Caught Cleaner clipping her Nails in our Bathroom..

But where did she put the clippings??? I don’t think you need amazing hearing to hear clips, it’s a very distinctive high pitched sound. I find it really weird for her to do it without asking but I would probably have let her borrow the clippers for fingernails so I wouldn’t personally fire her over it. Annoying that you’re paying her to clean but she’s clipping nails/making a mess in that time, though

I wouldn't get upset about this but if you were able to count the clippings, that means she left them behind? Yeeuuukk! Why did she not clean them up?

I think I'd want to find someone new not for the actual clipping but because she left her nails behind. 🤢

Made me laugh!

Anything you have to open a bedroom/bathroom
cupboard or a drawer to get is personal.

And this is why I still love Mumsnet. Just when you think that you can't be surprised any more!

It's a bit odd but not the same as using your hairbrush, which I would object to. If she's otherwise great, as you say, I'd let it go.

I once caught my cleaner in my bed with her boyfriend when I came home unexpectedly with a migraine. Now that was a sacking offence!

I wouldn’t class it as personal in the same way that a razor or toothbrush would be

Brother eurgh, whats that brother.

You sound awful.
Get a bloody grip.

I wouldn’t mind, my nails drive me a bit mad when they grow a bit and can be a right pain when they’re a bit too long to type or clean, they might have been bothering her for the whole day and she thought she’d just do it quickly to make her job a tiny bit easier.

This is why I keep an eye on new cleaners. Obviously in this situation she wasn’t new but generally I like to make sure we have the same standards about things. People are all so very different! I use to keep my toothbrush in my bedroom when I lived in a shared house, I’d heard too many horror stories 😅

I don't view every one as dirty or disease ridden. But it's the same as I wouldn't expect any one to use my hair brush or comb:because they are for my personal use. I would certainly have lent the cleaner my nail clippers if she'd broken a nail but I wouldn't expect her just to take them.
It's not a question of not trusting her: it's a matter of respecting your employers possessions.
And sorry I haven't read every post so I've missed the one which talks about the cleaner and OP's children. Does she look after them as well as cleaning?

If I was cleaning a bathroom and snagged a nail then I would use clippers or nail file etc that was in the bathroom cabinet, I wouldn’t go snooping round other places but if I’m tidying and cleaning out that cupboard and knew the clippers were there I would just have used them without asking. I didn’t realise until this thread that anyone would have an issue with that.

Wow. That is not normal at all. You don't just use someone else's personal care items. That's massively overstepping.

So you would just go into someone’s cupboard and use their nail scissors without asking? Really?!

It wouldn’t occur to me to not use someone’s nail clipper or scissors, this lady has probably touched everywhere in your home, why is it grim her finger nails have touched the clippers? If she’s got any germs or infection it would be all over your towels, bedding, cups etc that’s she’s touched.

Definitely doesn't warrant sacking. Give the lady a break. I'm sure she does some of the grimmer cleaning jobs in your household! I'd just say to her that I'd be happy to buy her a pair of nail clippers next time you go shopping as you'd prefer if she didn't use yours!

So she's good enough to babysit your kids in emergencies, you've known each other for years, and you begrudge her a few snips with a pair of nailclippers?? It's not as if she went into your wardrobe, put on one of your summer dresses, and sat sunning herself in a deckchair (which one of my teacher's cleaners did, apparently).

I prefer to treat people as human beings. I couldn't get worked up about this in the first place but firing her?
Yes do her a favour.

op said generally speaking she’s not that much of a good cleaner either!

I think you should let her go but don’t mention the nail clippers.

Exactly, no-ones going to reuse a used tissues. And the same with a glass,
if she placed it in the sink or dishwasher or whatever you’d see it has been used so you’d wash it. The issue with the clipper is you wouldn’t know she’s been using it.

I wouldn't like the idea of someone outside my family/household using my clippers without asking (to give me the chance to sanitise them, just in case), but realistically, it's unlikely to cause any problem. If she was only needing to tidy a nail or two that she'd discovered was snagging fabric, that seems like a reasonable request. However, if she's just randomly decided to trim her nails while on the clock (using your clippers), that's odd. It might make me wonder if she's doing anything else i wouldn't appreciate (sampling beauty products, etc).

The bigger issue is that you aren't satisfied with her cleaning. I'd find a way to let her go on the basis of her poor cleaning ability, but I don't think I'd mention the nail clipping incident. It's just the final straw, really.

It’s really hard to find a good reliable cleaner round my way. If I were you I’d ask her not to do it again and give the clippers a good wash.

If I break a nail then I tend to clip then all down to the same level. It could very well be one split/ snagged so they all got a trim. I’d probably just designate those guest nail clippers and get a pair for my toiletry bag. Unless you want to get rid of her, in which case it’s a decent excuse.

I wouldn't want someone I don't trust wandering around my home, and I wouldn't be able to trust someone who deliberately concealed this from me in an act requiring multiple steps, especially when there was an opportunity to be honest and explain the situation when you ran into her.

Everyone has a different level of comfort with sharing toiletries, etc, but it's the whole ocean's eleven style antics that would make me feel confused and betrayed by this.