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

Sorry to say this but you set it up wrong in the first place.

There should be a list of jobs that must be done each visit, and then a list of jobs that might be done, if there is time left over.

Things on that second list might be oven or fridge cleaning, emptying a kitchen cupboard and giving it a good clean, sweeping leaves off the patio, damp-dusting the floor of your wardrobes -- anything that only need doing once in a while.

Make sure that the two lists together take about 3 hours. That way she has to stay for the full 2 hours. There is no excuse to leave after one hour, ever.

Hope this makes sense!

She's taking liberties, I'd have to mention it. X

[quote Harmonypuss]@tangone

why shouldn’t cleaners earn £14 an hour?

Until I was forced into retirement a few years ago I worked in the NHS and was controlling a £20million budget, running conferences, writing contracts etc and wasn't even earning £11/hr, so it amazes me that someone doing what most consider a 'menial job' with no responsibility attached should be earning more than minimum wage.[/quote]
Sounds like you were underpaid.

It isn't a race to the bottom. And minimum wage is not a living wage.

If she is clever and fast working, ie using hacks and experience to clean as opposed to elbow grease and achieve the same result in an hour instead of two I would be delighted keep her. This must involve proper deep clean to reach a professional standard. The expertise alone is worth the “pay rise”.

Yes but theres a 2 hour minimum,set by the company.So its out of the cleaners hands. @roastedsaltedpeanut so she stays the full 2 hours or she tells @Holeandthentwo that its doable in 1.And bang goes the cleaners easy life.

Do you understand the concept of productivity? This is not a hard luck story but actually about paying people fairly and understanding how that impacts on the economy. Do apologise if that’s beyond your intellectual capacity and flies in the face of all your hard earned prejudices with regards to the low paid

Here's the thing...you are paying for her to clean your house. There is a minimum charge of two hours for that service. The only concern you have is, IS YOUR HOUSE CLEAN TO YOUR SATISFACTION WHEN SHE LEAVES? If the house is cleaned to your satisfaction, then who cares when she leaves. If it is not, leave her a detailed note of what needs to be done, and to what standard.

Many, many services have a minimum time charge. It may not take that amount of time to do the job, but being paid less than minimum makes it not worth their time.

Clearly you haven’t grasped the bigger picture point I was making. Sorry I’ll try to make it simpler for those with limited understand of wage growth in the UK. Jobs that are defined as usually being filled by women attract a lower wage e.g. care work, teaching, administration, cleaning etc. While you yourself may not directly work in one of those sectors, economically speaking, it has implications for society in general when wages in those areas is low and below inflation. So perhaps try to see the bigger picture if you’re capable of that...

Do you understand the concept of productivity? This is not a hard luck story but actually about paying people fairly and understanding how that impacts on the economy. Do apologise if that’s beyond your intellectual capacity and flies in the face of all your hard earned prejudices with regards to the low paid

Or heres a mad idea @Jewel52 work the hours you are paid for.
You are supposed to be there and work for 2 hours.Be there and work for 2 hours.

Ah bless, you’re just a simple soul.

Ah bless you are a patronising twat 🤣

😍

Cleaning is done primarily by women and in recent years, often by women who come to the uk with none of the advantages most middle class women born here enjoy. Yet, somehow, rather than having an appreciation that they’re relieving us of the repetitive mundane tasks we don’t want to carry out, we want to stand on their necks and tightly control their hourly rate and monitor their hours like they were in an industrialist’s factory. For shame

My cleaner was born and raised on the same estate as me (I live two streets up from where I was raised). Neither of us born outside the UK, neither of us middle class (or ‘higher’). You need to review your attitude of cleaner = charity case.

Do you understand the concept of productivity? This is not a hard luck story but actually about paying people fairly and understanding how that impacts on the economy. Do apologise if that’s beyond your intellectual capacity and flies in the face of all your hard earned prejudices with regards to the low paid

How am I not paying fairly? I’m paying double time at the moment. Why do you assume she is low paid? Perhaps address your own prejudices.

I would get rid of this dishonest cleaner and find another one and make it clear they're being paid for the time they work, not the jobs.

