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AIBU?

Does your cleaner work on bank holidays?

92 replies

HormonalHeap · 23/03/2016 17:09

Just wondered what was normal. Mine has only just started (not through agency if that makes any difference), and has asked for this Friday, Saturday and Monday off as its a bank hol weekend. That will cost me £150.

Want to be fair but she's only been with us for two weeks. What's fair?

OP posts:

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Florene · 25/03/2016 23:28

She is selling her services. You are buying her services. She is not your employee so she does not accrue holiday pay.

Agree with asking her to invoice you. Makes it clearer what the relationship between you is.

Ceeceecee · 26/03/2016 08:24

She sounds quite demanding!

isitginoclock · 27/03/2016 21:51

How do you know she's any good if you've only had her for two weeks? If she's truly excellent do whatever you have to to keep her. Easter/Xmas/birthday presents/ flexibility with hours.

Blondeshavemorefun · 27/03/2016 22:52

She's pulling a fast one

A cleaner is se. She invoices you and you pay her. Whether cash cheq or bacs

She doesn't get paid holidays as se unless this is something you have botb agreed to and have in a contract

She earns £150 from you? 20hrs so nmw?

If still with you in the summer then give her your keys. You either trust her or you don't

If you don't then don't use services

VelvetCushion · 27/03/2016 23:45

Ive always paid cleaner cash. Never questioned it either. So many domestic cleaners are paid in cash. I cant see the problem. Why do people always act shocked when cash is involved
I get paid in cash if I do weekends for my company. Rather than through the usual mon-fri payroll i get in the week. Boss just pays me from his wallet.
Same as i pay cleaner from my purse. Its not unusual you know.

cleaty · 28/03/2016 00:32

At the office I work, we pay our cleaner in cash. But she is an employee and everything goes through the books. Paying in cash is irrelevant.

cleaty · 28/03/2016 00:35

You are paying her less than NMW, unless she is very young. She won't be properly self employed and declaring it at that rate of pay.

cleaty · 28/03/2016 00:39

Apologies, yes you are paying the NMW. But nobody who is self employed and paying tax would only charge that amount. It would mean after paying insurance and spending time doing a tax return, that overall she would earn less than NMW. I suspect HMRC would judge that you were her employer.

DanglyEarOrnaments · 28/03/2016 10:10

Woah! - hang on a minute cleaty - OP only said the cleaner was taking certain days off, for which she was charging her the full £150 for THOSE days but the cleaner may still be working as usual on another of her usual days.

I wasn't thinking she was paying her so little, I had assumed the cleaner was doing around four hours per shift and charging £50 per four hour shift (or something similar which would be a normal-ish rate to charge for a cheap-ish cleaner). The OP is only talking about the days the cleaner wants off and also wants payment for, not the rest of the week's work when the cleaner will attend as normal.

That's how I saw it anyway ...

Oh blimey - I'm not sure now, if the OP is only paying at that rate then of course the cleaner is an employee and deserves all holiday pay and statutory rights by law. I really can't see a cleaner charging any less that £10 per hour though at the very cheapest, that seems to be lowest end pricing wise, even for illegal cleaners. The reason cleaning is expensive is that there are a lot of costs involved in being self-employed and at the same time being responsible for saving for providing one's own statutory rights such as holiday pay, travel costs and sick pay etc.

DanglyEarOrnaments · 28/03/2016 10:17

I've just spotted that Blondes thinks the same thing ie that she charges just £150 for 20 hours work.

That can't be right surely, I'm sure the OP was only referring to the cost just for the days she isn't working not the whole amount she is paying for the full 20 hours per week?

20 hours per week would set you back around £300 if you came to us, we may lower the price slightly as an 'economy of scale' since we would save on cleaners' travel time by having them in one place so much but we couldn't reduce the price by too much or we'd be making a loss!

I'm sure she didn't mean that she gets 20 hours cleaning a week for £150 it's not possible!

Blondeshavemorefun · 28/03/2016 18:04

I did think that as op said uses her for 20hrs a week but after reading again the month of Aug she is away and said didn't want to pay 800 so 200 a week hence £10ph at 20hrs

Must do 5hrs a day 4 days a week -so £50 a day hence the 3 days off = 150

Either way - don't pay her if she doesn't work or you don't need her - that's how se works

She is working cih if you pay her 200 a week but No tax or ni

You are not her employer so you don't pay holiday sick or smp pay

What on earth does she do for 20hrs?

cleaty · 28/03/2016 18:16

She works in an office. This is not a domestic cleaner.

HormonalHeap · 28/03/2016 20:52

DangleyEar yes I was referring to the days over Easter she didn't want to work.

Just to clarify, my cleaner gets £10 ph which is the going rate around here, so yes she does 5 hours 4 days a week which may seem a lot Blindshavemorefun but 6/7 bed house so she does half the house and ironing every time she comes,

As for the poster who said either I trust her or I don't.. I trust her to clean whist I'm in and out, don't leave valuables lying around and most certainly wouldn't hand her a key whilst away for nearly a month!

OP posts:

DanglyEarOrnaments · 28/03/2016 21:16

Ah well in that case, as we've said before, she wants to have her cake and eat it.

I wouldn't pay her for any time she takes off but would possibly pay for two out of the four missed visits when you are away, just so that she can afford to reserve your spot for you.

No need to pay her whenever SHE decides she's unable to attend though!

HormonalHeap · 28/03/2016 21:55

That's exactly what i think I'll do, thanks very much!

OP posts:

Blondeshavemorefun · 28/03/2016 21:58

with that size house you def need 20 hrs :)

And no you don't pay her if she doesn't work

Most people I know who have a cleaner leave them in their home alone while at work etc

Ie they trust them

You Obv don't trust yours - yes you Havnt had her long

Where did you get her from? Did you check references?

If she was a nanny before why go into cleaning?

Seems weird. Maybe she was more of an au pair hence her lack of English /understanding you?

HormonalHeap · 28/03/2016 22:08

Thanks Blonds. Trusted my last as had her 2 yrs and really got to know her. The one before that we caught stealing despite being with us 3 years which was upsetting, hence my trust issues! This one came through an advert in newsagent, checked 2 references. Yes it's a bit strange changing from nannying to cleaning.. I reckon she can't find a nannying job in the area.

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