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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:
ChorizoJacketPotato · 16/10/2021 08:47

My cleaner never ever tidied. That was not her job. Housekeepers tidy. Cleaners clean.

mustlovegin · 16/10/2021 08:50

or some that would be like a licence to print money

This is the vibe I'm getting

mustlovegin · 16/10/2021 08:51

I'm thinking this is very early in the morning for you

Yes, probably GrinGrin Gin

DeepDown12 · 16/10/2021 08:52

My cleaner does 4hpw at £13ph. She never tidies just cleans bathrooms (3), floors (vacuuming and wipe) and glass doors (3). We're South-East, commuter belt to London and it seems to be a standard price around here.

LivingNextDoorToNorma · 16/10/2021 08:52

@mustlovegin

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

I suspect that part of the reason the op hasn’t agreed to specific hours, is that she doesn’t tidy up before the cleaners come, and expects/wants the cleaners to do it. By her own admission there’s a ‘fair amount’ of tidying needs doing. There’s nothing wrong with it, if that’s what’s been agreed between the two parties, but it does make it difficult to put a time on things. Tidying is one of those jobs that takes as long as it takes. Tidying kitchen counters in order to clean them can take 2 minutes or 10 it really depends on what you’ve been doing, and when last it was tidied. We tidy up all toys at the end of the day. Sometimes it’s a 5 minute job, other times it can take 30 minutes before we can properly see the playroom floor. It varies massively and entirely depends on how ‘messy’ they are. Op could of course put a time limit on the cleaners (and I’m not saying that I think it would be a terrible idea), but she would have to drastically adapt her expectations of what can be done.
SW1amp · 16/10/2021 08:53

@OnwardsAndSideways1

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...
So there you have it, OP

Someone who has never seen your house, lives in a house half the size of yours and doesn’t have a clue how busy your days are has declared you don’t need a cleaner that often! 😂😂😂

Between her and the PP who said you can get your toddler to do the laundry for you, you’ve solved your dilemma and can save the money

MN at its finest!

SentDeliveredRead · 16/10/2021 08:53

I don't think that's a lot for tidying up too. Either get your act together and tidy up or pay them what they ask for the service you want

CouldWeStartAgainPlease · 16/10/2021 08:54

No I earned £6.66 an hour - £20 for 3 hours? I remember it was a great increase because I had been earning £5.50 in a bar before then.

SerendipityJane · 16/10/2021 08:55

Surely this is how we get to a high wage economy that we all voted for ?

CouldWeStartAgainPlease · 16/10/2021 08:55

Oh sorry, just looked back and saw I wrote £25! No I earned £20 for 3 hours. I've never done the inflation calculator to work it out in today's money to be fair.

HouseOfFire · 16/10/2021 08:57

Is that 20 hours a week each or for both of them?

TheUnbearable · 16/10/2021 08:58

I was paying £12ph a decade ago. My friend has been paying £14ph for years. I have never expected any cleaner to tidy. I miss having a cleaner but mine retired about 4 years ago and finding one is hard that’s decent and reliable.

madisonbridges · 16/10/2021 08:59

@CouldWeStartAgainPlease

No I earned £6.66 an hour - £20 for 3 hours? I remember it was a great increase because I had been earning £5.50 in a bar before then.
Oh. That's what you meant but you wrote this...

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

madisonbridges · 16/10/2021 09:00

Oops cross posted.

HaveringWavering · 16/10/2021 09:01

It’s fine for you to expect them to tidy as long as it’s discussed and agreed beforehand. However they are entitled to charge accordingly.

Surely even at the increased rate it’s still substantially cheaper than employing a full time live in housekeeper like you used to?

Pinklioness · 16/10/2021 09:05

@Canii

If that cleaner worked full time then she’s getting paid more than the starting salary for a nurse! Either that’s too high for a cleaner or nurses are being seriously underpaid!!
You're not factoring in sick pay, holiday pay, pension, training, insurance, accountancy fees, time travelling between jobs, cost of travel etc that a self employed person has to cover themselves.
Pinklioness · 16/10/2021 09:06

OP you're getting a bargain if they're tidying as well. Cleaners mostly don't do this.

mustlovegin · 16/10/2021 09:07

Ask around and see if you can find cheaper

A good idea for the OP to be aware of going rates in her area and then make an informed decision

CouldWeStartAgainPlease · 16/10/2021 09:07

Looking at the inflation calculator £6.66 from 2008 was £9.09 in 2020 and even £8.33 was £11.37. Thats much less than I thought.

Obviously there are a lot of other factors at play and going by this thread some people were paying £10-12 a decade ago anyway.

PanicBuyingSprouts · 16/10/2021 09:08

Have you thought of getting an au pair to keep on top of looking after the children's things and for occasional babysitting?

CharlieBoo · 16/10/2021 09:10

I run a cleaning business.. costs for us have increased.. insurance and fuel has gone up massively. I think £12 an hour was cheap and £13.50 still is good.

Bagamoyo1 · 16/10/2021 09:11

£12 per hour - blimey that’s ridiculously cheap! Please tell me that’s for each of them (ie £24 per hour for the pair). Even so, it’s still cheap. I pay £17.

countrygirl99 · 16/10/2021 09:11

We have cleaners nationwide. Most areas we are having to pay £12-£15 to recruit.

Tulipomania · 16/10/2021 09:14

It's a consequence of Brexit.

How did you vote in the referendum OP?

RoseStar · 16/10/2021 09:15

But presumably before you did and paid for three degrees, you looked at what wage you'd get?

People have been paying these wages for quite a while but the amount of kids going to university increases every year. So I think we're OK for skilled jobs at the moment.

@madisonbridges These points are both completely wrong. Firstly, real average earnings are now LOWER than they were ten years ago in many sectors because they’ve gone up at less than the pace of inflation. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that. Furthermore, the academic / charity sector has been completely rinsed for funding compared to what it used to get, another factor that depresses value even more. Also… there are very few people who pick a career path and stick to it. The aeverage person now has over 11 job changes in their life and often a career change or two as well. Linearity is not a luxury that most people can enjoy anymore, especially women.

Secondly, most kids are going to university in the hopes of either having higher income in the long term. However, I completely agree that a lot of them are doing courses that won’t lead to anything and would be better off learning a practical or vocational skill. However, they’re still SKILLS and that’s the point in question. If it becomes more lucrative to be in an unskilled job than to invest in your education and career then people won’t do it ans we will lose skilled workers and knowledge.

Again, I’m not saying that there isn’t a fair wage for everyone and I v much agree that cleaning is a luxury as point was made above. My point is that I think this is only the START of the cost of living crisis as these changes can trickle up the chain as well as down.