To think my cleaner should stay for two hours?

[Holeandthentwo]

I pay for a cleaner to clean my house every other week. The minimum you can pay for is two hours, which is fine.

However, I’ve noticed over the months that she leaves early. At first it was only ten minutes or so and I didn’t care, but it’s built up and built up so that today she arrived at 2pm and left at 3pm. I always make myself scarce when she’s there so I’m not getting in her way, but I know the times because my Ring doorbell sends an alert as she arrives and leaves.

I’m torn about whether to say anything, because it’s now half the time I pay for, but she is a good cleaner, provides all the equipment, and is happy to let herself in with the key, and I feel trusting of her having a key.

Should I say anything? Or just accept that she can clean the house in half the time I pay for?

YABU - say nothing because the clean is still being done

YANBU - say something because it’s not what I’m paying for

Well, if a dental nurse gets a tenner an hour, then 14 for a cleaner is a bit steep.

That's an argument to pay dental nurses more, not to pay cleaners less. And besides, as PPs have pointed out you cannot compare a rate for direct employment with those for self employment. I always build other factors into my hourly rate. I don't get holiday pay or sick pay. I have to pay towards a pension and my NI. I have to pay for my own insurance.

Also, some people seem to be assuming that the OP is paying £14 per hour. She hasn't said what she pays, someone else mentioned that rate. And she is paying for two hours because that is the minimum timeframe her cleaner will allow for, not because she has two hours of work to do necessarily. As a self-employed person I charge more for shorter jobs than for longer-term jobs because I have to allow for travel time in between lots of short jobs otherwise.

Why not stay in the house when she is cleaning? You might at least get 1 hour 30 or 1 hour 40.

I understand it is a tricky situation, it hard to find someone you trust, to let in you house, but on the other hand you could say she is nicking £15-£20 of you per visit, by not doing the full 2 hours.

Have you booked her through a company that sends her, or is she independent? If she's sent via a company, the company will usually give her a list of tasks expected in a standard 2-hour clean. Even if she's independent, she might be working to a task list based on what you've asked her to do?

I had a cleaning job once, in my 20s.

The company would book me in for X amount of time, and there would be a list of tasks I'd need to complete within that time.

The company would actively encourage me to get it done fast, especially if the client was home (so that I could out of their way).

The company also didn't factor in breaks or a lunch hour, nor sufficient time to travel between bookings. Which also forced me to work faster... so that I could actually eat... or get to the next booking.

I also just found that as I got to know the clients' homes, I got into a flow and could get everything done in significantly less time than when I started.

So could it be that she is working to tasks, rather than time booked?

Or that she's under time pressure from her company, if she works for a company?

Ultimately it's a communication thing. I'd talk to her and ask first. People don't always leave early because they're lazy. Sometimes they're just efficient, pressured, or there is a communication breakdown.

£14 per hour is rubbish for a business. However that's a different conversation.
Anyhow she should stay the full 2 hrs unless agreed before hand.

Just remind them that if they finish all the jobs before the 2 hours they are to do x y and z to make up the 2 hours. (So give a long list of extras).

YANBU, My best cleaner would ask for extra jobs and said she’d do them if she finished the general clean earlier, god I miss her!

I'm a cleaner, you get paid for 2 hours, you do 2 hours!

If she gets the allocated jobs done in an hour, then she absolutely should be using her initiative for the remaining time and cracking on with other jobs (i.e windows, oven, fridge etc etc)
Theres always things to clean in peoples houses, its not rocket science..

Either pay her for the hour or wait till she does it again.
And ring her and ask where she is.

I'd message her saying I noticed you had to leave after an hour today, I hope everything's okay? See what she comes back with. If she was skiving she'll realise you're into her and hopefully won't try it again.

Thanks everyone.

To answer some questions, when I moved house I asked for recommendations for a cleaner on Facebook. Someone was recommended and I got in touch with her and she visited the house, and told her what I’d like done every other week. She owns the very small business, and I think there are two or three other cleaners working for her, one of which is mine. The owner said the minimum charge was for two hours.

My other issue is that originally the owner said the clean could take place every other week at 2pm. Fine. Then, suddenly one day she turned up at 11am. Owner was meant to tell me it had been changed but apparently forgot. They asked if 11am was okay going forward and it was. Then a month ago she turned up at 9am because she’d had a cancellation, and said in fact it could be any time that morning. It’s a bit annoying because I like to be out of the house while she’s here, but have virtual meetings at the moment and a whole morning is gone because I don’t know what time she’ll be here.

My problem is that, probably pathetically, I feel guilty saying anything because she’s really nice to talk to, and it’s just easy in that she has a key and brings her own equipment instead of me having to provide it. I’m not sure whether to address the problems with her or the owner.

