Caught cleaner shortening hours

[alwayslovingtim]

I work full time and we have a cleaner 4 hours a week on a Friday, I have noticed that over the last few months things have not been cleaned properly. She comes in and has to turn the alarm of and on again when she leaves.
I started to become suspicious as I have come home early a couple of times from work and she should be there until at least 5.30 pm and she was gone. Yesterday I came home at 5pm and she was leaving she went bright red and rushed off saying she was late for an appointment. I checked the alarm and she had turned it off at 1.30pm so she cut me 1/2 hour short !! I feel that trust has been abused. Should I confront her or just sack her !!

CocoLoco - you need a new cleaner too! She knows you aren't happy (as you shortened the hours), so she knows she is taking the piss. Get someone who does want to work for you,there's enough people around who would be more than happy for the money.

The issue isn't whether the cleaner has completed her tasks (although she clearly hasn't if areas of the house remain untouched)

She is paid for a certain amount of time so needs to be there working for the full amount of time. If she has a list of jobs to do, the deal will be that she completes those and then if there is still time left, she works on some extras until the end of the time, not that she nips off early.

In jobs where you are paid hourly, it is not permissible to leave early, whether you have or have not completed the task. So, if the end of your hours comes and the job isn't finished, you can still leave. If you finish your allotted jobs before the end of your hours, your stay until the end and find some extra work. The clue is in the term HOURLY PAY, rather than task based pay. It is the nature of much low paid work - hourly rates with fixed hours.

No one would suggest that shop workers who have filled their shelves before the end of their shift should go home early, or office workers who have done their days admin before the end should go home early when they are being paid until a certain time. They are expected to start on the next list of jobs, or to ask for more work or show some initiative and continue to work.

So OP should raise both issues of work not being completed, but also make clear that the cleaner is employed for the full 4 hours and she expects her to clean for 4 hours. It is what she pays for and isn't unreasonable to expect her to do it. As others say, occasional early finishes may be okay if they are requested in advance and the time is made up.

BTW OP - you've suggested sacking a cleaner, hope you're ready because often someone will pop along to tell you that you are a terrible person for not cleaning your own loo, that the cleaner isn't your slave and you are unreasonable for expecting her to clean for the full time, that you are generally all that's wrong with a Tory Britain. Cleaners and posh handbags bring out the enranged social warriors on MN, or at least they used to... You've been warned!

I would check the alarm further back and see how long this has been going on. I had this issue and was being shortchanged when I used a cleaning franchise (M... M..). I had been quoted for a 4 hour clean using 2 cleaners and some weeks the alarm code showed they had only been in the house for 1 hr 15 mins.

I did write and complain but got no where. I sacked them immediately. Very poor practice.

''Tis true what InvisibleKittenAttack

How long has she been with you and have you previously been happy?

I would check how long its been going on and then ask her if there is a problem with the times due to some change eg getting between slots or to pick up child etc

If that is the case you may be able to agree an adjusted timeslot although it would have been better if she had raised it first and told you there was a problem.

If you have never been that happy anyway then possibly you both need a change.

As pp have stated this would depend upon whether she charges by the hour or is using the 'flat rate per job' business model.

If she is selling services hourly then trading standards dictates a person must stay on the premises and be accountable for the length of time sold (whatever the results).

If she is selling services 'flat rate per job' then she can be as fast or slow as she likes but should give a written service list to you of the jobs discussed that she intends to complete at each clean and she is then accountable for completing that service list to a good standard and is not accountable for spending x amount of time on-site.

I suspect she is charging hourly and is in the wrong because she went red and made an excuse when you saw her leaving.

It amazes me how many cleaners seem to sell one thing and then do another.

Neither business model is wrong as long as a person knows WHY they chose the model they did and sells the the one they hare chosen clearly, plus it is very important for cleaning services to stick to one or the other pricing structure and not 'a bit of this here' and a 'bit of that somewhere else'. It can either be hourly or flat rate per job throughout your business but not a combination of picking out the best of both. That will never fly with customers and just end up confusing the cleaning service provider.

The morale to cleaners is - Be crystal clear on how you are selling the service and then just do exactly that!

Exactly as you said you would! - Never fails, everyone's a winner!

Invisible Kitten, - You are mistaken, I have not said I shortened her hours.

• moral

Our cleaner did this - and she did it while we were home! We told her three times then unfortunately had to ask her to leave as she continued with the shortened hours. I think our mistake was being overly friendly with her (she was a cool girl!) and I reckon she just took advantage.

The trust is broken and her cleaning standards have slipped. Ask her to leave. There are good cleaners wanting work who will not short change you, time for a change.