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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Should I still pay cleaner?

77 replies

Enuffsenuffsenuff · 01/03/2018 20:08

My cleaner usually comes on a Friday but there is SO much snow around us and I really don't think it's safe for her to travel (she drives, there is no public transport to where we live). I am going to text her and tell her not to come because I don't want her risking the journey.

My question is, should I still pay her for the time? We have no contract or anything so no paperwork governing the situation. I just leave money when she comes. But I expect she's missing a lot of work in this weather and so she might be struggling. And obviously it's my decision to tell her not to come and it's late in the day to cancel, so she can't fill the slot somewhere else.

So... should I leave double money for her next week even tho she's not going to work tomorrow? Or am I being patronising / worrying too much about nothing? Or is it the least I can do given that I am cancelling her at the last minute?

Thanks for advice! x

OP posts:

Sassydoughnut · 02/03/2018 07:58

Of course you should still pay her.

Tinyprancer · 02/03/2018 08:23

If you do pay cleaners for holiday or snow days then make sure you do so in cash. If it were found out or they reported that you were doing this then you’d be liable to backpay pension monies etc as they’re no longer self employed (getting paid when they work) but an employee of yours.

Thethingswedoforlove · 02/03/2018 08:38

I let my cleaner bring her dcs if she has no childcare so she doesn’t miss out on work and I don’t miss out on being cleaned!!

user1487194234 · 02/03/2018 14:31

Paying them in these circumstances does not turn them into employees
They may or may not be employees ,it's a grey area depending on the circumstances but paying them for one day in the current very unusual circumstances does not of it self convert them from self employed to employee

flumpybear · 02/03/2018 14:38

If tell her if she's having difficulty travelling then she's welcome to come a different day if that's helpful for her

SnowBusinessLikeSlowBusiness · 02/03/2018 14:41

You are cancelling, you pay. She hasn't said she can't come in, you can't cancel and refuse to pay her. Not if you want her to come back anyway.

hmcAsWas · 02/03/2018 14:46

Interesting. People are approaching this as if the OP is a small business or large employer. Would those of you saying 'yes' also pay the cleaner if she was off sick? Pay maternity leave? Pay for long term sickness?

MrsJoshDun · 02/03/2018 14:49

Glad you decided to pay her.

I’ve been paying my dog walker for the last six weeks even though she hasn’t walked my dog due to an immediate family bereavement. She obviously doesn’t feel up to returning to work yet but if I didn’t pay her she would lose her income.

FreudianSlurp · 02/03/2018 14:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bloomed · 02/03/2018 14:59

I'd pay her and let her know that when you cancel.

SnowBusinessLikeSlowBusiness · 02/03/2018 15:01

No, we're approaching it as if she has a self employed cleaner. You cancel, you pay. You do not pay sick pay or maternity.
Why are you conflating separate issues that are unrelated?

Peanutbuttercups21 · 02/03/2018 15:03

I think if you cancel, you pay

If she cancels you don't

n0ne · 02/03/2018 15:11

Oh God, really? We're new to this having a cleaner milarky and when we went on holiday we just told her not to come that week. Didn't even cross my mind we should pay her for not coming! Feel bad now

Branleuse · 02/03/2018 15:25

Any company that uses self employed contracters etc doesnt have to pay them sick pay etc, this is why they pay less tax.

Is it just women that pay people to do household tasks that have to still pay self employed people when they dont work? Just the little guys responsibility to be "moral"

There are pros and there are cons to being self employed

youarenotkiddingme · 02/03/2018 15:27

I'd definitely pay.

I use to pay ds respite carer if I cancelled due to him being ill.

I didn't pay if she cancelled.

Sometimes I think morals should override policy etc. You find a good employee - they'll remain that way if you treat them wel.

Branleuse · 02/03/2018 15:56

I treat my cleaner well. Im nice to her, I give her work, I respect her, I pay her promptly, I dont give her any grief if she cant make it, and i am grateful to her.

Treating her well doesnt mean paying her when she hasnt actually worked. Shes not a charity case and i am not her employer. Im her client.

SnowBusinessLikeSlowBusiness · 02/03/2018 16:15

Treating her well doesnt mean paying her when she hasnt actually worked

It does, when you cancel at short notice you have to pay. If they cancel, you do not. This is completely standard.

snewsname · 02/03/2018 16:18

I'd get her to make the hours up at her convenience.

Branleuse · 02/03/2018 16:22

Some of you have obviously got more money to burn than others, which is normal. I dont think its right to start saying that those that can afford to pay people for not working are somehow morally better.

Its nice to give her the day off becuase youre worried about her travelling in the snow, but i just would have been clear that it was optional

Pluckedpencil · 02/03/2018 16:43

It's a lovely piece of charity, bit all these people saying pay, I'm a personal tutor. Bet you wouldn't pay them for the hour missed, and they've probably already prepared a lesson plan. Or the handyman who you had to rearrange. It's a bit upstairs downstairs/middle class guilt to my mind!!

SnowBusinessLikeSlowBusiness · 02/03/2018 18:46

Some of you have obviously got more money to burn than others, which is normal

Not at all. It's just that some of us don't take the piss out of people we pay to work for us, is all, and we treat them properly according to widespread normal standards.
It's called being a normal person.

Branleuse · 02/03/2018 20:16

no its not being a normal person. Its thinking the small guy, or more accurately a woman that pays for help, needs to act to higher standards than ANY other fucker in the world.

If you had a babysitter, do you pay them when you dont go out?
If you dont need any groceries that week, do you still pay the groceries anyway?

Its nice if you can afford to pay people for not working. Its not obligatory, and certainly not when someone is self employed

SilverySurfer · 02/03/2018 20:25

I definitely have no money to burn - am retired on a limited income, disabled and would be lost without my cleaner. She is my one luxury in life and is worth every penny.

SnowBusinessLikeSlowBusiness · 02/03/2018 22:04

no its not being a normal person. Its thinking the small guy, or more accurately a woman that pays for help, needs to act to higher standards than ANY other fucker in the world

No, its the norm. If your kid has piano lessons and you don't send them, you still owe for the lesson. Dentists charge you if you cancel without enough notice. If you have a childminder and your kid is sick and doesn't go, you still have to pay for the day.
It's not even vaguely like buying groceries. If you have booked someone to do a service and you prevent them doing it, you usually owe them the fee anyway.
If you don;t know this, you have probably pissed people off with your poor behaviour in the past.

Aroundtheworldandback · 02/03/2018 22:14

I would ask her to suggest another day to work instead, or owe you a few extra hours- she’s self employed.

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