Do you specifically give her a list of tasks to do? If so, make sure next time you add on more as clearly it isn't enough.

I had this exact same issue. Identical. I really liked her but the times were getting shorter and the cleaning wasn't as good. She stopped coming when the pandemic started. I didn't chase to her her back as I was so disappointed about it. She was rushing to do too many jobs. She told me she was mad busy but I was paying £30 for 2 hours and she wasn't doing it

Then a month ago she turned up at 9am because she’d had a cancellation, and said in fact it could be any time that morning. It’s a bit annoying because I like to be out of the house while she’s here, but have virtual meetings at the moment and a whole morning is gone because I don’t know what time she’ll be here.

That's bonkers. Why are you organising such a large part of your working life around her?

I’ve got the same issue. Our cleaner is supposed to do 3 hours but has started arriving late and leaving early so rarely does more than 2.5hrs. The trouble is that she is very nice & easy to talk to. I’m happy with her being in the house and I trust her.

I think that if I pulled her up on it & asked her to do other stuff if she’d finished the regular stuff then she would just work a bit slower so there would be no gain for me. Cleaners are hard to come by here & I don’t want to piss her off so I just take the hit as some cleaning is better than none!

It is easier if she works for someone if you don't to deal with ending her service, next time she is coming be home and say you need to borrow your key back as a friend/ relative is coming etc etc. Once you have the key back call the owner and either ask for another cleaner as this one is not doing the hours you are paying for or that you are going with someone else full stop.

Get rid. She is dishonest. An hour is a real piss take .

I had a cleaner who was rude and unreliable but she did do a good ish job. She started insisting on doing 2.5 hours then cut it by 15 minutes regularly then a full half hour. At which point I started giving her 2 hours wage so she put her rates up. I found another cleaner.

A quick wipe is not the same as a proper clean. When I do my own cleaning it takes all day and I don't manage the whole house BUT I do get it properly clean. I find deep cleaning isn't something most cleaners do. Its a pain.

I've never had one that's stated the full two hours. I've noticed my current one is arriving later.

A polite chat or text:
“Hi Cleaner,
I’ve noticed that in the last x amount of times, you have not been here for the full 2 hours. If you find that you finish the usual tasks, I have left a list of jobs on the counter which need doing.
Many Thanks”

If you have had the same cleaner for a while, it is normal for them to be on top of things and the usual cleaning jobs can be completed early. It is okay to ask for additional jobs to be added to make up the time you pay for. It is not okay for you to pay for 2 hours and only get 1 hour.

I had a cleaner once who charged by the session, not by the hour and she was the best cleaner I ever had! Her reasoning was that, as long as she carried out her work to MY satisfaction, why should she string out the work to, say, 2 hours when she could complete everything in 1 3/4 hours. She was absolutely brilliant! One example was she refused to use a mop and bucket, preferring to clean on her hands and knees, so as to avoid streaks on the tiles. I could go on ………..

A friend of mine gave her cleaner a list of jobs to be completed. It was a 3 story, 3 bed house. The jobs were the usual dusting, hoovering, mopping and bathroom, but also changing the bedding and cleaning the kitchen (which was usually a mess with dishes etc). The cleaner said 3 hours a week (my friend wanted a weekly clean and agreed the 3 hours).
Some weeks it took 3.5 hours and more recently it has been 2.5 hours, as the cleaner got on top of every and into a routine. A full house clean in 2.5/3.5 hours is impressive in my books. If the cleaner suddenly (and regularly) started finishing an hour earlier, my friend would think the cleaner was missing stuff

Btw, my friend always pays the 3 hours, no more or less, it must be by the session as pp has said

@Walkingthedog46

I had a cleaner once who charged by the session, not by the hour and she was the best cleaner I ever had! Her reasoning was that, as long as she carried out her work to MY satisfaction, why should she string out the work to, say, 2 hours when she could complete everything in 1 3/4 hours. She was absolutely brilliant! One example was she refused to use a mop and bucket, preferring to clean on her hands and knees, so as to avoid streaks on the tiles. I could go on ………..

This is exactly how I work.A mature attitude from cleaner and customer.I am astounded how patronising some women here are towards their cleaner and in particular a cleaners wage.as most cleaners are women and most customers are women,it is shameful to read this thread!

Yes you need to say something.

Just picturing my boss’s face if I slipped out early an hour before my due time 😲

Your whole house can be cleaned in an hour every other week? How small is it?

@AndSoFinally

Give her some more jobs to do! Ask her to deep clean the fridge or oven if she's got time left, or bleach all the skirting boards (😂). An hour is taking the mickey, she could definitely find something else to do in that time

Bleach the skirting boards 🤦‍♀️ wth 😳