AIBU in thinking that cleaners who get any sort of Xmas gift from their clients are very fortunate?

[Rosa1211]

I'm a cleaner, have long-standing clients, some of whom I've visited for over ten years. I hope that I'm valued as a good worker ( I'm told so ), yet only a very small percentage of my folk give a little extra indicative of the coming season. I'm ok with this as for the most part I don't think it occurs to them! Also of course, it's their choice. Do any other cleaners have a different view to this?

Feeling hard done by that people who pay you don’t also buy you gifts is greedy - it implies you think you’re entitled to the gift.

Our cleaner is mediocre at her job and unreliable. (Funnily enough, not just our opinion, she's currently suspended from her other job). She gets a box of biscuits.

We keep her on because she cleans to enough of a standard that we can easily keep on top when she doesn't show up. And weirdly it's a cost of living saving, which we wouldn't get with a reliable cleaner.

I always used to give my cleaner £50 at Christmas and paid her all through covid. It was 2 years for me because I was shielding and having treatment for cancer. When that was done i messaged her to arrange for her to start back only to be told that she wasnt coming back because she got a full time job in august 2020 and didn't clean anymore. No mention of this job when we exchanged regular messages throughout. That was £5000 I paid her out of my disability benefits for nothing.

Oh no, this thread is worrying me.
I have a cleaner now, 2.5 hours a week. She charges the same as I earn, so after I pay tax I'm actually paying her more than I earn.
But as a single mother of a child with additional needs, I really don't get time to clean, so she is essential.

But I don't think I can afford to pay her 1 weeks extra, or one month like some posters here do!

Will she think I'm mean, and stop working for me unless I give her a gift? I can't bear the thought of that.

It is not illegal to film inside your own home. We had cameras put in when we had carers coming in. From the footage of one of them we found that she was stealing and the footage was handed to the police and she was prosecuted. Without that footage she would have got away with it

Of course she won’t. Most people who do cleaning are like anyone working any job. They do the job they agreed to do for the pay they accepted and that’s that. They don’t feel hard done by or annoyed that they don’t also get extra money and gifts.

Thank you Kanaloa, I do tend to take things to heart and worry over nothing!

We used to take our cleaner and her husband out for a dinner at xmas. She was wonderful, retired lady who just wanted some work. What a worker she was too.

I will repeat what I said earlier, it is illegal to record anyone without their consent. I spoke to a solicitor after I discovered the camera, they confirmed it with me. They as the client must make you aware that the camera is there and that you are happy to continue working with it there.

It's fine. The whole 'she's a darling treasure whom we'd be LOST without and of COURSE we give her two weeks' pay and an overpriced and under-thought-through candle at this arbitrary time of year!' is a Mumsnet bubble thing. Most of us who have a cleaner can only just afford it and appreciate how lucky we are to be even in that position. We pay the going rate, and we aren't dicks to the person/people working in our house to earn a living, just like we work to earn a living.

A box of chocolates and a card could cost no more than £5, showing your appreciation doesn't have to cost the earth.

Honestly any cleaner who feels hard done by because you’re not showering her with gifts isn’t worth having! When I did cleaning my thanks and gratitude was that my clients paid me! I think it’s actually a semi snobby look down - oh our little cleaner, we absolutely have to get her a little gift to show our gratitude and make her feel valued. People who clean do it on purpose! Not because they can’t do anything else/out of the goodness of their hearts. Because it’s a good job that is flexible. Your cleaner will be happy to have regular clients who pay on time.

How does that work in shops/cafes/nurseries/people who have CCTV outside their house to deter burglars?

I'm wondering the same. How many people would buy a present for the person at their supermarket checkout or the Amazon delivery driver?

I just gave mine an enveloppe with a good amount of cash, £50 gift cards for each of her two children, a bottle of champagne and a small gift for her.
She hasn’t been with us for long but I really value her work and couldn’t do without her. I also know she is struggling at the moment as her husband left them and is not sending any money to the family.

I have spent £25 on my cleaner, she is a good friend of mine though

I buy gifts for the dog groomer, the dog Walker and her 2 children and my cleaner.

@GreenEmeraldSea lots of jobs give bonuses and Xmas bonuses though? I get one in my work and don’t feel it’s because I’m lowly.

I’ve been a cleaner for a decade.
Christmas gifts range from nothing to a box of chocolates to a voucher.
Definitely never been given a tip that’s equivalent to the cost of the clean.

Intrigued why some people paid their cleaners during lockdown when they were probably claiming the SEISS grant (equivalent to furlough but for the self employed).

IMO, people who don't tip their cleaners are tight fisted.

Do you tip your car mechanic?

Cleaners usually turn up on a regular basis - daily, weekly or monthly depending on the job. They don't generally earn a high wage and they are in somebody's personal spaces. I see my car mechanic maybe once or twice a year and the charge for those services is somewhat higher than most cleaners earn so I doubt whether anyone tips for that.

I value my cleaner, she is trustworthy, reliable, friendly and good at her job. I buy a big tin of family type chocolates for her children and pay her double time for the last clean before Christmas.

Many people turn up for work everyday and are on a low wage, yet don't receive tips. Are you not paying your cleaner a fair living wage?

As for what I pay her, she is self employed. She sets her own fees and they are considerably above NMW.