To sack the cleaner after coming home and crying my eyes out

[OlderMummy1]

I had a cleaner for 6 months when I was pregnant as I had hyperemesis, severe PGP and a 2 year old. She was fantastic! We have a modest 3 bed semi and she used to get it all cleaned and a basket of ironing done in 3 hours. I paid her £10 an hour. She worked for herself and had insurance, references, CRB etc.

3 weeks ago her father became very ill and needed full time care so she had to give up work. Since then I have been looking for someone else as I am struggling to the point of depression with a refluxy newborn. Just surviving the day is an achievement for me let alone doing the housework.

I have found it hard to find anyone. Everyone I found who was self employed had no insurance and no references. To be honest, some came across as quite dodgy. So then I thought I would go through an agency. It is a national one so seemed good. They found someone for me and she came today. I decided to have 3 hours clean and 1 hour iron as I know my last cleaner was superwoman and I didn't want it to be unmanageable. Also, as it was her 1st time here I didn't leave any ironing to be done as it's always slower when you don't know the house and we did have 3 weeks of dirt.

We don't have pets and mainly have laminate floor so it doesn't get too dirty apart from the usual mess with 2 kids. I'm also not a clean freak, as long as it's done reasonably well then I'm happy.

Well! I just walked through the door after a long day at the hospital with the newborn trying to get his medication sorted out and I honestly thought we had been burgled!

The dining room table was crooked with all the seats pushed back, the coffee table was at a 90 degree angle to where it usually is , a highchair is blocking a doorway, 2 kitchen cupboards are wide open, the Hoover is half pushed back in the cleaning cupboard so the door won't shut and she's left a note saying she's broken a vase (wedding gift) and that she didn't have time to do any bedrooms! As I walked around in shock I slipped on a duster she had left in the middle of the floor and fell over with the baby in my arms. I couldn't save myself, only him, so have now got 2 very painful knees.

My husband has just got home and I've cried!

I don't want her to come again but I feel bad about sacking her. She only gets £27 for 4 hours, the agency gets the rest - it doesn't seem enough really. Maybe I am deluded as to how much can be done in 4 hours and our last cleaner was a one off.

Am I?

I think the real prob maybe that she was only getting £27 for a four hour job, that works out as a mere £6.75ph but, after her travel costs and time, she may of been on as little as £5 ph. I am self employed and I charge £12-14ph my minimum booking is 3 hours, no matter what the job, this is to cover travel time and costs for each booking, plus holiday and sick pay. What you were paying her was reflected in the job you got, if you want better value than look at getting a local cleaner through word of mouth, avoid agencies as they don't factor in the cleaners costs or their being. As for insurance, most self employed cleaners are covered but usually its for personal injury and damage above £500, it's their responsibility to pay their own tax, pension and sick pay. Hope that answers your question

LdnMum 2015 the OP asked her question in June 2014! Where on earth did you dig up this thread?

This thread is two years old

.

go with recommendations, not an agency, if you can.
i've had one poor cleaner through recommendations, but she was a friend of the good cleaner who was recommended to me.
took SUCH a long time to get anything down and she was incredibly mopey - a cloud of gloom followed her all over the place.
felt guilty but got rid of her, and felt much better.
the other cleaners have been ace (I've had a lot in the last eight years, as they get good at english and move on to nannying and office jobs).

OP... She's getting minimum wage, or less, by what I work out. She isn't paid enough to care as much as your previous cleaner. Be kind to her and give her another chance, with clear instructions. Not everyone is as fortunate as you are.

I would imagine the OP has got it sorted by now.

Did she sack the cleaner? [grin}

Hope you got it sorted OP.

Aaaaagh I mean obviously!

I know a lot of people around that part of the world - can ask if anyone has recommendations, if you are in the same sort of area, and that would help? Are you N or S of Telford? E or W?

Hang on in there - PND is grim, and sleeplessness makes it hard to avoid, but it really will get better.

Ha, I just saw the thread is 2 years old! Presumably you are all sorted now, if you are even aware it's been raised from the depths.

The agencies are worse not better as less money goes to the cleaner. Try to find someone you recruit direct.

try tidychoice.com

So funny! Shall we discuss it all again?

Get in the Delorean Dangly we'll go back to June 2014 with Marty McFly.

Sparkling I wonder what else we talked about in those days?

I don't get how people can miss the zombie thread alert when resurrecting, tbh. I mean, it's bright red.

YANBU, at all. I could scrub my 3 bed semi to near perfection in 4 hours (if i had the time, that is!).
Can't be bothered to do her job properly - she deserves to be complained about.

I wouldn't feel bad, it's her job and it should be done properly... I'd find someone different! :)

Oh, just realised - why do people do this!

My cleaner is £25 per clean rather than per hour - so we stays as long as she needs to. 2 bed terrace though. I leave my house looking like a squat and come home to a show home (work full time and single parent to a toddler - not that I have to excuse myself!).

I love her, I don't know how I coped before her!

I hear Zombies make excellent cleaners!