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AIBU?

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Original poster

To sack cleaner for leaving early …

94 replies

Confused19831983 · 05/12/2025 14:25

My cleaner is paid £20 per hour for two hours a week. I tip her £100 at Xmas.
She has been cleaning for me for about four years.
I recently installed a ring doorbell due to the theft of a car on my street.
I can now see that she leaves 20 to 25 mins early every week.
If I happen to be in the house during the clean she stays for the allotted time.
I am largely happy with her clean though there is definitely more she could be doing. I live in a medium sized house.
First world problem, I know, but AIBU to say something?
I would never have known if I hadn’t installed the ring doorbell.
I thought I had a good relationship with her, and it feels like a bit of a betrayal.

OP posts:
ThatNoisyBrickGuide · 07/12/2025 11:10

If she does a good job, why worry? She must be someone who needs extra money, why don't you say that you've only just worked out how the camera works and it's lovely to be able to see who is coming and going. If she has any sense, she will realise she can't leave early.

Hamiltonfan · 07/12/2025 11:09

My cleaner did this. She then put her prices up so I reduced her hours down so am now paying less and she does the same amount of "cleaning" she did before.

LuckyDenimBiscuit · 07/12/2025 11:07

Well, done...you pay her for hours 2 hours, she should work for 2 hours. No discussion!

Ilovechocolatelimesandsherbertlemons · 07/12/2025 11:04

KnewYearKnewMe · 05/12/2025 15:27

We have a good,
long term cleaner who also began doing similar.

after it became regular, I said ‘I noticed you’re leaving by 2.30 these days… shall we cut back to 2.5 hours in future or would you prefer to do additional things’?

the additional things became the regular choice.

I think that's an excellent way of handling it, good advice, thanks.

CatPawsAreCute · 07/12/2025 09:21

If you're feeling cowardly (I don't blame you!), why not say something indirect like, "I love this new ring doorbell, it alerts me every time anyone arrives or leaves, so much better than an ordinary doorbell." Say it when she's just arrived, show her the app, and show her footage of her leaving if you can. That should alert her to the fact that you're now always "there".

curious79 · 07/12/2025 09:06

This is theft. I would find a replacement and fire her.

she’s only meant to be there for two hours. Shirley even in the smallest flat you could find something to do?!

Theroadt · 07/12/2025 09:05

£100 tip is insane, frankly, but indicates you are happy with her work. Frankly 2hrs/week is not eniugh to clean a house properly imho so I’m surprised you are happy with her standard if she’s only spending 1.5hrs

Batteriesoptional · 07/12/2025 08:05

OnTheNiceishList · 05/12/2025 14:43

I’ve got this problem. My cleaner told me she can’t complete the tasks in 2 hours, so I upped it to 2.5 hours. There are 3 of them, so that’s an extra £30. It’s not a weekly clean so there is a lot to do.

They started to leave 5, then 10…..then 30 mins early. I’m not usually there, but noticed when I was. The other day I left the house and then my DH came back about 1 hour 45 into their clean and they’d already gone.

I need a cleaner as I work FT, and they are hard to find, but they are taking the piss.

I had this too. It went on for a very longtime before I called it a day. It then took about 18 months to find decent replacements. In retrospect I should have just said - I can see the job can be done in x hours as you are only working that, so going forwards that is what I’ll pay you for. My current cleaners are amazing though, feel very grateful to have them.

Helpwithdivorce · 07/12/2025 07:57

Mine does the same. Always at least 30 mins early. I keep wondering if I should just sack her or if I should say something. But then she’s doing everything I ask her to do. And if I left more jobs she’d do them too. So I feel like why am I sacking her for being good at her job?

Louoby · 07/12/2025 07:53

If you are paying for a two hour clean she should be staying for the two hours. I would simply pay her for the time she is there so if she is there only 1hr 30/35 mins then I would pay her for that.

Original poster
Confused19831983 · 07/12/2025 07:44

@Truetoselfthats a really good idea actually. Maybe I should suggest this to her.

OP posts:
Truetoself · 07/12/2025 07:40

my cleaner tells me each week how many hours she has done. This works better for me as some weeks more need doing

Original poster
Confused19831983 · 07/12/2025 07:38

Thanks all for your replies. You’ve made me realise I am not being unreasonable to feel aggrieved by this.

I know it’s essentially a business transaction but I thought we had a good relationship and I feel a bit betrayed and as though I can no longer trust her.

She is fastidious about staying the exact amount of time when I am there (which isn’t very often).

I don’t know if there’s a way of confronting her without causing bad feeling (which would make me uncomfortable given she has a key and access to my private space).

English also isn’t her first language and she doesn’t speak it very well.

I think she would be horrified if she realised I knew she was leaving early.

I am going to give her lists of extra things to do as many have suggested and try and think of a way of letting her know I know, without confronting her, cowardly as that may be!

