To be uncomfortable with my cleaner bringing her child

For sure. However, it sounds like this person isn’t a solo cleaner. She’s had other people working for her in the past which wasn’t an issue for the OP. She hasn’t sent her son in blind. He’s with her. The OP
has only taken issue now.

My self employed point was more aimed at those saying the OP has employed the particular cleaner. They have employed her services, not her.
Lots of people think they employ their cleaner.

I've had plumbers turn up to service my boiler or change radiators with apprentices who are 16 or over.

There is a legal difference between employing or having a 16 year old apprentice, and someone younger.

And yes there are posters who did x job when they were under 16 but councils and insurance companies have tightened up. So many business/self-employed people won't go near someone who is under 16 especially if the work is in different areas.

Indeed. You'd not be happy if your mobile hairdresser just sent someone else without agreement.

No I get that. It's a communication thing, we have a cleaner and when her son was younger she'd bring him during the school holidays. But she always asked first and let me know what she planned as she appreciated that it's our home. It's a two way respect thing.

My point is more to address those that believe they have ‘employed’ the cleaner. Rather, they have employed the ‘services’.
They can turn the cleaner away if they wish but the cleaner hasn’t actually acted wrong. It may well be that she has staff and her T&Cs may address that she doesn’t always work solo.
A window cleaner could turn up with an assistant or an apprentice and no one would bat an eyelid. There appears to a special case for cleaners on Mumsnet.

If the finished job wasn’t as good as it should be, that’s a separate problem to address and would be an issue regardless of whether it was a long term worker or a new to the job teenage boy.

Also on the "substituting yourself" thing as a self-employed person. This is just one of the many tests which HMRC use to decide whether you are self-employed or whether you are actually employed and your employer is trying it on.

There are LOADS of self-employed situations where substitution is not on. I am self-employed, when people negotiate with me to do work for them they are doing that on the basis that it is me doing the work, not a randomer. I do self-employed work as a film/tv extra - the production company hire people based on their particular look, height, age so I couldn't just send my son instead. It is perfectly reasonable as someone using the services of a self-employed cleaner (or hairdresser, personal trainer, dentist) to say that you want to deal with a certain person only.

As I said, performance is a seperate issue. And that stands regardless
of the persons age or how long they’ve done the job.

The contract? That the service provider gives the client? Most will cover this. Unless they are an entirely solo act.

You never had a builder or plumber come
along with an apprentice? Do they ask permission to be in the house?
Do they have a contract?

contract of employment

Why do people always say this. Most cleaners are self-employed therefore there is no "contract of employment". Also as a self-employed cleaner she can change how she operates whenever she wants, if you don't want her son helping that's fine, you can just ask her not to come back at any time.

Well she can't unless the contract says that and generally no one would accept another random cleaner turning up!

I do get different cleaners occasionally and first time it was the main lady plus the woman who would do the regular clean -to assess the job and check what my requirements were. I'd not be okay with someone bringing someone who appeared "untrained" but I'd probably be too British to say anything.

I'd be more concerned that the job appears to be done less well -adequate rather than great. That's why I have got rid of cleaners in the past as I want something better than I can do myself. Competent isn't what I am after.

Exactly.
Cleaning may not requite formal qualifications but cleaning efficiently and thorough generally takes skill and experience.
Good luck to him if he wants to pursue that career, but your cleaner cannot just assume it's ok to bring a trainee just because he happens to be her son. She definitely should have asked if this was ok.

He sounds awesome but if I'm honest if I'm paying for cleaning I expect someone that does it for a living not a teenager.

OP already said it wasn't to the same standard.

I’m confused by the set up, do have a contract with this woman? You pay this woman to do a job, she doesn’t get to invite any one of her choosing and expect you to pay extra. There should be no gentle asking, she doesn’t get to change the terms of her employment by stealth. Her behaviour thus far would be a dealbreaker for me, I have no time to educate her on appropriate behaviour. She takes the proverbial because she’s a CF and she’s been allowed to.

If the clean was of same standard it wouldn't bother me. Good work ethic for the lad. He might make an excellent husband one day too!

His unqualified son?

I think I would tell the cleaner that you would have expected to be asked first.
If by “adequate” you mean his work is of a lower standard then I would ask her to show him how to improve, staying longer in unpaid time to do this.
I’d pay the boy directly - money into his hand.

You’re not comfortable with it, tell them you’d prefer either they just do it themselves from now on or only bring adults over 18. FWIW I wouldn’t like that either.

This.

Now you see, for me, yes, that would worry me, as I'd want to know what work the boy was doing - as in, was he "labouring" or was he connecting things up. With cleaning, unless the boy was like a bull in a china shop, the absolute worst that could happen would be that the standard of cleaning was poor and/or haphazard. With plumbing, I'd be worried for years to come that something may have been done incorrectly.

Funnily enough, it was around this time ten years ago I had this property I'm in now rewired, and the sparky had a 16 year old "apprentice" with him. However, it was clear that the apprentice wasn't doing the wiring, he was being shown the job, and he did all the labouring / sweeping up. An absolutely adorable and well-mannered young man to boot, but I wouldn't have been happy if he'd been the one doing the wiring.

I did this with my mom when was younger. It was a good experience, showed how hard it was to put food on the table. If you're happy and the job is going done, let it be. Tbh it's quite common, cleaning is hard work.

Would you worry if you hired a plumber and he brought his son?

I've got to say, I'm struggling to work out what the problem actually is.

Are you unhappy that sometimes she brings another person to your house? Fair enough, your house, your rules, I don't always like people tagging along when I have work done at home - it all depends on what I'm having done and who the person is, etc.

Or are you unhappy because the other person doesn't clean as well as your cleaner? Again, fair enough, and that's your right.

But what you actually said is "I’m not completely comfortable with paying a 15 year old the same as I pay his mum", and yet you don't tell us why you feel that way. Do you know why you feel like this? If so, let us know. At the end of the day, he may well do the job better than someone much older, but without knowing what your rationale is for how you feel, it's impossible to answer.

However, the fact remains that it's your home, and you are well within your rights to ask her not to bring her son with her. You don't need to give a reason, though she may well ask you why - and that's why you need to be true to yourself first, because if you don't know, then you can't give her a logical answer.

I am not sure how to vote. He did a good job, and worked hard. BUT she did not ask you beforehand (not about him being a teen, but about needing/ charging for a second person).

Him being 15 is not the issue really. I think people should be paid for the job, regardless of age. But you didn't hire/ ask for a second cleaner or additional cleaning hours.

Correct, but while the self-employed worker has the "right" to send a substitute, the person contracting the service has rights to refuse too...never more so in a situation like this, where the "contract" is nothing more than a gentleman's agreement. I have been self-employed for over 20 years, and only in a very, very few instances has it been appropriate to send someone else to one of my clients.

Last year I had a period of several weeks where I couldn't work for many of my clients - they all had plenty of notice, and of those who were happy to accept a replacement, I provided only contact details for that person so they could all make their own arrangements. I didn't get involved at all.

My cleaner used to bring her older teen DD in the school holidays.
I thought it worked for everyone. The cleaner was in my house for less time, her DD earned some money (her mum effectively paid her DD and kept a cut for herself) and the mum got through her work faster so got to spend more time actually doing stuff with her DD and other DC (who were usually with family whilst she was cleaning).
Of course the teen wasn't as good as her mum was but she was pretty good, worked hard and I thought it was pretty impressive that she was prepared to do it when one of her classmates lived across the road from us.
Also, I remember being a broke teen who always had less money than their mates and being desperate for some cash to go out with friends, be able to buy what they had.

Totally illegal, he needs a work permit to work under 16.