Am I being a total cow?

absolutely this.

It's her choice not to work, and it's your choice whether you find that acceptable or not. How hot is it in your actual house?

I find it a bit weird that she wants to lose out on work all across the summer. There are plenty of jobs that involve working in much hotter environments- cooking in a kitchen, gardening outside, agriculture. You adapt, drink lots of water, work slower as needed.

I have AC in my house (necessary in Japan) and quite often don't run it if I'm home alone. My house sits about around 27c, 28c in the middle of the day.

Believe me, it really is quite taxing, I’m exhausted at the end of the day normally let alone in a continuous heatwave.

Try cleaning 4+ houses a day in sweltering conditions, having to peel off your bra at the end of the day because you’ve sweated half your body weight away and then come back and tell me it isn’t hard going at times. It’s not fluffy work, tinkering about with a feather duster and a squirt of polish. As we all know, most U.K. houses are built to keep heat in and few people have decent fans let alone air conditioning.

A good reliable cleaner who cancels once in extreme conditions? Fine. Someone who sets this kind of limit going forward, then I'd be looking for a different cleaner. it strikes me that this is part of the "women be kind" thing. Its not. Its a business arrangement. Its transactional in its proper sense. Neither of you is doing the other a favour.

are you quite ok?
so utterly classist and dismissive. And probably misogynistic. is that all? 😂

Most cleaners get on with it. Yes, it's physical, but not that physical. At worst you get a bit sweaty, is that such a big deal?

It is also not salaried. No holiday or sick pay, no rights and protections, no coffee breaks or H&S assessments/protections
well, quite. If someone then doesn't want clients in the summer, they can't be needing much of that income. Absolutely fine, but why is privileged here!

OP offered to pay her the full wage for half the work.

It's been 36c outside here at times, and my house is around 22c all day. I am militant about keeping it cool with shade and closed windows as I don't have aircon.

Er.... she's already without a cleaner so it wont make a jot of difference will it? 😂

THIS. Good grief, I've been going to work all week despite feeling almost sick with heat.

If she won't work over 25 thats absolutely her prerogative but you have every right to find another cleaner. Thats just business. Take emotions out of this because it's not relevant. She is providing a service and if she cannot provide the service you require then you will find someone else who does.

This isnt about her personally- she can choose to work whatever flipping patterns she likes- she could choose to work only in the autumn time or only on every other Tuesday if she wants but she cannot then expect others to hire her if thats not convenient for them.

As for people saying install AC 🤣 thats going to cost thousands, and by the time you find someone to book the job and actually install it, it will likely be cold weather again so will be completely pointless.

How has OP gone above and beyond!? I highly doubt OP bought the portable AC units purely for the cleaner!

My sister and I have a small cleaning business. We are in East Anglia and this week has felt like we were cleaning in the bowels of hell, we both have health conditions which make matters worse but we haven’t cancelled any of our customers even though we have felt like it because some houses we clean are stinky and stifling, the owners never open the windows or have any fans/air con but the show must go on, as they say.

I can totally understand your cleaner but also understand that you are the customer and you need the work completed. Moving forward, if we continue having these heatwaves year in, year out as predicted she will surely be unable to carry out her work 3/4 months of the year. Maybe she needs to start looking at other lines of work.

Agreed you are not friends, it’s a business relationship. Look for a new cleaner asap.

Fuck me, that is harsh - and so utterly classist and dismissive. And probably misogynistic.

Cleaning is a physical job. It’s hard work - otherwise OP would be able to do it, current health concerns notwithstanding, wouldn’t she? So yes, it IS taxing if you are doing 6-8 hours of it moving from one client to another and then, likely, going home to deal with kids.

It is also not salaried. No holiday or sick pay, no rights and protections, no coffee breaks or H&S assessments/protections - such as you get when in salaried employment at, say, a hospital where you work in a team.

Go check your privilege because your response is, frankly, quite despicable.

Definitely not unreasonable. And she's not special just because she is good at the job she's employed to do

....or she could hire someone who will clean at 25 degrees which is a perfectly normal temperature in which to work.

Cancel and find another cleaner. It sounds like she is thoroughly unreliable.

Our cleaner works regardless of temperature she’s a hard worker and just gets on with it. We all have to really don’t we. Yours sounds lazy and to be honest she isn’t meeting your needs to it’s perfectly fine to tell her you need someone more reliable and move on.

Is she still wanting to be paid?

If yes, she could come early morning or late evening when it's much cooler?

YANBU to find another cleaner. Look on We Casa for a one off clean. Hope you recover soon!

She's a cleaner, a perfectly respectable job, but she's not building pyramids in the middle of the day either😂

It's just cleaning, indoors, it's not that taxing,

Imagine if everybody refused to work, refuse to clean schools, hospitals and places that REALLY should have air con or more protection against the heat.

If she is not expecting to still be paid, it is annoying but you can't argue. You can find a new cleaner.

I wouldn't want to lose a good cleaner over this.

Even this year - which has been exceptional - it didn't get over 25 degrees until June. And it could be shit weather in August & September for all we know.

I would wait and see how it plays out over the rest of the summer and if she only ends up cancelling a few times, I would respect that it is too hot for lots of housework. My own house is messy at the moment because I can't be bothered in this heat to do much hoovering, etc.

Of course if she cancels week after week for weeks on end, then you will need to find a new cleaner but wait and see.

was that necessary? Do you look down at people employing a cleaner, or any other service, because you are jealous , or are you just grumpy about the heat 😂

If she is already a frequent cancel cleaner look for someone else.

It may be 25 outside, but is often hotter indoors in smaller properties, and yes she is NOT sitting having a cuppa but doing PHYSICAL work. Gyms etc are usually maintained at a temperature of 16-20 degrees; we are advised not to walk dogs at temps over 23; and yes, a cleaner MAY also have underlying health conditions that are absolutely none of your business as a client but mean they are advised to show caution in hotter weather.