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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think what we pay the cleaner is none of this woman's business!

174 replies

Silverst0rm · 27/07/2017 18:19

Someone I know from the school recommended the cleaner she has to me as the lady was looking for more hours and our previous cleaner had left. When the lady came for the "interview", there must have been some misunderstanding because of the language barrier, so she came on a day I was actually out. DH was home, but he doesn't really know what's going on. So he said she could do 10 hours per week (he was right there as that was what the last cleaner did). When he asked her how much per hour, she said £12.50, but DH apparently said we might as well round it up to £15 because it's easier to work in round numbers.

Anyway she's been coming for a few weeks now and she's lovely, so all good.

Just now, I bumped into the friend in the shop and she just started on me - what am I "playing at", etc. At first I thought she was joking, but no she wasn't. She said I have messed up her arrangement with no consultation because now the cleaning lady wants £15 per hour from her and she only gives her £11.50!

WIBU? I can see it might be a bit irritating, but was there any need to be rude to me in a shop over something like this?

OP posts:
Redcliff · 27/07/2017 18:21

100% up to you to pay what you want. None of her beeswax

BoredOnMatLeave · 27/07/2017 19:14

She was unreasonable, it's none of her business.
also a bit jealous of the house you must have that you need 10 hours for

indigox · 27/07/2017 19:21

The cleaner is BU.

itstoolateforthisbollox · 27/07/2017 19:22

How is the cleaner BU? She can price her services as she likes.

Katinkka · 27/07/2017 19:23

£15 ph for cleaning is ridiculous.

HoneyIshrunktheBiscuit · 27/07/2017 19:23

katinkka if the op can afford it why is it ridiculous? Helps the economy and all that.

Squirmy65ghyg · 27/07/2017 19:26

10 hours a week? What does she do?

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 27/07/2017 19:27

That was very generous of your DH. Other woman is daft as a brush, ignore her. She'll have to get a new cleaner won't she!

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 27/07/2017 19:27

Also, going rates round here are £15ph, not expensive at all

InDubiousBattle · 27/07/2017 19:30

Your friend was BU. £15 per hour is fairly standard here (Yorkshire)and £11.50 is cheap. In any case it's up to your cleaner what she charges and up to you what you pay. None of the other woman's business.

Original poster
Silverst0rm · 27/07/2017 19:31

Yes I think £15 is the going rate probably. She travels in from quite far out and she has 2 teenage sons.
Plus gardeners etc get double that.

The friend said she has had this cleaner for 2 years, but it's not my fault she's been underpaying her.

OP posts:
tatty1010 · 27/07/2017 19:33

10 hours is not really a great deal of time. I used to clean a small 3 bed semi 2 hours a day for a couple and their dog. There was always plenty of cleaning to be done each day.
And no YANBU your friend should not be annoyed with you, maybe she could compromise with the cleaner if she values her that much and meet in the middle somewhere.

itstoolateforthisbollox · 27/07/2017 19:34

£15 ph for cleaning is ridiculous

No it isn't. Whatever rate the market supports is the correct rate. If you can get 15 why would you settle for 11.50?

Original poster
Silverst0rm · 27/07/2017 19:34

She needs 2x 5 hours a week (Mon and Fri) as the house has an upper and lower ground floor and 5 flights of stairs, plus an annexe. No ironing or beds or tidying up.

OP posts:
Katinkka · 27/07/2017 19:38

I suppose I am comparing it with jobs that require qualifications which are much lower paid. Care workers and healthcare assistants for example. The council pay my sons' care workers £7.50 an hour. Cleaning is unskilled labour.

But of course, if you can command that kind of money than you'd be mad not to. I just think in comparison, something's wrong somewhere.

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 27/07/2017 19:40

Katinkka cleaners are mostly self employed, they have to pay for insurance, fuel, uniforms, sometimes cleaning materials etc, they won't be taking home £15ph in their pocket.

user1497435493 · 27/07/2017 19:44

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

honeysucklejasmine · 27/07/2017 19:49

user you are really very unpleasant, aren't you?

itstoolateforthisbollox · 27/07/2017 19:51

The council pay my sons' care workers £7.50 an hour. Cleaning is unskilled labour

Care worker is also unskilled labour in the main, but the answer to that is to pay them more, not to pay other people less.

Serialweightwatcher · 27/07/2017 19:54

No it's none of her business but £15 per hour is ridiculous for a cleaner - she's on double the minimum wage for cleaning Hmm

itstoolateforthisbollox · 27/07/2017 19:55

I think user is jealous because she makes half what a cleaner does! Poor diddums.....

Serialweightwatcher · 27/07/2017 19:57

Just worked out that you're paying her an extra £100 a month more than she wanted because it's 'easier' Confused

caffeinestream · 27/07/2017 20:00

The council pay my sons' care workers £7.50 an hour. Cleaning is unskilled labour

Surely the solution to that is to pay the care workers more, not to pay the cleaners less? I earn less than £8 an hour, I don't begrudge people who earn more than that - good for them!

No need for there to be a race to the bottom - so what if she can get £15 an hour? Presumably she has to pay petrol, insurance, tax and equipment out of that anyway, so it won't be pure profit.

Shoppingwithmother · 27/07/2017 20:01

£12.50 x 10 is not that hard to do! And £125 a week is a pretty round number.

Voluntarily paying a cleaner an extra 20% just to round it up seems a bit extravagant, but it's your choice.

I think the cleaner is bit cheeky though as regards your friend - especially as it is her who has got her the extra work. Now thanks to her helping her cleaner out with a recommendation she is being asked to pay an extra £3.50 an hour herself!

I would be pissed off too, although it's not really your fault and I certainly wouldn't confront you about it.

HoneyIshrunktheBiscuit · 27/07/2017 20:01

People really get uppity at the thought of a cleaner earning that much. Jesus Christ.