Cleaner works 2 hours but gets paid for 3 hours

[Aliensrus]

Hello, first time poster so hope this is in the right place.
I have a lovely cleaner who we pay for 3 hours a week but she seems to leave after 2 hours. I’ve been working from home recently which is how I know.
Just wondering if I am supposed to make a list of extra jobs for her to do when she finishes early? I’m one of those people who find it hideously embarrassing to have a cleaner so find this all quite painful.
Would be grateful if someone could let me know what is normal and whether I could/ should be writing a list of extra jobs (which need to be done but I thought she didn’t have time).
Thank you

If you're paying 3 hours she should stay for 3 hours. Sure she could find something!
If you agreed a rate for the job and she fits it all in by whizzing round then going early might be ok.
We had this - I only discovered it by chance then kept an eye on ring doorbell for her arriving and leaving. Always shaving at least half hour off. Also not a great job. Made my excuses and got rid rather than confronting as I felt awkward as she was friend of a friend and accusing her of leaving early seemed embarrassing. Even though true.
Talk to her (if braver than me) and day as you pay for 3 hours does she need more tasks.

*say not day

Just say you are having a post Xmas blitz and here is the new list....
Cleaner here - she really should be looking for things to do ime...

I’ve had this too, I would write a list and if she still leaves early I would consider employing her again. For me it was a case of losing trust but you have to see how you feel.

Yes just leave a list. Really she should be asking you “is there anything else I can do for the last hour?” Instead of just leaving. Is what she is doing, being done properly?

Mine is slightly different.
3 cleaners stay for 2 hours. So 6 cleaning hours (once a fortnight)
One cleaner left, so now 2 cleaners so 4 cleaning hours. I wasn't informed of the change, it just happened and am expected to pay the same. The 2 however appear to do a very good job, so have taken the hit
If you are not happy OP you need to say something

I never get why people on MN are so embarrassed about confronting their cleaners. Surely if you yourself worked 40 hours a week but only ever did 30 your boss would pull you up on it. I don’t see the difference 🤣 Make sure you get your money’s worth, be that a rate for a specific job no matter how long it takes of £X per hour for X hours.

Is it because she’s super efficient or is she cutting corners?

@queenofwinterfell that’s what I thought

Yeah I think it's totally fine to just say 'I have noticed that you are leaving after two hours but I'm paying for three hours so can we agree on some extra things for you to do to fill the time?'
Perfectly reasonable.

Thanks to everyone that has replied, I haven’t worked out yet how to name check people but all replies are appreciated. It has given me a bit more confidence to give her a set of defined tasks in addition to her usual cleaning and tidying (which she can do to fill up extra time).
She does a superficial clean and a tidy which is enough to keep us ticking over and I do a deep clean every so often. There is definitely obvious dust and dirt that gets left over though.
And I’m not sure why I find it so excruciatingly embarrassingly to have a cleaner but I guess I need to put my big girl pants on and deal with it 😂

@Aliensrus
I can't help with the cleaner ( sulks cos can't afford one 😟 ) but to name check tap / type the @ and a list of the pp ( previous post/er) comes up just tap on the persons name you want to check and it will automatically be inserted in bold .

If she only works 2 hours then pay her 2 hours.

If she regularly has an hour left over then could you get her to deep clean something in that time?

It's not a misunderstanding, in that she thinks she's being paid to do a job, and once done, she can go? I doubt it, but I would check before you wade in. I used to have my own cleaning business and if I had time left over (which was rare tbh), in the absence of other instructions I would fill the time cleaning windows internally or wiping/washing down paintwork. By the sound of it, though, she would do a better job if she was more thorough and used all the allotted time! Please don't worry about talking to her. I always told my clients to say if I was doing something in a way they didn't like. I would far rather have known than blunder on and annoy the client. If she gets huffy, perhaps she's not the cleaner for you.