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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not pay the cleaner more??

52 replies

redyellowgreen · 13/11/2012 21:35

We currently have a cleaner every week. I want to cut this down to every other week since a) it's expensive and b) we don't need someone every week.

I asked her today if that was ok, and said I'd understand if she wanted to leave us to find someone who could hire her every week. She said she'd stay and do every other week but only if we paid her more.

IMO this is undermining what we set out to do (i.e. save money), plus we'd basically be giving her a salary rise for no reason (since it wouldn't be twice as dirty - I'd do the cleaning in her week off).

DH thinks we should go with it, but I think we're being ripped off.

I'm happy to find someone else so don't mind if she leaves us entirely.

AIBU in refusing to pay her more?

OP posts:

LynetteScavo · 13/11/2012 21:37

If you are happy to find someone else, then don't pay more.

MajesticWhine · 13/11/2012 21:38

I don't blame her for asking. What's in it for her to work every other week?
How much do you pay?

ashesgirl · 13/11/2012 21:39

YANBU - unless she is an amazing cleaner who you'd be sad to lose

Whatnowffs · 13/11/2012 21:40

The thing is, you are effectively cutting her wages, i should imagine she doesn't clean your house for fun. If this were me, i would be pissed off, i wouldn't ask for more money but i would, as soon as i could, find another position with someone who can pay me every week. She has bills to pay too im sure.

Original poster

redyellowgreen · 13/11/2012 21:41

She's still getting a regular income though, just every other week, and I've said I'm happy for her to leave us if she wants to go to the same place every week.

We're abroad, so the amount we pay isn't comparable - but it's more than we were paying in central London so it's fairly hefty...

OP posts:

Mintyy · 13/11/2012 21:41

Yanbu. The value of the work she does for you isn't going to suddenly leap from say £10 an hour to £20 an hour to make up for the reduction in hours you can offer her. But I hope you have given her a decent amount of notice - like 4 weeks.

curlypoo · 13/11/2012 21:42

I pay my cleaner top dollar because I have been a cleaner and was always treated incredibly well. If you can afford it you should pay it, the woman is in your home, she is in an ultimate position of trust. You are halving her hours and you expect loyalty from her? It is a big ask: pay the money.

Cartoonjane · 13/11/2012 21:43

Depends how much more. I recently cut my cleaner down to once a fortnight and the offer I made her involved paying slightly more for the weeks she does still come. What would you like to happen if you were having your hours cut at work?

You don't have to offer more but she can ask if she wants.

Whatnowffs · 13/11/2012 21:44

Oh, well then of course YANBU she should be falling over herself in gratitude then that you provide her with a regular income, even though you are wanting to halve it!

Original poster

redyellowgreen · 13/11/2012 21:44

I didn't think I was cutting her wages though - when I was a waitress, if I worked 5hrs, I got paid for 5hrs, if I worked 10hrs, I got paid for 10hrs... We'd still be paying her for the work she did...

OP posts:

Whatnowffs · 13/11/2012 21:45

If your DH came home from work and said, oh well dear we are going to have to tighten our belts, my company are going to half my hours - you would not be happy!

Whatnowffs · 13/11/2012 21:46

Don't you get it? She agreed to work every week for you - you agreed to pay her every week, she probably, you know, NEEDS THE MONEY and can't afford to have a job that only involves working half the original hours. Its not rocket science.

OpheliaPayneAgain · 13/11/2012 21:46

If shes cleaning once a fortnight instead of once a week, she is cleaning twice the shit.

maddening · 13/11/2012 21:47

I think it might be an industry norm? I've thought about getting a cleaner (when I was at work) and they often have a minimum weekly number of hours and less frequent jobs - e.g. a spring clean costs more per hour than a regular on going contract.

Additionally she would find it hard to fill your unused week as most cleaning jobs are weekly and usually a set day - so alternate weeks she wouldn't be earning.

Could you cut it down to 1 hour a week instead of 2 a week - still half but at least she would be free to fill that hour with another ongoing contract whereas she can't with your proposed setup.

Whatnowffs · 13/11/2012 21:48

Also, when jobs offer less hours they do tend to offer more money - I am just about to start supply lecturing the hourly rate is significantly higher than it would be if i were to work there full time. This i suspect is to make it worth my while bothering!

Original poster

redyellowgreen · 13/11/2012 21:48

Whatnowffs - I'm not expecting anything of the sort. I simply saw cleaning as a job for which you got paid for the work you did, rather than a form of charity. Maybe I was wrong..

OP posts:

Whatnowffs · 13/11/2012 21:50

Well then don't be surprised if she goes of and finds a job that pays her what she needs. Its not charity, just the same as your husbands job isn't charity, but i suspect if he had to half his hours, you would struggle.

You are being deliberately obtuse in your efforts to sound patronising.

Fuchzia · 13/11/2012 21:51

Yes but if she is only fortnightly then she will find it hard to fill the weeks when she is not with you as she couldn't offer someone else a weekly slot. That's why she wants more money I expect.

Mintyy · 13/11/2012 21:51

So how much notice have you given of this halving of her hours, op?

YouWithTheFace · 13/11/2012 21:52

YANBU. If you can't afford to keep her on, you can't.

However! My neighbours had to do the same, but what they did, which has made everyone happy, is find her someone else's house to clean on the other week in the same slot: mine! So she hasn't lost out and neither have they, and I've scored an excellent twice-monthly cleaner.

curlypoo · 13/11/2012 21:53

You know you sound really mean actually. It is not charity it is being decent to someone that is all. It is about being honourable.

stella1w · 13/11/2012 21:54

Could a neighbour use her the alternate weeks?

bumperella · 13/11/2012 21:54

I work from home and would charge less to a client who wanted me to do regular weekly hours than to someone who wanted me to work less frequently - it's just more hassle to have 2 clients offering 5 hrs each than it is to have 1 client offering 10 hrs.
Am guessing she's not asking for twice the money, anyway - if you currently pay £10 per hour and she's asking for £13 then that doesn't sound so unreasonable - but ultimately it depends on how much you want to hang on to her.

ashesgirl · 13/11/2012 21:55

OP is telling the cleaner that she understands if she doesn't want to do the fortnightly job and would rather find a regular weekly job.

So she's leaving it up to the cleaner to decide whether to take it or not.

Don't see the problem.

Mintyy · 13/11/2012 21:56

Can we not talk about "getting a cleaner" and "using" cleaners? It's a tad offensive.

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