Sacking our cleaner

@paulfoel

Well to be fair, you didn't say you worked the other two days, and you did say you could do it better.

do you probably have as much time to do it as any other working person.

however, if I was happy to have someone else do it (I never found one I was happy with) &
pay a cleaner then this one would need to go now. Shes not doing a good job & you've tried to guide her...

I suppose if you wanted to feel completely justified you could talk to her & be very clear about the situation, rather than be so gentle.

tough call, but you need a cleaner that does a good job!!

This is what we did.
I felt really bad, but honestly she was taking the mickey. We had started working from home and I sad we would clear out of the kitchen to allow her to do it, but instead she just left it.

I like to think I'm a fair person and I feel I should have given more notice, but I didn't trust her in the home once we had decided not to continue. Luckily we did cancel her because then Covid came and we would have felt obliged to pay her for nothing.

One thing though OP, you have said you're not happy with the cleaning standards, but then you're away a lot so not sure how much of it you see. Does your DW also want to cancel/change cleaners?

You've had good clear advice on how to dismiss the cleaner in a straightforward way.

Ignore the ridiculous comments. In any partnership if one half of the couple is working longer hours and actually away from home 3 days a week and the other works less, then it's reasonable for the partner with more time to do more domestic chores. When your wife developed health problems you sensibly decided to get a cleaner in. All very logical and straightforward.

Just sack her.

Dear Jean, I'm sorry to have to tell you that we need to let you go as of this week. Thanks for all your hard work over the just two years. We wish you all the best. Best wishes,

Just do it. You'll feel loads better

Why would you not address her directly?

You call the shots.

Deirdre love, we are paying you xxxx $$$'s an hour and you're slacking and your time keeping is dreadful. We employ you for two hours but you arrive late and leave early!

Either you improve or we will have to let you go.

get a company in.

When it is not up to scratch you can then complain to the boss rather than cleaner.

OP- this being mumsnet you are getting a hard time. If you pay a cleaner a reasonable amount to do a reasonable amount during that time then of course it is okay to object if this is not what you are getting. I would give notice, but ensure you have someone in place first as it seems this is needed. As hard as it may seem, I would be honest. Your cleaner has been taking the piss and she needs to know you know.

Hi OP, you don't owe this cf cleaner an explanation or further chances. just give two week notice and be done with it. make sure she doesn't take the pass during these two weeks by insisting full 2 hours are worked each time and that she doesn't take any calls while she is working.

Message her.." Dear Cleaner, Unfortunately due to a change in our circumstances, we have decided that we no longer require your services from....date. Thank you for the work you have done and we wish you the best for the future"

Either do it yourself or get someone else.

A lot of people find it difficult to sack people they've been on friendly terms with for years.

Not everyone is you.

Ok, let's get back on track, OP!

Message cleaner now:

'Dear Pruella, my wife and will no longer require a cleaner. Please take this message as two weeks notice of termination. Thanks for all your help over the years, all the best. Paul.'

You earn "tons" but don't know how to manage staff/employees/contractors? It's really not difficult and no one has told you anything that you couldn't figure out yourself.

What are you expecting her to do in 2 hours?

What cleaning do you do in between her visits?

@paulfoel

The quality of the cleaning is dire to be honest. I could do better

then why don't you?

you say you work 3 days a week, so don't have much time. You have 4 days, most only have 2.

I wouldn't give notice either. I wouldn't think a good job would be done in the interim.

I wouldn’t give notice. One cleaner refused to give back the keys and I had to change the locks. I’d just say that we won’t need you anymore. She knows that she is taking the mickey and doesn’t care. Neither should you.

Give her some firmer and clearer expectations or replace her 🤷🏼‍♀️ why should you pay £150 a month for someone to come to your house and sit on their phone?
Don't be so wishy washy.

just get a different cleaner

£150 a month is the difference between your wife being able to work or have a cleaner?

Give over.

Well you’ve made it sound like the only alternative was your wife cleaning in your OP?

I'd source another cleaner, get them to do a test clean by that i mean you pay them , give them a average list of what is expected, ie kitchen bathroom vacuuming mopping etc, but make sure one of you is there to ensure they don't go over time- often to impress the first clean will be a little bit longer than anticipated ( according to a friend of mine who runs a cleaning company) . So you see what they achieve in the 2 hours because there is always possibility that your expectation may be out of line, it's also possible over time just as cleaner has got more relaxed your household has got a bit messier. Assuming you are right and it's all the time on phone and lateness id make sure to set some strong ground rules for new cleaner, such as please don't make or take calls other than emergencies, it may be better to suggest they don't carry phone around with them ( my friend actually encourages this as she finds that the number one complaint clients have is calls at work - so she will tell her workers not to be on phone during work hours except to her!!, but she says it helps if her clients support this too, especially now days so many people working from home. )

Assuming you have someone lined up id just say its not working out any more, as someone has suggested you can say you've decided to go without, or say there's to be a change in your wifes working hours , or yours, or both working hours, you can be vague, give her some notice or pay her in lieu, and say if she wants a reference grand, then job done, never pleasant but you don't have other choices really.

Ignore the cattiness, OP, that's typical MN for you.

I agree with telling her you're going to go without a cleaner and giving her some notice so she isn't going to be without the income immediately. Our cleaner is lovely and actually very good but horrendously unreliable (for reasons genuinely not wholly in her control) and I do get the feeling of obligation as we don't feel we can replace her after 12 years. But she does an excellent job when she's here and if you've tried to work with her and got nowhere then you aren't responsible for protecting her income.