Cleaners increase in hourly rate

[user1478790138]

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

I know. I really dont know what to do about her really. She wont do anything extra she sent me a text after I had asked her to clean the oven (which hardly gets used) and I ended up having to give her an extra fiver. She said i upset her work program as she had to leave other jobs incomplete.

@olivehater

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.

I love cleaning, seeing things going from dirty to sparkling!

My least favourite task is dusting.

@olivehater

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.

Because the job title is cleaner, not tidier/organiser.

If you want someone to come in and tidy, and they agree to it, then of course that's absolutely fine, but the general assumption is that a cleaner will come in and clean your home, not tidy up after you.

The other issue with having someone come in to tidy is you'll have no idea where they've put anything

4 bedroom, 2 bathroom flat. Our cleaner does all the cleaning, ironing, changes bedding, washes it, puts away dry laundry, empties bins and recycling in 2.5 hours. We pay £33 per visit

@EachandEveryone

I know. I really dont know what to do about her really. She wont do anything extra she sent me a text after I had asked her to clean the oven (which hardly gets used) and I ended up having to give her an extra fiver. She said i upset her work program as she had to leave other jobs incomplete.

This is where having a more skilled cleaner would be better.

For those of you who don't think cleaning is a skilled job, this is a good example of a less skilled cleaner who does the same thing week in week out and who can't cope with doing anything different.

A good cleaner will see which jobs need doing, will rotate jobs over time, will anticipate what might need doing in the near future and will change plans to accommodate new information.

That being said, I don't clean ovens whatever state they're in. That job can command £20+ ph rates and is often done by specialist companies.

@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.

I agree. I try to take on self employed freelance cleaners on their own rather than agencies if i can as it works out better for everyone. £12ph is a v decent rate around here (north west). My cleaner is good but if she hikes her prices to £13.50 i wouldn't keep her. I'd keep a very good one for that price but not an average to good one. Over the years I've had all sorts of cost from £10ph to £15ph.

Fine but the op has stated they are already happily tidying so that’s obviously been agreed beforehand yet she is still getting lectured about it.
Cleaning is just an easy recognizable term. Housekeeper suggests they are a more permanent resident type job. What job title do people suggest for people that do a bit of tidying and cleaning for a few hours a week?

What job title do people suggest for people that do a bit of tidying and cleaning for a few hours a week?

Part-time live-out housekeeper.

Or, they can be a cleaner but you need to be sure they're happy to tidy as well as clean before hiring them - it shouldn't be an automatic assumption.

Wow that's a brilliant price. We pay £15 PH for ours and we're a small semi detached house. As she tidies as well as cleans she's worth it. We offered, she didn't ask. She was part of an agency and left to go to work somewhere else. We couldn't find anyone better so asked if she would consider coming back if we paid her that and she agreed. Good cleaners are so so hard to find

As a ‘cleaner’, I have no issue at all tidying … but only for certain clients, who have well-organised homes, and what I will tidy has to be agreed in advance (or I will agree to tidy for x amount of time within their time slot).

I can accurately put a time on how long it will take me to ‘clean’ a property - therefore, I can plan my day/week efficiently, ensure that standards are maintained and that I am on time for each client.

I made the mistake once of agreeing to tidy what I thought was a quite neat house. Added about 30 minutes onto the original weekly time slot, so agreed that going forward we’d increase the time slot by that amount. What they didn’t tell me (and I didn’t ask) is that they’d previously had a tidying blitz the night before I came which took them over 2 hours each! Fast forward a week: they hadn’t done ANY tidying since my last visit, and were most surprised that I couldn’t do it all in the extra 30 minutes. We did sort it out though, and they are still a client!

Washing up is a similar thing - in principle, not a problem. However, have learned to be careful what I agree to without confirming specifics. One client sent me a text asking if I could include some hand washing up within her Monday morning 3 hour clean (no dishwasher). I said I’m sure it won’t be a problem, but let’s discuss it when I arrive. Turned out she’d been batch cooking and baking all weekend and literally EVERY worktop was covered in pots, trays, utensils etc. all with dried/baked on food. She is no longer a client, as expected all that to be washed, dried and put away, as well as her usual clean (5 bed, 4 bath, huge lounge/kitchen/diner) in 3 hours and apparently I was leaving her in the lurch as she had guests coming for lunch!