She has another cleaning gig with me relating to my work, so it would be quite a lot of money for her to lose across the month if I was to let her go.

OP posts:
FunnyOrca · 05/12/2025 16:59

I view it as the cost of the clean rather than expecting the cleaner to drag out tasks to fit the time exactly. Some weeks I give her ironing or ask for a deep clean of the oven etc. My cleaner does text when she’s leaving early to check if I need anything else. I appreciate the honesty.

Doteycat · 05/12/2025 16:54

I would sack her.
She cant be trusted and she is taking the piss.
I wouldnt have anyone in my employ that did that.
In fact, I have sacked someone for that. Her finishing time on fridays was 3,to collect her son from school, secondary, so not a smally, and little by little every week she was closing her laptop earlier and earlier, i left it a while until she was putting on her coat at 2.50 to be out the door, having closed her laptop at 2.30, brought her cup out to be washed, went to the loo, text her husband, found her scarf, Bla bla bla.
By the end of it, id say she was sitting outside the school at 3, not finishing work at 3. Over the course of 3 months, that was a lot on my dime, so i let her go.
IF you take the piss, you pay the consequences.

MeridaBrave · 05/12/2025 16:08

£20 is top end. I’d tell her that you can see what time she comes and goes, and you can see she left early, and that there are loads more tasks. She should just ask if not sure.

Newyearawaits · 05/12/2025 16:03

Fandangoes · 05/12/2025 15:21

I noticed this too when I got a ring doorbell. I have re-framed it in my head. I pay her £x for doing the cleaning I’ve asked (she doesn’t clean bedrooms). So long as things are cleaned to an acceptable standard her job is done. Makes me feel better about it. I don’t want to do the cleaning and finding a new cleaner is haaaaard! I’ve had really rubbish ones in the past!

This.
Please don't sack the cleaner, speak to her first.
Fwiw, plenty of posts on MN re matters regarding wfh emphasise that 'as long as the job is done'.

TheatricalLife · 05/12/2025 15:57

I'd definitely bring it up, but not immediately sack. Agree with those offering her shorter hours if she is getting things done with time to spare, or giving her more to do if she would prefer.
She may be embarrassed and accuse you of monitoring her (my friend had the exact same situation as you and her cleaner was hugely offended and threatened all sorts, even reporting to the police!) so be prepared for a defensive reaction.

Marylou2 · 05/12/2025 15:56

I'd rather get rid of my lovely husband than my much adored cleaner. If your cleaner doesn't do a good job I'd find someone else. It wouldn't be a big deal for me if the job was done well and someone left early but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Zempy · 05/12/2025 15:49

I would say you have noticed she’s getting everything done in less than the allotted time, so you will add x,y, or z to her tasks list each time.

Surely that’s better than sacking her?

muggart · 05/12/2025 15:48

i fired a cleaner for this although i was paying for 4 hours and she was leaving after 3. i told her there were things left undone and she said she couldn’t stay longer because she had another job to get to. she would have been happy for me to pay her for 3 but it was the betrayal that annoyed me.

BernardButlersBra · 05/12/2025 15:34

firstofallimadelight · 05/12/2025 14:37

I’d say I’ve noticed you leave twenty minutes early would you prefer to reduce your hours or are you happy to do extra jobs to take you to the full two hours?
Then I would not give her the bonus this year to make up some of the lost time.

This. A lot of occupations would regard what she is doing as fraud

I'm confused by people claiming nothing can be done in 10 minutes. Of course they can

KnewYearKnewMe · 05/12/2025 15:27

We have a good,
long term cleaner who also began doing similar.

after it became regular, I said ‘I noticed you’re leaving by 2.30 these days… shall we cut back to 2.5 hours in future or would you prefer to do additional things’?

the additional things became the regular choice.

CalmTheFuckDownMargaret · 05/12/2025 15:26

There are two ways of doing it. One is to give the cleaner specific list of things to do and they can go when they’ve done them. This is an obvious incentive to work quickly. The other is to pay an hourly rate and expect the cleaner to do as much as they can in that time. The problem with that is that the cleaner can be as slow as they like. What’s not on is for the cleaner to leave before that time if there are jobs that could be done. What I would do in this situation is say to the cleaner that as you’ve noticed certain jobs need keeping on top of that you would now rather them work through a fixed list of jobs. Give them two hours’ worth. They are free to go early if they complete them before that. They are good cleaners but aren’t completely trustworthy then that’s what you’ll have to do.

SalmonOnFinnCrisp · 05/12/2025 15:24

I'll be very honest... if she doesnt steal, isnt damaging your house or ruining the taps by leaving viakal on too long I'd just mention the two hours politely and suggest a couple of periodic jobs that need to be done once a month eg plantation blinds and dusting the ceiling or whatever.which will take it to "2 hours" and I'd turn a blind.eye or 5 or 10 mins.

Good cleaners are like good men.... HARD to find...