Is this hourly rate too high?

They are likely working for less that minimum wage if charging 15/hr

If I earnt £25 an hour , I would not be paying some that to clean.
I would be paying myself into a holiday fund. 3 hours x 50 weeks is a nice holiday ....

Higher end, I'd say, but not extortionate. Especially if they are providing the materials as well.

As previous posters are pointing out, self employed cleaners are not getting the full hourly rate that you pay. On top of tax and NI, they also have make their own private pension arrangements (no employer contributions there), and also cover their own holidays and sickness. They should also have PL insurance.

They don't get paid travel time, petrol/bus, or admin time. They may provide materials and equipment which adds up very quickly. Plus they are very unlikely to be working a full 40 hour week, due to logistics of moving between clients, or having gaps in their diary.

Yes, it can be a flexible job, but that can work both ways. Many cleaners don't charge if you are on holiday, even though they are available for work. They also will often accept cancellations at short notice, but can't fill those hours with another client. It's also not an easy job, and I don't know any rich cleaners!! You really can't compare the hourly rate to that of someone working full time in an employed role. It's just not the same at all.

I've hired, many, many cleaners, and had even more come to quote.

The prices have ranged from £15/hour to £99/hour (not kidding).

For £15/hour or less you will get someone who is probably not as good at cleaning as you. I have had cleaners that charged that but took 3 hours instead of 2 and the end result wasn't as good, so it can be false economy.

£25/hour is reasonable, especially if they are good. And if they're also reliable you've basically won the lottery. However, it may be that price because they don't like your location or they are swamped with jobs (and may drop you if someone more conveniently located comes along).

It also depends what's included - some will change bedding, do washing up etc, some won't even dust skirting boards.

It does make a big difference if a cleaner is good - your house looks and feels MUCH cleaner than if you did it.

Well, tax evaders and benefit fraudsters can work more cheaply as it's extra pocket money to them!

She's free to ask for anything she wants and if the demand is high enough, she'll get it. I wouldn't pay that. Up to you if you think it's worth it or not.

Incidentally, I don't know why people insist it's a skilled job, by definition it's unskilled, as it doesn't require any specialised training or qualifications. Any job requires skills - that doesn't make them skilled.

That's high. I pay £15ph

Where I live its £22.50 average, highest I've had back is £25. Not affluent but cleaners seems to be in high demand so charge more than other places I know.
My friend is a cleaner in an affluent area outside of London and she only charges £16-£18 an hour. She was shocked at what I was quoted.

Absolute mickey take

The challenge is, she won't actually earn £25 an hour. She won't get paid for AL, sickness, when travelling between appointments. It also depends a bit on how many hours you have asked for. If only 1/2, then she looses money when travelling to next job. But if it's 3-4 hours I would expect £18-20 an hour.
We paid £22, but tbh I found it more effort as I had to rush around tidying before she came, so didn't help with my stress levels. I reduced my hours at work a little and do it myself now, which works better for us.

Wow. Professional cleaning is a skill. If you have ever had a cleaner that was not a professional you would know that. People think they can just 'clean' but in actual fact it is challenging physical work. My cleaner is £20 an hour, £20 - £25 is about the going rate around here, mine is £20 as she is starting out and i expect it will go up at some point, but she is really good. Your cleaner does not make £25 an hour. It is likely you will make more than her an hour when you take into account tax and overheads. Her travel will cost quite a bit also, as she is likely to travel more frequently thank you and won't reimburse. As a loose example, for a self employed person wanting to earn £25,000 per annum, their hourly rate would be £19.98 per hour, taking into account overheads, petrol, business expenses and annual leave etc. £25,000 is not even an average UK salary.

Seems pretty insane to me. I’d rather do it myself and ‘pay myself‘ that money. But Mumsnet is a place where many seem to sneer at skilled tradespeople who charge high amounts for the same reasons listed here yet extol the wonders of someone who knows how to use a mop and a hoover like it’s some form of mystical sorcery. I’m not being down on cleaners - I’ve had them in the past and they’ve been wonderful and well-rewarded. But since going pt I’ve worked out that there really isn’t any dark art involved in keeping a house clean so for that reason I wouldn’t pay £25 an hour for someone else to do it for us!

Yes, it sounds like a lot - but we can’t on the one hand say things like “people such as carers and cleaners and shop assistants should be paid a real wage for the work they do, it’s totally wrong that working people have to rely on top up benefits” and simultaneously say “£25 an hour, that’s extortionate, there’s no way an ‘unskilled’ worker should be earning almost the same as a skilled one.” If she comes well-referenced and with good reviews then I’d give her a trial, and then trial a less expensive cleaner as well, for comparison. Then you can make an informed decision.

I'm self employed but not a cleaner. When you work as self employed it's not free cash in you pocket we still pay tax and vat where applicable, she will have other expenses too so it's not pin money

If this cleaner achieves that hourly rate it's probably because they are worth it. Personally she is not the cleaner for you. You are already suspicious of her, you are likely to worry about it and look for faults. That will rightly piss her off and you may end up getting a poor rep as a customer.

Neither of you need that. Find someone cheaper you are happy to pay their hourly rate.

Too expensive imo. Mine was £15 an hour - cash in hand so I’m sure she didn’t pay taxes on it and it’s way above NMW with flexibility to work around her children’s school hours.

YABU

Someone self employed needs to charge at least double NMW to end up with NMW due to them having to self fund holidays, sick pay, pensions, overheads, travelling time & costs, risk of bad debts, equipment, materials, non chargeable time, etc etc.

You really can't compare an hourly rate for an employee with that for someone self employed.

I paid £30 an hour once and she refused to wipe down my kitchen cabinets, saying this was 'deep cleaning' and was £10 an hour more!

The thing with cleaners is it's hard for them to do 8 hours a day, 5 days a week due to logistics.

Yes it's expensive but how much is a takeaway?

I am in a similar nw area, I pay my cleaner 50 for 3 hours, she is excellent and works very hard and will tackle anything. She is self employed and I have had her for years. She comes once per week.sounds like yours is tonight but it is supply and demand. Mine turns down numerous requests and is loyal to her longstanding clients.She has become a friend

OP, I've been self employed most of my life and can promise you that actual earnings are roughly half the hourly rate. Cleaners have to travel between different jobs each day but aren't paid for those hours. They have to meet new clients and assess jobs and aren't paid for those hours either. Most don't get holiday or sick pay and clients will cancel at short notice if they are going away all summer or just want to save a bit of cash, leaving the cleaner with an income shortfall. If you add up all the hours she spends specifically related to her cleaning jobs and then divide that by her income, it won't be anything like £25 ph.

I would expect a cleaner charging £25 an hour to be better and faster than me at cleaning. I agree - do a trial session and see how good she is.

I would not pay her that regardless

Its fine if she wants to value herself that highly

Everything is about supply and demand isn’t it and cleaners have become in high demand

Personally I would not pay more than 20pph

Adbertise on your local area FB group

Mine is £25 per hour in the south. Worth every penny