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Original poster

Cleaners hung out to dry - times article

187 replies

Itwasntme1 · 19/04/2020 13:07

I have just read an article in the times about people not paying their cleaners.

My very wealthy friend stopped paying his cleaner on day one, this lady has cleaned his house for years. I had just employed a cleaner, she had only come twice, but I am still paying her.

I realise I am taking a risk, she might not come back when lock down is lifted and I have now paid her for more missed sessions than she has cleaned. However morally I would struggle with stopping payments.

Is the times article right, have most people stopped paying their cleaners?

OP posts:
Parkandride · 19/04/2020 15:05

I was about to tell mine I no longer needed their services after a gross misconduct type of event, otherwise I would pay them as I am the dog walker. Feel a bit awkward that I'm not paying them but they massively took the piss

ivfgottostaypositive · 19/04/2020 15:06

She can’t work and as I pay cash (like I assume many clients) i don’t think the government payments will come close to her lost income.

Well that's kind of her problem then if she hasn't been declaring her full income (and avoiding the Appropriate level of tax) and therefore the government is paying out based on artificially "low" business accounts - reap what you sow

I've lost half my income due to the furlough cap and I'm the main earner compared to DH by several times. I'm not paying my cleaner and will be giving notice to the childminder after she has continued to demand full fees.

peppermintcapsules · 19/04/2020 15:07

Nice thing to do if you can afford it.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Cleaning
Elouera · 19/04/2020 15:07

@InDubiousBattle- I was going to ask the exact same thing, if people are also paying their hairdresser/nail bar/beauticians/gardening etc?

User202004 · 19/04/2020 15:09

I'm paying ours too, we haven't had any financial change we are both public servants, if anything we are making savings in fuel etc. I would have budgeted for it anyway and my DH isn't in work every day so he's been picking up the cleaning, just feels mean not to pay. I've paid up until end of April thus far and will pay for May on payday. Tbh I always try to avoid being in the house when she comes so it would be a bit awkward with me being here and I will be WFH for the foreseeable, that's my choice, so I will continue to pay her.

1066vegan · 19/04/2020 15:09

I've never had a cleaner but I'm still working on full pay so if I did have a cleaner, I'd continue to pay them.

I haven't been to the gym since before lockdown and I can't see me going back for many months but it's a not-for-profit chain so I didn't cancel the direct debit.

It's different if you're struggling financially yourself, but if your own income isn't affected by the lockdown then I think you have a moral obligation to continue supporting those who are badly affected.

MimiLaRue · 19/04/2020 15:09

She can’t work and as I pay cash (like I assume many clients) i don’t think the government payments will come close to her lost income

So, tax fraud then. Sorry- not feeling too sorry for someone who does that- maybe she should have saved all the money she was avoiding by not paying tax (which funds the NHS)

chocolatesaltyballs22 · 19/04/2020 15:09

Mine hasn't been for 4 weeks (on my request) but I'm still paying her and will continue to do so. I'm still on full pay so why wouldn't I. Those who don't pay and can afford to should be ashamed of themselves.

QuestionMarkNow · 19/04/2020 15:11

Well I’m self employed and some people have come tot see me for years too. They don’t pay me for a service I’m not providing.
No more than I have seen. The tennis coach, maths tutor, yoga teacher etc..... been paid for classes they can’t offer.

I still dont understand why, on MN, cleaners are so special they are paid when they don’t work (holidays, lockdown etc...)

olivehater · 19/04/2020 15:11

I am paying half. I think that is a fair compromise. I am still working ( nhs) and dh is as well and not making as much money as he works for himself and losing work all the time. Now I have to do my own cleaning on top of that. There is a bit of a difference Between being furloughed and paying someone out of your own pocket.

QuestionMarkNow · 19/04/2020 15:12

@chocolatesaltyballs22, as you are on full pay Do you also pay for all your dc activities, your exercise class etc ?

If not, why?

ivykaty44 · 19/04/2020 15:14

Mine insisted I stopped after I paid her g dh or her first missed session. Cleaner said as an established small business she’ll make a claim

NoSoapAndGory · 19/04/2020 15:18

In response to why would you pay your cleaner and not your beautician, hairdresser, etc..

I'd say that in my case, our cleaner is an enabler. She's part of the fabric of our household - she's so important as she allows us both to work FT by freeing us from the jobs we can't / don't want to do in our non-working time, and she cares about helping us out / making our lives easier.