So to anyone who wonders why cleaners (generally) don’t tidy, wash up, do laundry etc: we usually have multiple clients a day, who expect us to arrive on time. We can accurately work out how long it will take to clean, but throwing the above tasks into the mix (which could vary hugely in time requirements from week to week) would make it impossible to work efficiently. It CAN be done, but needs careful planning.

Just for context I'm in Scotland and pay £13ph, cleaning supplies included

I suggest you book a set no of hours and they can rotate some tasks

Another issue with tidying is that cleaners don't always know where things go and are wary of opening clients' cupboards, drawers etc as it's an invasion of privacy! Unless agreed beforehand and told where everything goes.
Not every client is happy with random cleaners going through their drawers to find where things should go.
Some of my clients are, but those that tidy beforehand I only need to access the cleaning cupboard/vac cupboard etc.

OP, not sure where 15 pounds is normal. I am in central London and just changed cleaner. While looking everyone was quoting 12.5 to 14 maximum. Haven’t met anyone who said 15 barring one who was very busy and said if she accommodates me she will need to charge me higher rate to make it worthwhile for her.
I also never heard of tidying for a cleaner. One of the main jobs is tidying specially if they come twice a week. How dirty the house can become?
But I would suggest that you accept increase but limit their time.

£13.50 is vvv cheap still. My parents pay £15 per hour. Yabu. If you not happy with the rise try and find another cleaner but suspect you might struggle. Are they good cleaners?

This thread is like an updated version of Upstairs Downstairs

This thread is very sanctimonious. How dare OP pay people to tidy for her

mikulkin I think cleaners wages are typically lower in London than elsewhere in the country. Maybe because it’s so well served by cheap public transport? And there’s traditionally a larger labour pool (presumably now greatly depleted by Brexit etc.)

Fussing about role names seems a bit pointless. If you pay for time spent and are reasonable that some bits might need to be missed if there's a lot for one session, then there's no reason for a regular cleaner not to do tidying, laundry, ironing, deep clean tasks etc. If something's put in the wrong place then move it, no drama.

The Queen has just advertised a housekeeper job at £10.90 p.h. in central London. Just to give perspective to those suggesting £15. Obviously supply & demand in your own area plays a part, and people may prefer the kudos of cleaning her Majesty's sanitary ware.

Murdoch1949 I thought generally butlers, maids etc were low paid in the royal household. I was under the impression it was thought of as excellent on your CV and also to keep the public from complaining about the cost.

Getting a good cleaner always seems to be a mission for many people, so supply and demand can dictate their worth.

For a royal household though I should think there might be a queue

@Murdoch1949 but does the job come with SW1 accommodation? MIL grew up in Belgravia because her father was in service at Buck House. Crap salary but free accommodation until he died aged 92.

@Murdoch1949

The Queen has just advertised a housekeeper job at £10.90 p.h. in central London. Just to give perspective to those suggesting £15. Obviously supply & demand in your own area plays a part, and people may prefer the kudos of cleaning her Majesty's sanitary ware.

If that doesn’t come with accommodation the DM should be running a SHOCKED headline on the queen underpaying her staff.

That is far below the London going rate.

The RF are famous for paying low wages. The status of cleaning the RFs rooms is supposed to make up for the low pay.

@olivehater

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.

Because it is hard in someone elses home. Where do you put stuff? How are things organised e,g, clothes. Very easy to do a lot of work but annoy the owners

@Murdoch1949

The Queen has just advertised a housekeeper job at £10.90 p.h. in central London. Just to give perspective to those suggesting £15. Obviously supply & demand in your own area plays a part, and people may prefer the kudos of cleaning her Majesty's sanitary ware.

That's for an employee job, not self employed. As explained by many people earlier in the thread, there's a massive difference, i.e. paid holidays, enhanced sick/maternity, redundancy/notice pay, pensions, etc etc

If the queen is paying £10.90 an hour in central London she should be ashamed of herself in my opinion.