How long should a cleaner stay for?

[iheartfriday]

I have a cleaner from a local agency and am happy. I pay for 4 hours and have always been at work when she leaves so have assumed she stays for 4 hours. The house (4 bed but 1 bed is used as an office and I don't ask her to clean in there and 2 bathroom) looks like it's been cleaned for 4 hours iykwim.
The last time she came my partner was working from home and says she left after 3 hours and 15 minutes. He thinks if she is paid for 4 hours she should stay for 4 and clean other things (fridge, skirting boards etc). I think that she should be able to decide the pace of her work and if we ask she stays for 4 hours then she will just clean slower and what's the point of that? Although I do see what he means..... I'd ask the agency but I don't want to her to get into any trouble .
Anyway not a big issue but curious what the expectation is generally!

I think the cleaners' expectation is that they do all the things on the list you leave them, then go. If the list takes longer than the time agreed, they go after the time runs out instead.
Unfortunately, when employing a cleaner it is always described in terms of hours, so the expectation of the customer is always that they will clean for that long - however the cleaner cannot really go 'off list' in case you then get upset at something you didn't want being cleaned/touched/etc
Next week leave her a longer list to get your 4 hours.

If they're paid for 4 hours they should stay for 4 hours and do other jobs. Otherwise just pay for 3.25 hours as you don't need 4.

Oh dear this comes up a lot.

If you pay by the job the cleaner can go after they have finished the job and if you pay by the hour then the cleaner can only go after she has completed her hours.

I have always had cleaners and always pay by the hour and I expect my cleaners to work their hours. My current cleaner has worked for me for 9 years and is brilliant about working right up until the end of her time.

OP you need to talk to you cleaner and tell her that you want her to make up the time and work her full hours in future. Any cleaner with an ounce of respect will easily be able to find extra work to do in you flat if she runs out her usual tasks

I'd agree with PP that although you pay in hours, the cleaner would likely have a to-do list, either agreed weekly or just what you told her initially (e.g. don't bother with the study).
So, if all the list is getting done, id say fair enough.
If it was much closer to the 3 than 4 hours, i guess you've got an argument for dropping to 3 hours. But id be conscious there might be tasks dropping off the to-do list.

I pay for 1 hour, and I've been at home recently when she's been in .... and its slightly less than an hour she's actually in the house for. But there's nothing obvious that isn't getting done, so I'm not fussed.

We've never had a to do list. When I signed up with the agency they asked how many bedrooms etc and then suggested the hours. Their website says they will do their best within the hours you have paid for.

I pay by the hour and I expect those ours to be worked and would complain if they were not. If the cleaner genuinely thinks my house could not possibly be cleaner after 3.5 hours then she is clearly blind I would expect a text or something to say so and to ask if there's anything else to do.

My cleaner would do something like clean the oven or clean out the fridge

"hours" not ours

When our cleaner started, we'd leave a list of jobs, and she'd do them all, and proactively add a couple we'd forgotten. Things like polishing mirrors and bannisters things it would never occur to me in a million years to do.

So a few times, I couldn't be bothered writing a list, and as she seemed proactive, I'd just ask for a 'general clean please'. Except then when we worked from home, she would leave after just over an hour (we pay for two). Sure, the floors, kitchen and bathroom surfaces would be clean, but nothing 'extra'.

So now we've reverted to the list of jobs. We don't make them up for the sake of it, but we do try to make sure we have everything we really need doing on the list.