Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Possible CF cleaner

62 replies

Cloudyyy · 03/04/2019 20:41

My husband wants us to find a new cleaner but I’m not sure.... is she being a CF or should we give her a few more chances?

She does do a fair job of cleaning the house when she’s here, although we pay her hourly and she takes more and more time to
complete the same work it seems.

She sometimes turns up with her two children in tow saying she has no childcare and puts them watching TV on our sofa. Once I caught them sat on our bed watching TV whilst she cleaned upstairs. My husband doesn’t like them eating snacks particularly on our bed but I feel bad for them stuck there so don’t say anything.

She’s gone on holiday a fair few times with no notice at all, including just ba fore Christmas when I really wanted the house clean for guests arriving.

If I’m breastfeeding my baby discreetly, she occasionally walks up to me and put her hand on baby’s head saying “how lovely” but it makes me feel uncomfortable to be honest. She has once walked into the bedroom whilst I was changing (and I’d told her clearly I was changing and would only be a moment). She proceeded to come in anyway and start cleaning.

It would obviously be better if we were always out of her house when she comes, but she changes her arrival time every week and is often very late (several hours). This evening she was here so late that I couldn’t put the children to bed on time.

She sometimes cries to me about money issues without me asking her about it, I always comfort her and offer her a cup of tea but I really don’t know what to say.

I would feel awful sacking her to be honest but AIBU to sack her?

OP posts:

OrgasmicScalp · 03/04/2019 20:43

Oh dear.. I'm afraid she'd have to go!

CheekyChappy710 · 03/04/2019 20:45

Do you really have to ask?! Bye bye cleaner!

CarolineForbes · 03/04/2019 20:45

It all sounds wildly inappropriate and unprofessional. Don’t let the guilt keep you in this situation - paying for a cleaner is meant to make your life easier not harder!

SheRaTheAllPowerful · 03/04/2019 20:45

Goodbye cleaner for sure total CF

YemenRoadYemen · 03/04/2019 20:46

No brainer.

Raspberrytruffle · 03/04/2019 20:46

She's sounds like she doesn't have boundaries. Definitely replace her .

AverageMan · 03/04/2019 20:49

No, YNBU. She's taking advantage of you with her tardiness and bringing her kids with her. Letting them eat snacks on your bed? That's ridiculous.

Hwory · 03/04/2019 20:49

I would say her behaviour is more inappropriate than her being a cheeky fucker however I know it’s the new popular thing to say on here.

HollowTalk · 03/04/2019 20:51

She sounds awful. I wouldn't want her in the house. She's hinting you should give her money, isn't she?

Samind · 03/04/2019 20:52

Yeah sounds a bit like she's taking the piss. Doubt most people could bring their kids to work at short notice or dictate their hours or take leave when wanted. Is it a flexible arrangement or is she making these decisions and hoping you won't say anything! Have you said anything befor?

Angeldust747 · 03/04/2019 20:53

YANBU - I wouldn't expect to pay a different amount each time, I would have thought you both would have agreed what you needed doing and she would have told you how long it will take and it be a set rate (with a bit of spare time for less frequent tasks like deep cleaning the oven).
You are paying for a service, so she should be working around your needs, e.g. Be finished before 5pm to allow for your evening routine. Some flexibility on time and maybe bringing her children once in a blue moon would be generous, but she sounds like she is a CF x

Peterpiperpickedwrong · 03/04/2019 20:59

This evening she was here so late that I couldn’t put the children to bed on time.

And you want to give her a few more chances? All the other stuff was bad enough but not being able to put your kids to bed is ridiculous. You should have told her she was too late and shut the door on her. Get rid of her.

Original poster

Cloudyyy · 03/04/2019 21:03

Ah I didn’t mean to make her sound rude - she’s very friendly generally and I suppose I just feel mean sacking her because she hasn’t done anything major. I guess it’s a casual agreement because I haven’t signed a contract. She agreed to work set hours each week for us (verbally) though, but messages me all the time changing times/ days around. She sometimes calls me very upset that she’s missed her bus and will be late. I’m never 100% sure what the arrangement is anymore and there is a communication issue because her English is very poor. She’s actually very sweet and I know she relies on her cleaning income because she says so.

OP posts:

Chocolateisfab · 03/04/2019 21:05

Blurred lines op. She is treating you like a friend she is doing a favour for!!
Cleaner here and would never take my dc to work!!
Or touch a squishy baby either!!

jarhead123 · 03/04/2019 21:08

Wow that sounds awful! Get rid

JemSynergy · 03/04/2019 21:08

I don't even allow my own children to eat in my bedroom so I wouldn't be happy with her allowing her children to do it in my house! Also, showing up at different times wouldn't work for me so she'd have to go.

bumblenbean · 03/04/2019 21:14

There’s no ‘possible’ About it I’m afraid OP - she may well be a nice person but as a cleaner she’s definitely a CF!

Fr3d · 03/04/2019 21:21

Or you could talk to her and see if she can commit to regular hours, no kids etc. If she can't, sorry she'll have to go

Chickoletta · 03/04/2019 21:22

I wouldn't put up with this either I'm afraid. You pay a cleaner to make life easier and they need to be efficient. This is a business transaction, not a friendship.

Calzone · 03/04/2019 21:23

She needs to do her hours on an assigned day and paid the same every week unless you ask her to do some ironing.

Eg Thursday morning 9.30-12.30 unless there’s a good reason why she can’t.

Margot33 · 03/04/2019 21:24

Yes this is not a good arrangement. Give her a months notice and tell her that you no longer need a cleaner.

KitKat1985 · 03/04/2019 21:25

It sounds like she is a nice enough person, but her standards of 'professionalism' are non-existent. She sounds desperate though and like she's struggling. Do you think you could ask her if she could come at a regular time without the kids as a final attempt to give her a chance?

Crappywife · 03/04/2019 21:29

I’m a cleaner and run my own cleaning company and I would never ever take dc to work with me, I would never ever turn up late or unscheduled and I would never ever talk about money to a client unless it was regarding billing.
If I found out one of my employees was doing what your cleaner is doing they would be sacked.
I’m with your dh. She needs to go

myhouseistoocold · 03/04/2019 21:33

My DH and I feel bad about it but we just sacked our very nice cleaners. They were lovely people but had become very unreliable, turning up later and later each week and sometimes only staying 45 mins and doing a rush job (when we pay them for 3 hours). Some weeks they didn't turn up at all. They didn't ever message to say sorry or say why they were late or to let us know that the time of their clean had changed (it just seemed to get gradually later and later each week).

They were such lovely people and I felt mean, but I was paying them to do a job and it was inconvenient not knowing when they were coming so I let them go and have now found someone else.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 03/04/2019 21:42

She hasn’t done anything major? She brought her kids into your home without your permission and let them sit on your bed to eat snacks watch TV?

That’s a firing offensive by itself!

Flip

1 2 3