Really, really good, reliable, trustworthy cleaners are very hard to come by in my experience. I love mine 😃

I also love my hairdresser, nail tech, eyelash tech etc but in a different way. They aren't in my home. I did offer to pay for 3 months appointment up front / by 'voucher' type thing but none took me up on that.

@Gingercatlover - you see, I think your client is a fool and will regret not valuing the wonderful care you've given her.

dkanin · 19/04/2020 15:22

I'm paying mine in full, I'm not rich but I can afford to keep doing so for now. I know she must be struggling financially and she does such a great job for me, I couldn't manage without her (I'm physically disabled, often don't see anyone else for weeks at a time but am shielding whilst staying with a relative at the moment).

chocolatesaltyballs22 · 19/04/2020 15:23

@questionmarknow I don't have any kids activities which I paid for before this. And my gym is a huge organisation who have taken the decision themselves to suspend all membership fees.

Do something nice and you still get criticised...

anothernotherone · 19/04/2020 15:25

We pay our cleaner. She's quite expensive too, but there are several reasons we still pay her. She was willing to keep coming to clean but obviously that wasn't a good idea. Being willing though definitely made it more comfortable to part with full pay, which is about 200€ per month so not nothing.

We haven't lost any income so can still afford to pay her, but we're both working as many or more hours as / than usual plus the kids are home so it will be nice to have her back when schools go back. She has small children and I said come back when schools go back so it'll probably be late May (Germany).

GinUnicorn · 19/04/2020 15:28

Unfortunately due to DP being self employed we’ve had a massive drop income so can’t afford to pay ours.

I’m about to go on stat maternity leave so we just don’t have enough to pay for a service we aren’t receiving. Same with nursery. We won’t get any income from DP until June and so we’ve got to massively tighten our belts. It’s a bit upsetting to be told you are being tight for that. Not all of us have options.

QuestionMarkNow · 19/04/2020 15:30

Nothing about criticism.
I have friends who do massage/osteopath/chiropractors. They all have very long standing clients coming every 2 weeks. People who get a lot of benefit from their treatments. They are not paid during lockdown.

Maybe I shouldn’t have tagged you. It so happens your post was above mine.
But I’m still wondering why being nice doesn’t extend to alll the SE people we all use on a regular basis.

anothernotherone · 19/04/2020 15:31

QuestionMarkNow cleaners are different to yoga instructors and hairdresser because they are in your home unaccompanied - a high level of trust, and usually have fewer clients. Even a full time cleaner who works solo won't usually have more than 15 clients and they will be the same few week in, week out for years or decades.

MimiLaRue · 19/04/2020 15:33

It’s a bit upsetting to be told you are being tight for that. Not all of us have options

Remember these are just other people's opinions, they arent "facts".Just because someone says something, doesnt mean its true or you have to take it on board. End of the day, noone knows what anyone's finances are like.
Unless you are a literal millionaire, you have no idea what others finances are like. My H is self employed- in times when things are good, it might look to others as if we have a lot of money but that money has to stretch to times when there is nothing coming in. Noone knows what financial responsibilities other people have so its not really their place to judge.

Echobelly · 19/04/2020 15:33

Have paid ours up for six weeks of her usual hours before lockdown came in, and will pay her for another six, which I think will be a minimum time before she can return (she lives locally, so we'll arrange to get it to her). I'm still being paid, DH's contract might be up, but at contractor's rates he gets quite a lot of money so I think we can pay the next six weeks regardless of his situation. We pay for her because we can, basically - if we were in financial trouble then, TBH, we might not pay it but as long as we can, we will.

Mummyoflittledragon · 19/04/2020 15:35

I would be Very very very happy for my cleaner to still come. I had to cancel the clean a week before lockdown and asked if she could come the following ie first lockdown week before it was announced. She replied she would let me know and hasn’t bothered to contact me since. I would have been quite happy to continue to pay a contribution during shut down but she didn’t contact me....

Astoatora54 · 19/04/2020 15:36

I'm still paying ours and she said that I am the only person who is! (She works for three other families). I am also the only one who gave her a proper contract with sick pay so depending on your point of view I am either a model employee or a mug!

Yerroblemom1923 · 19/04/2020 15:38

Can you provide a link to the article, please?

Viviennemary · 19/04/2020 15:38

Cleaner should either be registered as self employed or have an employer such as any agency. In either case they would be able to claim.