Paying cleaner for holidays

[Pipiste]

I know it’s not about being unreasonable, but just wanted to gauge opinion as will need to get cash out by 0900 tomorrow!

Our cleaner is great, does a 2hr clean each week for £30 (3 bed, changes main bedsheets, mops everywhere, just a basic clean). So happy with her, she’s a whirlwind, it’s hard getting a cleaner round here. I give her a little present at Christmas and an extra week’s pay. Also pay if we have to cancel due to a bug. She’s very religious and is going back to Portugal for two weeks at Easter and is going to be hosting everyone, cooking, doing everting for the extended family (probably not relevant!).

Would usually not pay if she’s away on holiday, but as it’s an occasion more important to her than Christmas, should I give her extra? I was thinking of getting her an Easter card and putting £60 in it (£30 for the clean and £30 Easter bonus - although she’s away for two weeks, so maybe it should be £90, but that seems a bit over the top?). Haven’t had this dilemma before as had not had her over Easter, she started just after (she’s the first cleaner we’ve had).

Don’t want to get her an Easter gift or flowers as she won’t be in the country.

What does everyone else do?

I'm sure she'd be happy with £60

I don't pay if my cleaner is away, but I usually add extra hours when she is back to bring the place back to scratch -.though I do clean while she's away I just think it isn't as.good.as when she has done it.

Well I wouldn’t put her normal pay into the card- I think that would be confusing.

It would be very nice of you to pay her while she’s away but totally your choice. I don’t pay my cleaner when she’s on holiday but I do pay her when she’s ill, or we’re away and don’t need a clean, or it’s a bank holiday. Definitely worth paying well for a good cleaner.

Thanks, I’ll do that. I completely overthink these things!

Oh! I did that at Christmas! She didn’t seem confused about it. I just hate the ‘oh and this is extra’ as I hate explaining it and don’t want to seem patronising!

She can’t do extra hours as she look after her grandson straight after.

I don't usually agree with paying cleaners holiday pay but in your case she seems to do quite a lot in the two hours and her charge is fairly reasonable. I would give her two weeks pay. No bonus,

Ah, my cleaner and I are flexible so very lucky, I move hours when she needs to and vice versa

Only on MN...

Oh I wasn’t going to give a bonus, it would
be one or two weeks pay while she’s in holiday.

?

I often pay one of the weeks if our cleaner takes two weeks off. Probably not always.

I don’t do weeks off as not sure about the precedent it sets, she takes quite a few, had her on a weekly standing order through covid and gave her double Christmas week. Much more, I don’t know….

Oh that’s sad. I’m on a few forums and people tend to be appreciative of paid workers, especially those who are juggling family and working life on both sides. Glad than MN are seen as good for that.

Thanks, ours doesn’t take many holidays at all, maybe they fall on a weekend as she cleans our house mid week.

Nobody I've ever cleaned for has paid me for the holidays. Self employed means you don't get paid.

Every post on Mumsnet that's about cleaners shows how much spare cash everyone has to be worrying about paying the cleaner so much extra.

I would...it's a really nice thing to do and she will be loosing money as generally cleaners don't get holiday pay . I give my cleaners a £100 bonus at Christmas and a bottle of champagne....just to say thank you. They are agency so I don't pay any holiday pay, when we go on holiday - but I make sure they are really appreciated...been with me for 3 years and they are brilliant

I always pay my cleaner when she’s on holiday (£15p/h), because she tends to stay longer than I ask her to and she always wants to catch up time she misses (I tell her not to worry as I’m sure it all works out)

Yep.

Paying her an additional week is a nice gesture if you're pleased with her and her work

@Viviennemary I too read the OP said 1 weeks pay plus a bonus of £30, then she said its 2 weeks holiday plus a bonus, so £90! 😮

OP- You already DID pay a bonus at Christmas. Having read similar threads so often, it seems most only pay if they themselves are going away, rather than paying if the cleaner decides to go on holiday.

I’m sorry, that sounds rubbish. I don’t have spare cash, but having to work 50hrs a week and having a toddler, a cleaner has made it doable and I can spend a full weekend with them, without having to clean. I’ll take your point on board and will give her the two weeks as that’s what I budgeted for when I took her on. Thanks for your insight.

Wtf? You've said above that you work as a cleaner - surely it can't be news that some people... have cleaners?

I don't have a cleaner but I'm self employed and no one pays me when I go on holiday

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. I paid her for the cleaning at Christmas and gave £30 extra, but the day she usually cleaned she didn’t come as i forgot orthodox Christmas was on different days. So it worked out she didn’t clean the day she usually came but I paid anyway. Not sure that makes any more sense!!

I think it’s nice to give her a card and the two weeks pay! If you can afford it, do it! It’s a valuable job and even if they’re self employed giving them a couple of extra paid weeks off as a perk is a nice thing to do.
Good reliable cleaners are hard to find where I am so I absolutely look after ours as well.