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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Paying cleaner when off

136 replies

MagicMatilda · 09/04/2023 20:53

DH and I are in a disagreement…our cleaner is taking 3 weeks off for surgery in June.

I think we should still pay her but DH thinks we shouldn’t.

What would you do? Thanks

OP posts:

sladys · 09/04/2023 20:54

For surgery, I would (and have done in the past)

drpet49 · 09/04/2023 20:57

Depends. What surgery is she having?

OldTinHat · 09/04/2023 20:57

I agree with you.

Original poster

MagicMatilda · 09/04/2023 20:58

It’s for a breast reduction. If she was going on holiday I wouldn’t pay but for this I think we should as it’s not her choice really

OP posts:

Ffsmakeitstop · 09/04/2023 21:00

Give her half pay. Presumably it's necessary surgery. If selective then nothing. Although thinking about it not sure you can ask what she's having done.

mynameiscalypso · 09/04/2023 21:02

I generally err on the side of paying my cleaner more rather than less.

Original poster

MagicMatilda · 09/04/2023 21:04

Me too! I’m scared she will leave but my husband doesn’t have this same fear as wouldn’t make any difference to his work load! Argh haha

OP posts:

Cosyblankets · 09/04/2023 21:07

I'm not sure what I think about this. Most self employed people factor in that they don't get paid when off when they set their hourly rate. I'm self employed and I don't expect to be paid when I don't work.
Somehow on here people seem to pay an awful lot of money for people to do nothing. If it's a cleaner you've either got to clean your own house or pay someone else to do it.

mondaytosunday · 09/04/2023 21:07

I wouldn't. The cleaners I've had are self employed and I've never paid for when they don't come.

ComtesseDeSpair · 09/04/2023 21:09

I wouldn’t. It’s one of the downsides of being self employed and why I’ve chosen to be employed. If people choose self employment then part of that is contingency planning for situations like this.

If you think she’ll stop working for you if you don’t then it’s your call; but I think it’s pretty off when people who don’t want to be employed because they like the freedom of that, also expect the same perks.

Firawla · 09/04/2023 21:11

I wouldn’t, they are self employed you are confusing things by paying her when she’s off - you’re not an employer who pays sick pay etc. so I wouldn’t because I wouldn’t want to lose any clarity in terms of that.
I am self employed myself so I know the downsides of it, but no

AltheaVestr1t · 09/04/2023 21:11

A good cleaner is worth their weight in gold. I've had the same cleaner for 8 years. I pay him when he's off for illness (very rarely) and for holidays (maybe 2-3 weeks a year). I paid him when he couldn't work for lockdown. He is always flexible when we need him to be and he never lets us down. If she's worth keeping, pay her!

Blort · 09/04/2023 21:12

Compromise and pay half. I agree with erring on more than less with a cleaner. They're in my personal space and a good one is worth keeping.

Namechangethisonetime · 09/04/2023 21:14

I wouldn’t, personally. I wouldn’t want to set a precedent of paying each time she’s off for a holiday/appointment/etc. I feel it’s the risk/benefit of being self employed, and self employed should be setting aside income to cover periods of holiday and sickness etc.

The only caveat would be in the case of sudden serious illness, and I personally wouldn’t feel this situation is the same.

FirstnameSuesecondnamePerb · 09/04/2023 21:15

Oh I don't know. Not quite the same but I pay our dog walker the same every week, 52 weeks a year. We take the odd week off, she has the odd week off. Sometimes it's made up, sometimes not.
How much is it? (Remembers all the lock down threads where people carried on paying for 5 months, then never saw them again!)
Also, is she really going to be up to cleaning 3 weeks after breast reduction

BelleMarionette · 09/04/2023 21:15

I have heard that legally you can get yourself in trouble by paying when sick, if someone is self employed, as this can be argued that you are treating them as employed. This obviously has tax implications.

It's tough as usually self employed people don't get paid when off or sick, but cleaners are on a low hourly rate.

Morningcoffeeview · 09/04/2023 21:15

I wouldn’t. That’s the downside of cash in hand.

Clementineorsatsuma · 09/04/2023 21:17

Morningcoffeeview · 09/04/2023 21:15

I wouldn’t. That’s the downside of cash in hand.

What do you mean? She may not be a tax evader you know!!

Belle96 · 09/04/2023 21:21

I'm sorry to jump on your post but I'm using the app and I can not even make my own, it keeps throwing me out and when I start searching site stuff it again throws me out, can someone help me?

Nevermind31 · 09/04/2023 21:23

I wouldn’t. If my cleaner is not cleaning I need to pay someone else to do that - that’s self employment for you (I do, however, pay her over market rate as she is fantastic and had been with us for about 12 years - and three properties).

Obki · 09/04/2023 21:27

MagicMatilda · 09/04/2023 21:04

Me too! I’m scared she will leave but my husband doesn’t have this same fear as wouldn’t make any difference to his work load! Argh haha

I don’t have a cleaner (paying for one when they’re not even cleaning would make my tight heart throb in pain), but based on your post above, you should keep the cleaner as your H is a knob.

Floribundaflummery · 09/04/2023 21:29

Wouldn’t pay as they are self employed.

Eggseggseverywhere · 09/04/2023 21:40

Ime as a self employed cleaner we do pay tax and don't get holiday pay! Every penny is appreciated.
One of my customers paid me for 6 months at the start of Covid!

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/04/2023 22:16

It's tough as usually self employed people don't get paid when off or sick, but cleaners are on a low hourly rate.

We don't have a cleaner, but from an 'outsider' point of view, I think I'd (theoretically) bear this in mind. Most tradespeople - plumbers, electricians, roofers etc. - charge quite a decent 'middle-class' rate that takes into account all of their costs, holidays, sickness etc; whereas a cleaner asking for £50 an hour would be laughed at.

Whilst not at all the case for all of them, many people (usually women) 'fall into' cleaning from a position of necessity, based on what their skills and availability will allow, rather than as an active career choice, and I doubt that many are making a mint from it.

Also, it may not make a difference at all to his thinking, but is the nature of her operation possibly making him think that she's less 'deserving' than other medical ops? A lot of men would basically hear 'boob job' (however carefully you explained it) and just think that she's made a frivolous choice to do it out of vanity; it may not even cross their minds that the circumstances of a woman requiring a breast reduction can be extremely uncomfortable to the point of debilitating and nothing whatsoever about 'just wanting to feel sexier'.

MelchiorsMistress · 09/04/2023 22:26

She’s self employed so I wouldn’t. You don’t pay a window cleaner or gardener when they don’t come so I don’t see what’s different. They are not in the same league as tradesmen that need to have professional qualifications and related registration.

If you can afford to be generous and you want to give her a gift then that would be nice of you but your DH is right that you don’t need to.

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