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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Paid my cleaner during lockdown

60 replies

Anantara · 09/06/2020 12:28

Just interested on views. I paid my cleaner in full during lockdown, I was the only one of my friends that did, apart from another friend who uses the same cleaner, it was £50 per week. A couple of weeks ago I text asking if she was okay and if she'd been able to access the SE funding. The day I texted was the day I was due to pay her. She replied she had and was expecting a payment the next day and she said for the sake of honesty I should stop paying her. So my understanding is she has been paid by me, and now 80% by the government - is this correct? And if it is, is anyone else in my position, and how do you feel?

OP posts:

Bluntness100 · 09/06/2020 12:32

I couldn’t give a shit, most cleaners are hardly rolling in it, if she doubled up, good for her. I didn’t ask the question as it’s none of my business.

maddening · 09/06/2020 12:35

I offered and my cleaner declined, she has since returned and said that she got the SE funding and all is happy.

Nottherealslimshady · 09/06/2020 12:38

This is why I dont understand why people are still paying people when they cant work. We're not paying our dog walker, he can claim support from the same channels we're having to claim from.
I think you're right to be annoyed but theres no point dwelling on it, if shes good at her job.

Hotcuppatea · 09/06/2020 12:39

I didn't offer to pay mine and she received the SE funding.

I'm partially self employed and my DH is self employed. No way did we expect tobe paid for work we aren't delivering and we didn't make an assumption that our Cleaner expected it either.

Original poster

Anantara · 09/06/2020 12:46

I thought at the time I was doing a good thing, that her income would be reduced to nothing, and I was still earning. I was concerned for her.

OP posts:

CoRhona · 09/06/2020 13:11

We paid ours for 2 months, until it was confirmed none of us would be going back to school or work for months to come (DH and I wfh).

At which point I messaged and said I hoped the last 8 weeks' pay had helped her but we as we couldn't use her in the forseeable future I needed to stop paying.

DH thinks we should still be paying now as we are being paid from work but I think 8 weeks is enough - lots of her other clients cancelled straight away.

Op, I think you did a good thing and I would not overthink her end of things - you don't know her situation even if you think you do.

Oldraver · 09/06/2020 13:15

Well at least she was honest with you. She would only be getting 80% so maybe what you paid her made up for it.

For some people 80% will be a struggle, for others not

mylittlesandwich · 09/06/2020 13:18

If you could afford it then you could afford it. She's getting 80% of her normal wage and you paid her £50 a week on top of that. You probably helped her out but I wouldn't grudge her it, I can't imagine she's rolling in it. She may have had other household income impacted and your money would helped them out.

Burpalot · 09/06/2020 13:20

I'd be absolutely fine with this op. Your small contribution may have helped with the huge 20% drop in pay she has had to suffer.

Wynston · 09/06/2020 13:21

Id like to say I completely understand what you are saying but for me that kind payment from tou would have been what got us through the weeks of waiting for the se payment.
I understand thats not you're responsibility but I cant tell you what a difference it would have made.

BIWI · 09/06/2020 13:25

DH thinks we should still be paying now as we are being paid from work

Then why would you withdraw your employee's pay, when you (also an employee) are still being paid?

Real case of 'I'm alright Jack'

magicmallow · 09/06/2020 13:25

It is perfectly legal for her to claim the SE grant and still be receiving client money or even working. The only government stipulation on the grant is that your business has been affected. Not necessarily via reduced income - it could even be that clients didn't pay on time, or they delayed work. It was good of you to pay her but don't begrudge her getting the grant. She could have lost many other clients and be hard up.

Londonmummy66 · 09/06/2020 13:33

Mine is employed by us through PAYE so we paid her the 20% top up to the furlough. She eventually begged to come back as she was bored at home. She is brilliant and we love her so wanted to do the best we could by her.

Scattyhattie · 09/06/2020 13:35

I paid my Dogwalker even though she couldn't walk the dogs as normal for me as I've had to cope on little £ in past and its really hard so didn't want her to struggle those few months while waiting for self employed payment in June. She's had the payment now but as it took her a while to build up her business it wasn't very much compared to what her earnings would've been this year.
Is back taking the dogs out for me again now and I don't need it as such being home but gives me some free time & opportunity for her to reduce credit on my account. It was hard to find a walker that's flexible & works outside of school hours, so wasn't in my interests to see her fold & dogs love seeing her.

Rosemary46 · 09/06/2020 13:38

Then why would you withdraw your employee's pay, when you (also an employee) are still being paid?

I would have paid my cleaner if she was my employee . But she’s not, shes a self employed contractor.

userxx · 09/06/2020 13:40

@magicmallow Has it spot on.

