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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:
icedcoffees · 16/10/2021 08:23

@mustlovegin

they want to increase it to 13.5 now

Why did they both want to increase their rate? Are you worried that they may be colluding in some way and may want to increase their rate again soon? This set up would make me slightly uncomfortable

Just as an aside, you may want to remove your post code from your OP, as it could be outing

They work together! Of course they want to be paid the same Hmm
mustlovegin · 16/10/2021 08:24

I read it that they worked together. So obviously they'd want to be paid the same. No?

Yes, but there's something about the OP's set up and the team of 2 cleaners that doesn't seem right. Also the fact that they haven't agreed upfront how many hours they are going to be there and can take as long as they want...

I get the sense that the OP is at risk of being fleeced at some point in the near future if she doesn't get on top of this fast

SW1amp · 16/10/2021 08:24

Why all the angst about the difference between a housekeeper role and cleaner role? Confused

We have a housekeeper for 25 hours a week, but she cleans for other houses
Some clients want her to iron, others send it out
A good cleaner or housekeeper does what the house needs
They don’t start waving a job description around

It isn’t a massively different skill set, nor is the hourly rate any different either

But echoing what others have said, the hourly rate where we are has gone up
£2-3/hr this year, mostly because of a labour shortage

CouldWeStartAgainPlease · 16/10/2021 08:24

I thought I was paying a lot of my cleaner at £12.50 but it appears not by this thread... I think it feels a lot as a year or two ago our cleaner was £9 per hour. It feels like a big increase to us although we only have her 4 hours a week.

We also have a mother's help 4 hours per week but she is £10 per hour. She is a student living at home.

When I was a cleaner I did 3 hours for £25 and thought that was pretty good (10 - 15 years ago)

kerkyra · 16/10/2021 08:28

I'm a self employed cleaner and have just put my rates up to £15 from £13 per hour(Northants)Except for the few families who offered to pay me half all the way through the lockdown as I don't think that would be fair.
I've taken on two more clients this week and have a waiting list,things have really got busy for cleaners.

SW1amp · 16/10/2021 08:28

@mustlovegin

I don’t see anything weird about it

Some weeks, the house will require more work. If you’ve had guests to stay and spare beds need changing, it will take more time
If it’s been a wet weekend and the kids have tramped mud into the house, the floors will take more time to clean
If there is extra ironing, it will take longer

We had a set up with a previous cleaner where she would text us when she left to say how many hours she had done so we could transfer the money

And of course they will be paid the same amount! It would be very very weird if they weren’t

madisonbridges · 16/10/2021 08:30

@CouldWeStartAgainPlease. Maybe I've misunderstood but you earned £8.33ph 15 years ago. But you thought it was a fair wage to pay your clean just 67p more at £9ph 14 years later?
I think your cleaner deserves their £12.50.

antsinyourpanta · 16/10/2021 08:31

Yes, but there's something about the OP's set up and the team of 2 cleaners that doesn't seem right. Also the fact that they haven't agreed upfront how many hours they are going to be there and can take as long as they want...

I don't have a cleaner but I see lots come in pairs. A physio i go to has 4 cleaners at a time, by the looks of it. Some are agency cleaners so the agency would determine the price anyway. But if £13.50 is the current going rate where OP lives why on earth wouldn't they both want that?
And its up to both parties to agree a timescale. In fact if I was cleaning and someone just said "clean the whole house, for as long as it takes" I might charge more per hour because it would be harder to arrange other jobs round it.

Dontgetyerknicksinatwist · 16/10/2021 08:31

All prices are going up. They are increasing their prices so they can afford to live.

antsinyourpanta · 16/10/2021 08:33

madisonbridges

@CouldWeStartAgainPlease. Maybe I've misunderstood but you earned £8.33ph 15 years ago. But you thought it was a fair wage to pay your clean just 67p more at £9ph 14 years later?
I think your cleaner deserves their £12.50.

I had the same thought!Confused

IveGotASongThatllGetOnYNerves · 16/10/2021 08:34

Cleaners aren't your employees. They are self employed. You don't get to tell them what their charges are.

