Cutting cleaner's hours

[oeufdepaques]

We moved into a new house in May and the previous owners recommended their cleaner to me. We met her and she proposed to continue with the same contract as previously; 4 hours a week plus a month's paid holiday to be taken over the month of August. We agreed.

Now she's been gone on holiday for the last month which wasn't the most convenient as I gave birth to DC2 3 weeks ago. But not having her here has made me realise I don't need her every week. I can keep on top of every day stuff and think a once a fortnight big clean is fine. We live in a 4 bedroom house, 3 bathrooms, not huge. She doesn't do any washing, ironing or anything 'big' like oven cleaning.

I would like to propose that from October (so giving her one month notice), we cut her hours to 4 hours every two weeks. I don't think I am being unreasonable but I know she will be disappointed. She always asks me to recommend her to my friends and often suggests working extra hours. I did recommend her to my neighbours who will be employing her from October too but also want a fortnightly agreement (they told me she wasn't really happy about it though).

I feel bad about cutting her hours but I really don't need her and I can't ignore the cost. I just don't know how to put it to her when she comes back from holiday next week.

I'd give her a decent notice period to allow her chance to find something else to replace those lost hours. I'm not sure anything you say will actually soften the blow though, especially if she's already asking for more hours and recommendations.

Can't you do alternative fortnights with the neighbours so you have effectively covered the hours you are proposing to drop?

I own a cleaning agency and I think you are giving her ample notice!

Only thing I would add, is that fortnightly cleans are harder for cleaners to schedule as they don't want to pass up a weekly clean for them. You could maybe offer to be flexible if she wants to change the day of the week to fit in with another fortnightly clean (this is going above and beyond though!)

Ooh, also, if someone wants a fortnightly clean, I do tend to add on an hour because little tasks aren't kept on top of, so the regular clean sometimes takes a bit longer. This all depends on how much you do yourself in mean time though, but just to give you a guide as to how I tackle things from a business point of view for my team.

Or you could get her to start doing the "big" things like cleaning the oven, or ironing. She might leave you completely if you cut her hours

Yes user that's what I was thinking too.
I know she'll feel let down but I can't keep on justifying the cost especially as I am not working now. Will probably up her hours again once I go back to work but that's not for another year.

The fact that she has an extra job from your recommendation works in your favour so perhaps try & get that into the conversation?

Also you could remind her that there is no obligation whatsoever that she is paid for non-attendance (the holiday pay) on the basis she is self-employed. That in itself says you're being more than generous.

Yes she'll be disappointed, but it happens in domestic support work. We frequently have changes in what clients want, and we have to suck it up. If she's a good cleaner she should be able to sell the extra four hours each fortnight pretty quickly.

If she suggested still coming weekly but for two hours rather than four would that work for you? It may be that she really doesn't want to get involved with any fortnightly rota.

You don't have to give her a reason for why you want to change it, but she'd probably respond better to a pretty upfront explanation of a) you're around more than the previous owners and can do a lot more of your own cleaning and b) family budget is not really up for £xyz a week. Reassure her that you're happy with what she does so that she doesn't flounce.

Thanks ninja, that is really useful. So the deal with the neighbours could suit her. May consider adding an hour too.

Loads of x-posts. Just seen that you'll probably want more support when you finish maternity leave. Let her know.

We've currently got four clients on maternity leave, it's annoying but we know they'll be back.

Is there a shortage of cleaners in your area? If not I'm not sure why you'd need to keep her sweet to make sure she doesn't leave completely? You're the one paying, it's your call.