You sound pissed off at paying her OP.

underneaththeash · 09/06/2020 13:40

@BIWI cleaners are usually self-employed, not employees. It was very nice of the OP to continue to pay.
We paid ours all the way through and they came back a couple of weeks ago. We just move around house areas when they come.

tabulahrasa · 09/06/2020 13:42

She’d have had nothing for a couple of months if you hadn’t paid her... which is worth thinking about if it wasn’t a hardship for you to pay her.

It is also all taxable, so unless she normally is way under the tax threshold she’ll end up paying more tax anyway.

If that helps any with deciding how you feel about it.

edwinbear · 09/06/2020 13:42

I continued to pay mine throughout, I've not asked her what she's claimed, I don't really feel it's my place to pry into her finances. She has been with us over 10 years and I felt it was the right thing to do, regardless of what others were doing. Our financial circumstances haven't changed, if anything, we're slightly better off as we're not spending as much.

She returned to work last week and was very grateful I had, albeit I think a little embarrassed. She's done an extra 3-4 hours over the last two weeks since she's been back to give the place a good deep clean and I think this makes he feel better.

PerditaNitt · 09/06/2020 13:45

I paid mine 50% throughout lockdown and will continue to do so (I’m luckily still in employment, so I appreciate that the decision is easier for me than people whose income has been impacted). I’m sure that my cleaners would have been able to access government support (my cleaners are very legit, no cash in hand, etc), but I was concerned that that there would have been delays in them receiving funds or technical difficulties accessing funds, so wanted to keep paying them.

I wouldn’t mind if I found out they were also accessing 80pc government funding, and therefore technically earning more, because I’m sure they will face a hard few months ahead as people cut back on their household costs and cut their services.

Hibbetyhob · 09/06/2020 13:45

I've paid both my cleaners and childminder though they have also been able to claim 80% from the government.

For a variety of reasons.

The main one being I'm still on full pay - that's just luck for me, really and I see it as my social responsibility to pass that on where I can. It doesn't impact me at all to continue my usual financial commitments.

At the beginning of all of this, we didn't know the self employed support would be available. Both my childminder and cleaners have expressed the relief they felt when I said we would continue to pay them - they really didn't know if they would have any income.

I have long established relationships with them. They care for my children, and my home. I value them and continuing to pay them was one way to show this.

Support available is still only 80%. Hopefully my contribution helps to top them up to closer to 100%.

I am really fortunate I have remained on full pay and able to pay my cleaners and childminder. I'm glad my ability to do so gave them a bit of relief early on in lockdown. I intend continuing to work with them for many years to come so this few weeks is nothing, really, in the grand scheme of things.

kerkyra · 09/06/2020 13:52

I'm a cleaner.
Two out of seven of my clients payed me 50% for eight weeks,until I found out I could claim the 80% for being self employed. As soon as I knew this I txt to say how thankful I was but please stop as no need.

I am now working but just for those two clients as a priority. I have a young son at home and leaving him for two mornings a week is all I am willing to do.

BIWI · 09/06/2020 13:53

It doesn't matter if they're self-employed though - they're still not getting the income, whereas if you're still being paid, why wouldn't you pay your cleaner? You're not losing out, whereas they may very well be.

(Being also very aware that many cleaners still work cash-in-hand, so wouldn't necessarily qualify for any help as self-employed)

It just seems very harsh if you know you're still being paid in full, that you wouldn't pay someone who is working for you (in whatever capacity) but now loses their income, through no fault of their own.

unfortunateevents · 09/06/2020 13:57

I continued to pay my cleaner although I realise she hasn't sent through her most recent invoice even though I encouraged her to. She runs a small agency and I surmised (correctly, when I spoke to her) that she hasn't qualified for any Government funding because she hasn't been in business long enough. She is a single parent and still can't go back to work because she has no childcare for her pre-schooler, she has lost a lot of clients either because they are elderly, shielding or can't/won't continue to pay her. I don't know how her staff in general are managing or what kind of arrangements she/they are able to make but she did tell me that she had taken out a loan to pay one of her staff who had only been working for her since September as she didn't otherwise qualify for anything. The cleaner has now left the country with her boyfriend and she is left with the loan payments!

All four adults in our house have been lucky enough to remain working during this time and I think paying the cleaners is the least I can do. We have been trying to make some charity donations, send more stuff to food banks etc and by continuing to pay the cleaners it probably means that less money is going that way but hopefully it's all helping people who have been hit worse by this crisis.

Rosemary46 · 09/06/2020 14:06

She won’t have lost her income, she’s SE so can get 80% from the government .

I’ve not paid anyone for things they haven’t done.

I’ve not paid the garage for the car they haven’t serviced, the hairdresser who hasn’t cut my hair and Next and M&S for the clothes I haven’t bought or Costa for the coffee I’ve not drunk. I didn’t pay for my holiday that was cancelled.

Have you paid all these people BIWI ?

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