Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cleaners increase in hourly rate

515 replies

user1478790138 · 16/10/2021 00:14

Hello

First thread here so pls be gentle.

We have a largeish house in the Nottinghamshire, 6 BR, 4 BA and a fairly large ground floor, 2 children and dogs. Have had a pair of cleaners who come twice a week (initially three times but then it was to hectic for us) for several months now and paid £12ph, they want to increase it to 13.5 now. They do the cleaning and tidying, of which there is a fair amount but I don’t limit them time wise. Not sure now how to react, we’ve had them since March, somehow an increase of 100+ quid a month seems a bit steep in such a short period of time? What would you do??
Thank you

OP posts:
MrsColon · 16/10/2021 17:38

Gosh, £15 is standard here (east Midlands) - and they don't do tidying! You're getting a great deal.

SelfEmployedCleaner · 16/10/2021 17:38

Late payers, whingers, bargain hunters are being culled.

I do love a good cull!!!

Hrpuffnstuff1 · 16/10/2021 17:41

@SelfEmployedCleaner

Late payers, whingers, bargain hunters are being culled.

I do love a good cull!!!

Off with their heads. ⛏️🤣🤣 People think 1 visit means infinite cost free service..
Hrpuffnstuff1 · 16/10/2021 17:42

Mrs HR cleans PT to top up her income.
Varies between £15-£20 ph.

babouchette · 16/10/2021 17:53

I'm paying £15 an hour plus I buy materials! I think you're getting a good deal.

FindingMeno · 16/10/2021 18:15

Actually I'm going to be a bit blunt here now.
Op is already paying £12 an hour for someone else to do something for her so I doubt £1.50 extra an hour will break the bank.
This isn't a cry for help financially, this is a question as to whether the lower paid worker is worth a jot.
Cleaners were some of the people who kept shit going, in the height of the pandemic before vaccines. They put their health at risk for precious little reward.
I hope the tables are turning a bit.
Does it ever EVER cross anyone's mind that everyone wants to squeeze as much work ( or more) out of cleaners as their hours allow, and they go home fucking knackered, but they can't afford to get a diamond at home doing their chores for them?

Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel · 16/10/2021 18:17

Agreed @FindingMeno

Murdoch1949 · 16/10/2021 18:32

Rather than employ 2 cleaners through a business, you could be offering a part-time job to a local person who would maybe accept £11/12 ph, which is more than minimum wage. Cleaners around here are £10 pw, but firms charge more obviously. I have always been able to find a local cleaner, who wants to fit in with school hours, for minimum wage +£2. I don't think it's exploitative, it's more than checkout operators or waitresses earn.

olivehater · 16/10/2021 18:38

I don’t understand why people think you can’t pay to tidy. As long as they are being paid what is the problem? For me tidying is the most time consuming thing and stressful just before the cleaner is coming. As the kids inevitably make the house a mess as soon as I tidy. If I could afford it I would pay someone to tidy too. As it is I get up at 5 in the morning to tidy on the day they are coming.
It’s just pure middle class judgeyness saying that. Would you expect a billionaire or a celebrity to tidy up before their cleaner came?

Lostandlittle · 16/10/2021 18:47

@Murdoch1949

Rather than employ 2 cleaners through a business, you could be offering a part-time job to a local person who would maybe accept £11/12 ph, which is more than minimum wage. Cleaners around here are £10 pw, but firms charge more obviously. I have always been able to find a local cleaner, who wants to fit in with school hours, for minimum wage +£2. I don't think it's exploitative, it's more than checkout operators or waitresses earn.
Minimum wage includes…. Pension, sick pay, holiday pay….
icedcoffees · 16/10/2021 19:11

@Murdoch1949

Rather than employ 2 cleaners through a business, you could be offering a part-time job to a local person who would maybe accept £11/12 ph, which is more than minimum wage. Cleaners around here are £10 pw, but firms charge more obviously. I have always been able to find a local cleaner, who wants to fit in with school hours, for minimum wage +£2. I don't think it's exploitative, it's more than checkout operators or waitresses earn.
And if you did that, you'd need to pay sick pay, annual leave, pension and NI contributions. It would cost you a LOT more than the £13 an hour a self-employed cleaner charges!
Original poster
user1478790138 · 16/10/2021 19:13

@FindingMeno

Actually I'm going to be a bit blunt here now. Op is already paying £12 an hour for someone else to do something for her so I doubt £1.50 extra an hour will break the bank. This isn't a cry for help financially, this is a question as to whether the lower paid worker is worth a jot. Cleaners were some of the people who kept shit going, in the height of the pandemic before vaccines. They put their health at risk for precious little reward. I hope the tables are turning a bit. Does it ever EVER cross anyone's mind that everyone wants to squeeze as much work ( or more) out of cleaners as their hours allow, and they go home fucking knackered, but they can't afford to get a diamond at home doing their chores for them?
What nonsense. It’s not some sort of vendetta of working class against anyone with a higher income.
OP posts:
Original poster
user1478790138 · 16/10/2021 19:18

@DesdamonasHandkerchief

My cleaner (South-East) also put her prices up from £12 to £13.50 an hour from 1st September. It feels like a steep increase, but I also recognise that she's still much cheaper than most in this area.
I don’t mind the increase per se, it feels better now that I know what the average is and that I shouldn’t expect it to be the last increase. I had nothing to compare their rates with previously as we‘ve always employed someone to keep the house clean and tidy.
OP posts:
Pinklioness · 16/10/2021 19:22

@icedcoffees

As a Local Authority we have so many cleaning and caretaking jobs available that I'm not sure how we will keep schools clean and open. LA jobs come with good pensions and sickness/holiday entitlements.