If the increase is unaffordable for you then tell them you no longer need the service.

Ask around and see if you can find cheaper.

Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel · 16/10/2021 08:36

We pay £14ph SW and she doesn't have to do any tidying at all, just cleaning. I think you're onto a good thing even at £13.50 an hour.

Ours won't empty bins. Is that thing?

mustlovegin · 16/10/2021 08:37

we’ve had them since March

How did you manage before March OP?

Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel · 16/10/2021 08:39
  • is that a thing sorry
Thatsplentyjack · 16/10/2021 08:40

How many hours are the cleaning your house per week if a £1.50 an hour increase is adding over 100 quid to your monthly bill?

OnwardsAndSideways1 · 16/10/2021 08:40

Cleaning rates have shot up around here, 10 years ago I was paying 8.50! That was the rate requested by my cleaner. Since then it's gone up to £10, £12.50 and now I pay £14 an hour for three hours a week for a three bed house.

Still worth every penny, but good cleaners are hard to retain and I think it's fair enough if the market can stand higher prices that they ask for them.

PieMistee · 16/10/2021 08:41

20 hours a week
6 bedroomed house
Quibbling about £1.50 an hour
😂
The rich fuckers are always the tightest.

10yearwarranty · 16/10/2021 08:41

Op, I used to have my own cleaning round. I'm in the South East and charged £12.50 per hour then, using my own materials and equipment. While your cleaners are willing to tidy up and do more than just clean I think you should be careful. Letting them go in for as long as they think is needed, and then also decide when they are going to do deep clean work when they feel like it is a bit dodgy. For some that would be like a licence to print money. I'd do an average 3 bed house including bathroom and cloak room in 3 hours. 1.5 hours of course if a friend came with me. I wouldn't tidy, but I'd pick up piles of stuff to vac under them rather than go round if that makes sense. I think you're possibly paying for too many hours.

Theluggage15 · 16/10/2021 08:41

Well it looks like either you have to tidy up which is not a big deal for most people and then they can do fewer hours, or you face the fact that you can’t afford cleaners at the perfectly decent rate of pay they deserve and you’re going to have to get used to tidying and cleaning.

DameFanny · 16/10/2021 08:42

Regardless of how much you're paying, regardless of whether you actually want a housekeeper, you need to start picking up after yourself. Do you really want to raise your children to be dependent on outside help to find all the bits of a favourite toy? Or not know how to ready their space for next time?

Just start tidying with them every day. They finish playing with something, it goes away. You do some laundry, they help you fold it into their drawers. Consistency is important, but they'll start by copying you and finish by doing it on their own.

AmanitaRubescens · 16/10/2021 08:42

I have a house keeper weekday mornings and she supervises the cleaners who are in 3 times a week

Does your housekeeper have other duties?

OnwardsAndSideways1 · 16/10/2021 08:43

My cleaner tidies, she can't help herself, in fact, I try to ask her not to tidy my desk but she does it anyway.

It's a real privilege to have a great cleaner and that costs money, however, the standard of the clean is very good and I still consider it excellent value for money at £14 an hour and would be sad if she left!

Given there's a massive shortage of labour in almost all sectors, cleaners are using price increases to get rid of cheaper/shorter hour clients and just focus on the ones that pay better, and many have a waiting list. That's market forces in operation!

10yearwarranty · 16/10/2021 08:44

Op - 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms is more like 3 hours work for 2 cleaners, so you pay 6 hours.

madisonbridges · 16/10/2021 08:44

@mustlovegin

we’ve had them since March

How did you manage before March OP?

😂😂😂 I'm thinking this is very early in the morning for you and you can't take in the op's posts. She had a housekeeper but the op and her husband started to work from home and being together 24/7 was too much so she decided to go for cleaners instead.
OnwardsAndSideways1 · 16/10/2021 08:46

I do wonder if you need 20 hours cleaning though, my 3 bed house is done in 3, and so if your house is twice the size, why does it need more than 6? For a once a week super-clean? If you want daily assistance with things like washing up/dishwasher and tidying, perhaps, but that's quite a lot of assistance...