Would this annoy you if a cleaner did this?

[Movinghouseatlast]

I have a fairly new cleaner.

I work at home and every single time I come into the house to get something she is sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich or a packet of crisps or drinking coffee. She continues to sit there while I go up to where I store my equipment and come back with it- so 15 minutes twice today.

She does 4 hours and I ask her to do the kitchen, dining room, sitting room, hallway and two bathrooms. Previous cleaners have taken 4 hours to do this.

I have said to her that if she has extra time when she's finished she can do the porch or one of the bedrooms but she never 'has time'.

I think she is being really disrespectful by sitting eating and on her phone but maybe I'm wrong? We've all skived at work at some point but she's being a bit blatant about it. She does clean the rooms I've asked her to do though though often misses bits and I have to tell her the next time.

I also don't want to lose her as cleaners are very difficult to find in my area. But I feel she's walking all over me!

She is presumably an adult woman. I don't think eating her packed lunch at someone's house is a problem, but eating it on the clock is. If she stayed in the house after her cleaning time, fair enough.

I have cleaners who do 5hr shifts. I’ve never discussed breaks with them. One just grabs a coffee when she works. The other asked in the beginning if she could take a break during her shift - I said yes I’ve course - I noticed she goes to her car for about 15/20mins around 12 to eat lunch / make phone calls. They both work very hard.

First of all , why don’t you have a chat with her ?

I would say can we have a catch up . Then i
would say your would like her to take a ten minute break within the 4 hours (paid ) . You should in my opinion be expecting to let her have a paid break and throw in a coffee/biscuits .

4 hours is such an exhausting time to clean . Could you break it up into 2 lots of 2 ? Could you work with her once a month ? Could you use an agency cleaner ?

I wouldn't use an agency cleaner absolutely not. In my experience the cleaning is very perfunctory.

I was asking how others would feel about this before I speak to her. She gets the cleaning I ask done so maybe I shouldn't be bothered?

I don't mind her having a break but half an hour plus is too much in my view.

If you work on the check out at Sainsburys you don't get a break in 4 hours. You are expected to work for 4 hours.

She is self employed ( as am I) so a self employed person is meant to factor in their own breaks to their day.

Agreed. I'm a cleaner. It's really hard physically if you're doing a good job, so a 2 minute breather and a quick drink on the go is often needed. If I have 15 or 30 minutes, I don't charge for that time. I wouldn't have your cleaner back and would find someone else who's more professional and has more integrity.

I used to be a cleaner and I’d have been sacked if I sat for a break or had food in a clients house. Some of my cleans were up to 5 hours and if I had a break I wouldn’t finish in time. Your cleaner is disrespectful and using it to her advantage that cleaners are hard to come by so she doesn’t think you’ll say anything. My MIL has a cleaner like this but she won’t sack her as she enjoys her company, the cleaner only cleans the kitchen and bathroom then proceeds to sit and chat for the last hour when she’s paid for a 3 hour deep clean. I have to do the dusting and vacuuming for her and often go over the bathroom as it’s not good enough.
I’d sack her personally, she clearly isn’t doing a thorough enough job so you are wasting your money.

As someone who is self employed any breaks I get are unpaid

Even when I am working in another job we get 20mins unpaid break for lunch.

Only in f/t work have I ever had a paid lunch break

Im in London OP
I pay my lovely cleaner £15ph
She does 3hrs and doesn't take a break
I do always offer her a cuppa though.

Legally....

Rest breaks if you're over 18
If you work for more than 6 hours a day, you're entitled to an uninterrupted rest break of at least 20 minutes - for example a tea or lunch break. You must be allowed to take it during the day rather than at the beginning or end