Cleaner Returning to Work

[mintandgold]

Hi, wonder if you can help with a moral dilemma regarding our cleaner returning to work.

We have paid our cleaner in full without question throughout lockdown at usual (expensive) rate which has added up to around £400 for hours which were not able to be worked. Happy to do so as we were still earning - albeit one of us had taken a pay cut to 80% in line with furloughed staff. Anyway we appreciate her and wanted to ensure she wasn't left without our payments through no fault of her own, we also hoped it would mean she would return when it was safe to do so.

I would now like her to return and have asked for five or six extra hours when she does in order to bring things back up to standard - 4 children, one full time key worker and one full time non key worker working from home mean that usual standards have been hard to maintain!

My question is if it is cheeky to expect that these extra few hours would be included in the hundreds of pounds already sent? This has not been offered and I'm not sure if I'm being unreasonable to expect it? I know that others in the area stopped paying her as soon as lockdown began and I have no idea of her circumstances and if she was able to avail of any of the self employed grants etc.

Husband is aghast that we may get a bill for an extra £100+ and sees this as just asking her to work a few of the hours already paid before writing off the rest.

I can see his point but also haven't brought it up with cleaner as do have a feeling it may be unreasonable to expect this. Would be grateful for others opinions!

We paid our cleaner during lockdown. When they re-started a couple of weeks ago, I kind of thought they might offer a couple of extra hours for free - but they didn't, and I didn't ask. So that doesn't really help you - sorry!

We are paying our cleaner during lockdown and I wouldn’t expect and certainly wouldn’t ask for free hours when she comes back. It was a gesture of goodwill that I made her with no strings attached.

I think if you'd wanted that, you should have made it clear when you paid her that you were in effect paying in advance.

No !!@

I think unless you asked at the time for this to be the case then no don’t expect it as she’ll have a lot of people wanting work now

I paid my cleaner throughout this. She returned this week and to be fair she stayed two extra hours without being asked (probably as the house is such a state!)

She was very thankful that we paid her throughout. I wouldn’t have asked her to work extra though. I think the money is given as a kind gesture without conditions attached and you can’t ask now for extra hours.

We got a couple of extra hours from our cleaning team when they returned (we’d paid too).

Difficult one and I’d hope the cleaner would do it without asking, maybe not all in one go, so an extra hour every week for a month etc. Perhaps you could say to her something like “can you also do x,y,z” over the next month (So tasked based rather than asking for fixed time). I’ve got a similar cleaning dilemma where had also paid cleaner throughout. We were texting to keep in touch and checking all was well every couple of weeks. All seemed good, but found out today she’s already started cleaning for some others who weren’t paying her. I sort of get it that she needs to clean for them to get money but had hoped for some loyalty and that if she’s going back to work, she might also offer to resume cleaning for those that continued to pay her. Leaves a slightly unpleasant feel about it and loyalty should be 2 way.

You didnt make this clear before.

YWBVU to ask this if you didn’t make it clear from the outset that this was the expectation.

You can’t expect that. You paid her because you wanted to, not do she could do free work when she comes back.

I don't think you're being unreasonable at all! Unless it were going to cost her money (I.e. having to turn down other work) then why shouldn't they do it?

Unless it were going to cost her money (I.e. having to turn down other work) then why shouldn't they do it?

Because nobody should be expected U.K. work for free!

I would not ask for that
Have paid mine throughout

We paid our cleaner throughout. She is coming tomorrow. She normally does two hours but I’ve asked her to do a bit more. I will not be paying her extra for this.

Does she know she won’t be paid for the extra @Flippetydip? Did she offer or did you tell her that was what you wanted?

Sorry but no I don't think that's fair. If you were prepared to pay her when she wasn't working then that's that and it's behind you.

You can't change the terms of that payment now; that's not right.

I'm amazed you're asking.

We also paid our cleaner in full for 12'weeks - we pay her £80 per week so £960 in total.

This was offered by us, as payment for her when she couldn't work through no fault of her own.

She's back again now - the house will take a while to get back to standard and that's just how it is.

You're not lady bountiful, decreeing money on your cleaner so she will now work for nothing to catch up. You said you paid her during lockdown - not deferred, or loaned her the money.

Why do you now think she should work for a reduced rate?

I think she would have seen as it a kind gesture from you (a gift) when you offered to continue paying her, and if you wanted her to do extra hours in exchange you should have mentioned it at the time.

She might surprise you by not including it on her invoice, and she may not. That’s up to her

We paid our cleaner throughout. The first week she came back, she probably took an extra half hour - she wanted to do more but we were stuck upstairs while she was downstairs and really wanted to come down and get on with kids lunch. She did then try and suggest she wouldn’t take payment that week but I insisted she did - I wasn’t expecting work in lieu by any means

Like a PP said - by week two of her returning, the house was back to normal

It was kind of you to pay her in full, though that was partly because you wanted to retain her, but it was payment for work not done, not for work to be done.

I do think she should have offered some discount, however, as, being presumably self-employed, her 'expensive' rates would have included the associated overheads and, if nothing else, her transport costs to your house. But she's probably lost a lot of her total income and needed the money.

It would be unreasonable to expect her now to work any extra for free. If she offers you a discount at all, be grateful for it.

By the way, you don't sound like an unreasonable person generally speaking. Don't take it badly.

We paid ours in full. She’s coming back next week and I don’t expect her to do extra hours to make up for it. If she does the odd extra half hour here or there that’s fine but otherwise I’ll be encouraging her to go home on time.

TBH when mine comes back am thinking of giving her some extra hours (paid) as the house is badly needing some TLC and I hate cleaning

I think it depends. I mostly agree with the other posters saying it should be no strings attached as technically she could be earning in those 'free' hours but then equally if they're above board and have claimed the 80% self employed grants etc then they could be quids in....