If the job is not done then yes bring it up. However if the job is getting done the two hour minimum is probably to cover cost of transportation. You can politely talk to her about it, but lots of services that have minimum hours like this is to make sure the cost of travel and supplies are covered and still have room for profit. Do you want her to hang around your house for an extra hour if she's completed anything? Do you want to find a different cleaner? If not please be understanding about this. Most of the time when small businesses have minimum hours that they charge for it's because charging anything less is not profitable for them.

This thread has also reminded me that my one terrible cleaner was asking one week, when we were away on holiday and she had SIX HOURS that week to clean, to do the windows. She happily agrees. She then said she couldn’t find the back door key so hadn’t done it. The thing was though, we lived in a ground floor flat with full wraparound access so the front door key would have been just fine 😆🤦🏻‍♀️

@Holeandthentwo

Have you said anything?

I don't know they are being dishonest. It sounds like two hours is the minimum they charge for. Most likely because with travel and supply cost that is the minimum that is profitable. If she is completing the work I don't think that is dishonest. However it could be something to be discussed if the preference is she remains there for two hours regardless of if she finished earlier than that.

What if everything is clean before two hours, should she stay there even with everything done? The two hour minimum is most likely to cover cost and still make a profit.

Had to weigh in here because I also have cleaners that come in and bottom line is I pay for the job they do, not the time. And they do an excellent job in about an hour and I have a fair size house - 4 beds, 3 bath, 2 living room, etc. Two come because it's they're business together but sometimes only one can come over. If it's just one then it still takes that person a little less than 2 hrs. Still a great job done and it's time off my hands having to do it myself. Over time it has taken them less time to clean up. Why? Because they got used to how to clean my house AND it's been maintained from the last times they've cleaned. Perhaps the same situation is going on with your home. In the end I WANT them to get done quickly but with the same quality since I also WFH and so I can back to work. So if the quality is still there why hunt for extra things she can do? She prob already did it or will end up learning how to do it in less time bringing you right back to where you started.

@hopingforabrighterfuture2021

Say something! An hour is not acceptable. You could perhaps talk to her about other jobs that could be done, eg cleaning out the fridge/cupboards/doing some laundry etc if there’s not enough to do in the two hours.

This ^^

Is she doing the tasks you are paying for to a level you are happy with? If yes, either leave her be or give her further tasks to do.
Some people cleaner faster than others.

The timing issue, talk to her directly and if early morning don't suit you. You can say no. I would like to go back to our original timeslot.

Does the cleaner even know that you’re paying for 2 hours?

Have a chat with her and explain why you’re a bit miffed and see if you can’t come to a compromise so that you get what you’re paying for

Do you think SHE is getting paid for 2 hours if she’s only working 1?

@Jewel52

Clearly you haven’t grasped the bigger picture point I was making. Sorry I’ll try to make it simpler for those with limited understand of wage growth in the UK. Jobs that are defined as usually being filled by women attract a lower wage e.g. care work, teaching, administration, cleaning etc. While you yourself may not directly work in one of those sectors, economically speaking, it has implications for society in general when wages in those areas is low and below inflation. So perhaps try to see the bigger picture if you’re capable of that...

This isn’t related to anything though. On a salaried wage I get paid for about 8 hours of work. During low periods i don’t say ‘ok there’s nothing to do let me watch TV’ I find work.

Same with a cleaner

If she asks and there’s nothing fair enough but the point is ASK. To sneak off without asking Is sly and underhanded

This is why I struggle on myself. Always starts off well then time is trimmed or there is the coffee chat about people I don’t know/their bunions.
Your problem is getting the key back …..

No you need to tell her you know she's been only staying for an hour (let her know it tells u when she arrives and leaves) and while u don't have any problem with the cleaning she does, your paying for 2hrs. So from now on you will leave a list of deep clean jobs or other things she cld do in that hour.

Could she strip your bed down and change the sheets for you every week? Empty the dishwasher if needed. Clean the fridge, the oven, the skirting boards. Wash down all your kitchen units. Pull out the sofas and clean behind and underneath. I'm sure you cld find different stuff every week for her to do. She's massively taking the piss. A decent cleaner wld do this automatically.

Imagine u went to work and just buggered off an hour early even though there is stuff that cld be done. U wld not get away with that.