Self employed cleaner only going back to clients who have continued to pay/support.

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Seriously considering ditching the people who didn't give a toss. Anyone out there the same?

If anyone is seeing the payment as a "retainer" ... to ensure the person providing the service returns at some point I would have thought it would make more sense to offer to pay a "return bonus" (e.g. an uplift on the hourly rate for the first few weeks/months) in order to ensure that the payment actually achieves its stated aim (i.e. the person needs to return in order to get the payment)

That's actually a pretty good idea ... it avoids the possibility of losing the money if the person doesn't come back as well

If you really have to have a particular person and nobody else in the world could possibly do, then you have that conversation with the cleaner surely? You let them know that the job is there for them as soon as lockdown ends. You can be honest about your own financial circumstances and how much uncertainty exists for you if you feel the need to share. They can tell you what’s going on for them. Then you could make an arrangement, I guess. But nobody is obliged to do this.

But I think in the vast majority of cases, people don’t know how long lockdown will be going on for; they don’t know what the hell is going on with their own jobs or what financial position they will be in after all this. So “will the cleaner ever return?” is probably the least if their worries, frankly.

I think the people who are more dependent on their cleaners probably have ones who they maybe push the boundaries with tbh - eg “oh you don’t mind watching the kids while I pop out for 5 mins, do you?” So the cleaner is more multi-tasking in a way, perhaps more like a housekeeper who feels more part of the fabric of your family, perhaps? For other people, the cleaner comes - hoovers, mops, dusts and a quick wipe of kitchens and bathrooms - and there’s no more to the relationship than that. It’s a job, take it or leave it. Same as the carpet shampooer, just with a vacuum instead.

I guess for some elderly people who might be on their own, they might become more dependent on their cleaner as someone to chat to regularly. On the other hand, someone who works might literally never clap eyes on their cleaner. It totally depends on what kind of relationship you’re paying for, I guess.

I'm a bit torn on this. Yes it's nice to be nice however your financial situation really isn't other people's problem and on the same note, you don't know their situation either.

Don't go back to these people if you feel strongly about it. That's your prerogative obviously but they'll find a new cleaner easier than you'll find new clients so I feel like it's biting your nose off to spite your face. My mum has a cleaner go in weekly. The woman phoned at the beginning of all this asking outright to be paid for the duration. My mum (a shielding pensioner who isn't loaded) told her she'd pay her for a month which she did. The woman now keeps ringing her phone and texting and its winding me up.

I think in the vast majority of cases, people don’t know how long lockdown will be going on for; they don’t know what the hell is going on with their own jobs or what financial position they will be in after all this. So “will the cleaner ever return?” is probably the least if their worries

I suspect that may also explain the difference between last month's posts saying you're a (insert obscenity) if you don't pay and what we're seeing now - it's one thing if it's just for a month and quite another if it looks like dragging on

And I'm sorry about your mum's situation, amber763, but not surprised. Unfortunately, for some, getting money for nothing can become an expectation

Yes that's not on Amber It would probably be best to cancel your mum's cleaner altogether and find another option?

I have one very elderly lady I clean for and change her bedding and so on and she is classed as clinically vulnerable now. She has bad asthma.
I'm fully expecting to not be able to return for a long time, I might never see her again. It's really sad for elderly people on their own who might never be able to go out and socialise again. I phone her now and again but she's becoming increasingly confused about her situation, not helped by being shut at home on her own.

I contacted AgeUK and it looks like she will be entitled to some help. That might be an option for your mum Amber.

Puzzled you're probably right. Maybe some people started off paying something to their cleaner with good intentions, but underestimated the impact this pandemic is having.

Op never came back then 😂😂

Come the inevitable recession there are going to be a lot of people looking for this kind of unskilled work and less people with the resources to take them on. Moreover they are going to be competing with illegals/immigrants who are willing to work below minimum wage. Many of the sources of popular part time work (bar, hotel, waiting on, etc) will have dried up as companies go under or restart with much reduced staff and clientele.

There are people on here assuming that every self employed person can receive government support but that isn't the case. They advertise that they're helping people and you may know of some who have received the Self Employed Income Support Scheme payment however there are major flaws in the eligibility criteria meaning there are millions of people excluded from this and haven't received a penny for the last 3 months, meaning they have been forced to close their businesses etc with no financial support at all, further pushing people to go back to work early even if it isn't safe to do so.