tenner an hour would be amazing

[Redtartanshoes]

I’d reckon most don’t pay tax though. So it’s what £28k a year equivalent? For a low skill job with a good amount of flexibility. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[hibbledibble]

Standard payment where?

I'm in London and my cleaner charges 13-15 an hour. Others charged 11-12 but were no good.

[donajimena]

That's why I charge 14p/h or a fixed fee. Minimum wage is fine (ish) if you are employed.

[chandylier]

They could also work 10 hours a day,6 days a week

[AliceLutherNeeMorgan]

That’s only 30 hours a week, also - so about three quarters of full time. If they worked a standard 40 hours, or 50/60 like lots of people do, it would be significantly more!

[KneelJustKneel]

How on earth do you get anywhere near 28k?!?! Minimum wage is nowhere near that.

[Tunnocks34]

We pay our cleaner £20 for two hours. But it’s £12.50 for 1 hour. Think it’s like a deal she does.

She gets cash in hand - no idea if she pays tax on it.

[Ashparo12]

Seems about right. In London I paid 13£ per hour for a cleaner through a company- after the company takes their cuts im not sure what the worker would have been paid.

[FakeUp]

Redtartanshoes I agree, most cleaners will get paid in cash and can avoid tax, but still, that only makes 14,400 / year based on the OP figures. Plus they are unlikely to be paid when they or the home owner is away for any reason.

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

Qualified midwives start on £12.41 ph. They hold 2 lives in their hands as autonomous practitioners. They will have completed a level standard study, and a 3 year degree.

Do I think cleaners should be on more? No.

[whyohwhyowhydididoit]

It’s nearly 25% more than the minimum wage for a job you can do with little training and no qualifications, tests or exams.

It also depends where you live. In some less expensive parts of the U.K. it would be quite a lot to be earning, in others less so. I am in Greater London and pay my cleaner £13.85 an hour.

[lemonjam]

I work in social care for £9.13 an hour (and I’m one of the highest paid due to qualifications and length of service). I do loads of cleaning, as well as personal care and dealing with challenging behaviour. £10 an hour is alright.

[whyohwhyowhydididoit]

My cleaner also works in a care home, she has had to do various NVQs which she has to study for in her own time and she earns a lot less per hour than her cleaning jobs.

[PlainSpeakingStraightTalking]

This will all be cash in hand - and in their back pocket s rather large top up to claiming welfare

[FakeUp]

ThisMustBeMyDream i would argue midwives should be getting more, not that people doing cleaning should be getting less. Men's manual work is better paid than women's manual work. In fact all women's work is undervalued, and in my opinion often by women as well as by men.

[BarrenFieldofFucks]

What a job is worth has nothing to do with the personal circumstances of the person doing the job. Cleaning isn't something that requires a massive level of particular skills that are in demand, so the work doesn't command a huge hourly rate. But £10 per hour seems perfectly ok for the work.

[FakeUp]

lemonjam and why - exactly the same applies. People working in social care are paid appallingly and often given very little emotional or educational support for their difficult job. Everyone is comparing similarly undervalued work mainly done by women and trying to form a hierarchy.

[99calmbeforethestorm]

Average newly qualified teacher is paid £12 per hour for the average working week. This calculated term timely only and does not include holiday pay or the student loan they had to take out to become qualified for the job.

I wonder how much a new police officer or nurse earns per hour.

[arethereanyleftatall]

It's stress free, flexible, I disagree that it's hard, you can often take your baby with you, (I've always let my cleaners do that if required, and paid on a by the job basis), you don't take your work home with you, choose the hours you want. Ok, the money isn't great, but there are a lot of positives. Whether a man or woman does it.

[NailsNeedDoing]

But it has to be compared to decide whether it's enough or not.

Considering TAs are teaching children and carers are providing a difficult and draining service for less, no, I don't think a cleaner on £10 an hour has it too bad.

[WoollyMollyMonkey]

Cleaning is bloody hard physical work! I couldn’t do it for 6 or 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. I’m knackered after an hour!

[BackforGood]

It’s nearly 25% more than the minimum wage for a job you can do with little training and no qualifications, tests or exams.

So yes, YABU.
Try being a care worker, or working in a day Nursery. LOT more responsibility for lot less money.
No, it shouldn't be a race to the bottom, but there isn't a reason why cleaning should be a higher paid job.

[Livedandlearned]

It's really hard work and when you take into consideration the travel costs, insurance and lack of sick or holiday pay it's pretty rubbish.

I struggle nowadays to do 4 houses a day like i could a few years ago.

[Gwenhwyfar]

10 pounds an hour is more than many office workers get.

However, if the person is going from place to place, only working a few hours in one place then I suppose the higher rate sort of includes travelling time as well and makes it worth her/his while to go there so I can understand self-employed cleaners getting more. Also, if they're self-employed and not cheating tax as implied by many on here, they have to pay their own tax and n.i out of that money.