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AIBU?

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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:
SelfEmployedCleaner · 18/10/2021 17:23

@starrynight87

Most cleaners I know wouldn't put clothes away or do a big tidy up.
I'm happy to do either.

I think I said on here earlier that one of my clients lived in a hotel whilst their house was being renovated and just before they moved back in I went round and unpacked all their stuff, cleaned, tidied and made it homelike again so that they could just get on with living in their lovely home.

They're good clients so I was happy to do this extra for them, particularly since during covid lockdowns they paid me when I wasn't working.

Lilifer · 18/10/2021 17:46

@PyongyangKipperbang

I'm not normally an arse about stuff like this but fuck me.....how the other half live.
Agree!!😅
Mermaid67 · 18/10/2021 18:45

@seaandsandcastles

I’ve never tidied or cleaned ahead of cleaners as I see it as part of their job

That’s your problem - tidying is not part of their job. It’s actually really lazy of you to just leave the place a complete tip, not even bother tidying for them, and expect them to just come and sort it all out for you.

Gosh, I’d be mortified if I were you. I’d be so embarrassed if I hadn’t even made the basic effort to tidy so they could actually do their job.

Me too! I’d be embarrassed if it was untidy
havesomepatience · 18/10/2021 19:10

@MrX
I didnt say ironing was more offensive than cleaning. If it was part of the contract to iron then fair enough. It is just that some people take liberties with their cleaners expecting them to do a whole pile of ironing as well as a thorough clean in the two hours that they generally pay them for. I am pleased that you pay your cleaner extra for the ironing if they need extra time. I didnt realise it was the norm for cleaners to do the ironing as well.

kelcys2175 · 18/10/2021 20:45

I pay mine £15 per hour, she supplies cleaning products. By the time she pays for products, petrol, taxes, NI etc I doubt she has much left. I think YABU to expect her to do it cheaper

Springplanting · 18/10/2021 21:33

OP do they invoice you or do you pay them cash in hand?

Is it a business or are you their direct employer? Who pays their tax?

Bellie710 · 18/10/2021 21:34

Our cleaner is £20 an hour (Scotland) they do not tidy the house they only clean it. They bring all their own stuff including the hoover and mop but previous cleaners have used our stuff.

Cleaners are there to clean not to tidy up after you, if I walked in a house to clean it and had to tidy up all the mess first I wouldn't go back!

TatianaBis · 18/10/2021 21:38

Cleaners are there to do whatever they’re happy to do and you’re happy to pay for.

Springplanting · 18/10/2021 21:39

The reason I ask is that a business that sets its own rates usually factors in cleaning products not pre-tidying! insurance, travel, all the overheads and pay their own tax, NI etc.

Pinkspecs · 18/10/2021 21:51

I hope they use your cleaning products OP, otherwise they would be barely making any money, you would have to use alot of products in a 6 bed four bath house.
I think your cleaners are exceptionally cheap.
I have a large house, and know how hard it is to keep on top of it all.
Sounds like you under pay them anyway.

Springplanting · 18/10/2021 21:54

It's too cheap. Pay them more if you are happy with their work. Someone trustworthy in your house and doing a good job and reliable is worth their salt.

Give them a nice Christmas bonus too OP. Smile

MRex · 18/10/2021 23:22

@havesomepatience - it's M for mummy, not Mr. MRex. We pay for time but also prioritise so she knows what to leave if she has to go before everything's done. Sometimes that might be floors, another time ironing.

They bring all their own stuff including the hoover and mop
Oh yuck, why on earth would you let them do that? I shudder to think of the bacteria, germs and allergens being dragged through so many houses, you might as well be living in a public loo. Just buy a decent vacuum and mop for them to use.

JessieLongleg · 19/10/2021 03:32

I know people with 3 bed terraced that pay £15, agree on hours then you feel better and they can work for someone else

dragonsben · 19/10/2021 03:56

It is SO hard to find a good cleaner, but paying a higher rate does not guarantee a good clean at all. If you are super happy with the results, then suck it up and pay more, but I would cap the time and be specific about your expectations for say 5 hrs of work.
You can also find a cleaner for less, for sure, but will need to experiment with a few until you strike gold.

Cissyandflora · 19/10/2021 06:42

Sorry to jump
On your thread but where do I find a good cleaner/ housekeeper? Id pay good money. How can i find someone good?

freckles20 · 19/10/2021 06:43

I walk dogs (bear with me). I've charged £9 per walk since 2017.

In 2019 I was considering raising my prices. Other walkers were charging £10 and I felt my service was better.

Then Covid hit. A lot of my customers continued to use my services despite not really needing me. I was not eligible for any government help.

I'd like to raise my prices now to £10. It's well overdue and the cost of living has skyrocketed.

But still I feel reluctant as it's a 10% hike.....

