Cleaner's increase

[PearlclutchersInc]

My cleaner has just text me to say that her charges are going up by 35% to £15 an hour. I supply all the cleaning materials, its a 2 bed flat for which she cleans only one 1 bed and the rest - its new(ish) and she gets 3 hours to dot. There's 2 adults, one cat and we tidy up before she comes. She's not exactly over-worked

Eh? AIBU to ask how she arrives at that.

I feel really quite peeved. Don't see my employer giving me a 30-odd% rise any time soon. Happy to hear other views.

£15 an hour is reasonable, but 3 hours seems like a lot of time

Surely you've got 3 simple options?

1. pay it
2. clean the flat yourself
3. if you're sure the new amount is above the going rate, find a new cleaner

Crazy world that a cleaner earns more per hour than a care worker

Many cleaners are self employed. Most Care workers are not

The final wage will be about the same allowing for holiday, sick pay and pension.

To get a care worker through an agency is more than £15 an hour. Same principle. The agency top slices the wage.

Oh, please. Far crazier that Harry Maguire takes home £200k a week to defend with less skill than my Yr 2s. Far crazier the number of MNers who are apparently merrily pulling down six figures while apparently unable to get to grips with the fact that there is only one 's' in 'disappointed'.

I reckon I earn £9-10 ph as a TA. I'm fine with a cleaner earning more than me.

I'd cut her down to two hours and do a bit more yourself. I wouldn't be happy stomaching that much of a rise. I'd rather find someone new at £15 p/h or who brought all their own stuff.

I pay £16 an hour and our cleaners bring everything they use. They recently upped prices from £15 and I was fine with it. If they'd gone to £17 I'd have been fine with that too.

We live in a four bed and I generally just get them to do bathrooms kitchen and downstairs. Upstairs rarely needs much. They always have a bit of time left and do the windows or dust s couple of rooms upstairs type thing. But the whole house doesn't need doing weekly so two hours is plenty.

A lot of cleaners are self employed so no sick pay, holiday pay, maternity etc. I'd imagine care workers are PAYE so enjoy those benefits. Both jobs are not paid enough or respected enough. I've been a cleaner (both commercial and residential) and it's hard, physical work but you're often looked down on. Same as care workers often are.

Honestly OP I think £15 is perfectly reasonable, sorry. Cut it down to two hours if you don't need 3 hours.

I pay £40 for 3 hours cleaning but it’s a 4 bed 3 reception room house. Depending on region, £15 isn’t bad but I’d cut it to 2 hours anyway.

£15 is about right in my area now, although I know a couple who charge more. She’s entitled to set her prices, if you don’t like it you find another cleaner, although round here they’re like gold dust

She's not exactly over-worked

Do it yourself then.

Based on what you've described, she shouldn't need 3 hours to do your flat. 2 hours should be more than enough time if she's good at her job ... and you're providing the cleaning supplies, so she doesn't have to waste time bringing those in.

Agree to the £15, but tell her you're cutting back the hours to 2 hours per clean.

I'd also start quietly looking for another cleaner ... start with the expectation your flat can be done in 2 hours.

I don't think that's unreasonable at all. She's been under charging you by the sound of it. Just think of the cost of living bike, increase in fuel costs to get to you etc. I'm not sure she shouldn't be charging closer to £18 to be honest. You've got a bargain.

YABU

If you don't like the charges for a service, you discontinue the service and get it else where or do it yourself if there isn't much to do

why not shop around and see if you can get an equivalent for less?

I had this, but eventually decided that we just couldn't afford it at that rate and did our cleaning ourselves for a few months (without getting into the debate about whether they deserve than level of pay - lots of people do that are on much less).

We've found an independent cleaner since who charges £13/hr (London), and so we've gone with her and pay her if we're away on holiday etc.

I'm happy to increase their wages in line with an increase in mine, but if it turns out that I get paid less per hour than they do, then the obvious economic decision is to do it myself.

Don't see my employer giving me a 30-odd% rise any time soon Irrelevant.

My cleaner has been coming to me for nearly twenty years and has never increased her price, because I increase it for her. I pay £15 ph and provide all cleaning materials.

I do agree that 3 hours is too long for the size of your property, unless she has to tidy before she can start cleaning or you expect her to change beds or iron.

I pay my cleaner £15 an hour and that’s cheap for round here. She does my one-bed bungalow to a high standard including changing my bedding, cleaning the cooker and doing any laundry in two hours every week.

Where I live you would have difficulty finding a cleaner for cheaper than £15 per hour, most charge more than that.

I suspect she has realised how much she has been undercharging, and she has no choice but to increase her fee as the cost of living has increased so much.

The reality is she probably doesn’t see much of that £15 once you factor all her outgoings.

£18 is the going rate in my area. If you don't want to pay her £15, try to find a cheaper cleaner or don't bother having one.

Many many many care workers are on zero hours contracts and are woefully underpaid. @ellieboolou is totally right that it's crazy that they earn so little. Te answer is NOT to pay cleaners less, but rather, to pay carers MORE (and ban zero hours contracts).

I know cleaners that work cash in hand as well.so no stoppages at all

We pay our cleaner around that - south east London. We only have her come for two hours for our two bed flat so you could reduce her hours

You can work in McDonald's and KFC and get paid the same as carers etc do.