They do, but they also often come with limited/restrictive hours and low pay.

Also, they are restrictive to new entrants. How many LA jobs say you have to demonstrate LA experience. Whereas a lot of people wanting these jobs haven't got that experience and are looking to go back into the job market. Similarly to the NHS.
Pinklioness · 16/10/2021 19:25

@olivehater

I don’t understand why people think you can’t pay to tidy. As long as they are being paid what is the problem? For me tidying is the most time consuming thing and stressful just before the cleaner is coming. As the kids inevitably make the house a mess as soon as I tidy. If I could afford it I would pay someone to tidy too. As it is I get up at 5 in the morning to tidy on the day they are coming. It’s just pure middle class judgeyness saying that. Would you expect a billionaire or a celebrity to tidy up before their cleaner came?
No one's saying you can't pay to tidy. Just that cleaners typically don't want to do that work, so you'd have to pay more for that, like the levels of pay for a housekeeper.

I don't know why you've concluded it's anything to do with class????

And billionaires are likely to have housekeepers, not cleaners, and pay them a lot more than £12 an hour.

mustlovegin · 16/10/2021 19:26

I took the opportunity over covid lockdowns to get rid of the clients who were annoying me

Selfemployedcleaner your attitude sucks. It's possible some of your clients have taken the opportunity to get rid of you during Covid too

FindingMeno · 16/10/2021 19:31

@user1478790138 ah, thanks for explaining that to me.
I'll get back downstairs now.

icedcoffees · 16/10/2021 19:34

@mustlovegin

I took the opportunity over covid lockdowns to get rid of the clients who were annoying me

Selfemployedcleaner your attitude sucks. It's possible some of your clients have taken the opportunity to get rid of you during Covid too

Her attitude doesn't suck at all, lol. It's realistic and very normal for most people who work for themselves.

The advantage of being self-employed or in freelance is that you can pick and choose who you work for! I don't work for clients who are rude to me or who treat me badly - why should I?

Badbadbunny · 16/10/2021 19:50

@mustlovegin

I took the opportunity over covid lockdowns to get rid of the clients who were annoying me

Selfemployedcleaner your attitude sucks. It's possible some of your clients have taken the opportunity to get rid of you during Covid too

That doesn't "suck" at all. It's very healthy for a business to cut out the crap customers as it allows more time/mindspace for the better clients that don't cause stress etc.
EachandEveryone · 16/10/2021 19:55

Im in London and mine has gone up to £13.50 and she just does the minimum. Ive been through so many lately. I dont know whats going on.

SelfEmployedCleaner · 16/10/2021 20:03

@mustlovegin

I took the opportunity over covid lockdowns to get rid of the clients who were annoying me

Selfemployedcleaner your attitude sucks. It's possible some of your clients have taken the opportunity to get rid of you during Covid too

The clients I kept on paid me during lockdown when I wasn't doing any cleaning for them at all. (That isn't why I kept them on btw, it just worked out that way when I got rid of the ones who I was forever chasing up payment, or who treated me like 'staff' etc.).

It's healthy for self employed people to rid themselves of poor clients. One of the great pleasures of being self employed is that you don't have to put up with the crap you have to when you're employed. That plus point cancels the downside of having to fund your own insurance, pension, holiday pay etc.

SelfEmployedCleaner · 16/10/2021 20:10

@EachandEveryone

Im in London and mine has gone up to £13.50 and she just does the minimum. Ive been through so many lately. I dont know whats going on.
That doesn't seem terribly much for London.
EachandEveryone · 16/10/2021 20:14

Well the agency was £12 an hour so god knows how much the cleaner was getting. This is £13.50 in hand which I don’t think is bad when they take three hours to clean a small flat so £40. It’s a lot for me once a week on a nurses salary —sarcastic—

SelfEmployedCleaner · 16/10/2021 20:21

@EachandEveryone

Well the agency was £12 an hour so god knows how much the cleaner was getting. This is £13.50 in hand which I don’t think is bad when they take three hours to clean a small flat so £40. It’s a lot for me once a week on a nurses salary —sarcastic—
That seems a lot of time for a small flat.

One of my clients lives in a 4 bed, 3 reception, 2 bathroom period property. It takes 3 hours to clean, and I do 1 hour of random stuff like tidying the airing cupboard or washing windows or cleaning inside kitchen cupboards as I'm there for 4 hours.

olivehater · 16/10/2021 20:25

I just don’t get why a cleaner would rather clean than tidy. Picking toys up off the floor and making beds is far less grueling than scrubbing a toilet.
I would rather tidy for an hour and clean for an hour than clean for two. Don’t see why they need a different job title/rate of pay.