Can you it from my side @user1478790138?

antsinyourpanta · 19/10/2021 06:44

I can't understand why people mention their own earnings or the size of house in reference to what a cleaner charges.

I don't have a cleaner and have never had one but AFAIK they are providing a service and are charging not earning £X per hour. For some this might cover own materials, ironing and tidying and other chores. Others might charge less but use clients materials. Some might prefer to stick to cleaning rather than ironing or other chores.

But surely they would have a flat rate of £X per hour?
And if you had a bigger house you might pay for more hours or ask them to come more frequently.

Would a dog walker charge more per hour for walking a bigger dog? (Or give a discount if you had a sausage gog for example?)
Would a decorator charge more per hour for decorating a large room?

Cissyandflora · 19/10/2021 06:48

@antsinyourpanta

I can't understand why people mention their own earnings or the size of house in reference to what a cleaner charges.

I don't have a cleaner and have never had one but AFAIK they are providing a service and are charging not earning £X per hour. For some this might cover own materials, ironing and tidying and other chores. Others might charge less but use clients materials. Some might prefer to stick to cleaning rather than ironing or other chores.

But surely they would have a flat rate of £X per hour?
And if you had a bigger house you might pay for more hours or ask them to come more frequently.

Would a dog walker charge more per hour for walking a bigger dog? (Or give a discount if you had a sausage gog for example?)
Would a decorator charge more per hour for decorating a large room?

Ha yes I always think that too. What does the size of the house have to do with the price of bananas? Although the only correlation I can see is that the person in the mansion can probably afford to pay for the hours it takes to clean said property. But cost is same per hour.
MrsRobbieHart · 19/10/2021 08:12

They bring all their own stuff including the hoover and mop

Oh yuck, why on earth would you let them do that? I shudder to think of the bacteria, germs and allergens being dragged through so many houses, you might as well be living in a public loo. Just buy a decent vacuum and mop for them to use.

@MRex

I bring my own hoover and mop too. And all my cleaning products and cloths. Why? Because no matter what clients tell you- they never have the right stuff. Or clean stuff. Or working stuff. You go to find their hoover and it’s a rechargeable dyson Hmm that isn’t charged. Or a vax but the head is missing or broken. Their cloths are a clump of caked yuck in a tub under their sink. My cloths are cleaned after every use. I have a dirty tub in my caddy that the cloths get put in as soon as I’ve used them. Mop head goes in it too once I’ve done the floor. Once I go to the car the tub gets tipped into a bigger tub in the boot of my car and in refills caddy with fresh cloths and a mop head for the next job. At the end of the day the big tub comes into my house and everything goes in the machine at 90. The only things that could be bringing germs from the previous house is the hoover head, the wheels and the base of the mop bucket. But as I mop myself out of every house those germs are dealt with just the same as the germs belonging to the people in the house.

MRex · 19/10/2021 08:17

@MrsRobbieHart - I'm glad it works for you. I wouldn't be happy with it in my home, but as long as you and your clients are happy that's all that matters.

MrsRobbieHart · 19/10/2021 08:23

It makes no sense that you would be happy to have the cleaner in your home, carrying all the germs they have picked up from the previous jobs they’ve been to that day (unless you make the cleaner have a decontamination shower before entering your home?) but object to having clean cloths/mops being used.

TatianaBis · 19/10/2021 08:27

Well it’s fairly simple - a big house requires more cleaning hours.

It’s not just a question of price per hour, but also price per week. At 20 hours cleaning a week a price rise affects her more than if she had 4 hours pw.

If she didn’t put that in her OP, the first question would be how many hours and the second would be why so many? Well because it’s a big house, they’ve got a dog and they don’t like tidying.

notanothertakeaway · 19/10/2021 08:41

@Vinomummyinlockdown

Mine are £15ph and quite frankly they are crap. They’re British. Lazy, grumpy, bad in general cleaning. My last cleaners were Polish and better. It’s hard to find anyone decent. Yay Brexit. 🤡🤡🤡
Lazy stereotypes there
antsinyourpanta · 19/10/2021 08:42

It’s not just a question of price per hour, but also price per week. At 20 hours cleaning a week a price rise affects her more than if she had 4 hours pw.

Not necessarily- its the same percentage increase for everyone. And paying for 20 hours cleaning in the first place suggests a fairly sizeable disposable income (compared to someone who might pay for 4 hours cleaning)
And there is far more scope for cutting down
eg cut down to 18 hours cleaning for roughly the same price as previously paid - 18 hours is still a significant amount of cleaning and tidying!

TatianaBis · 19/10/2021 08:49

You can’t make that assumption. A wealthy SAHM with plenty of disposable income may only be paying for 4 hours as she’s happy to do a lot of it herself.

Anyone can cut hours, but the price rise for 20 hours like for like has still increased.