Caught Cleaner clipping her Nails in our Bathroom..

[Naliny]

…with my nail clipper.

AIBU to fire her over this?

(Also - have never done an AIBU before and can’t figure out how to do the poll).

So should the cleaner then refuse to handle bedding, towels, clothes worn and tossed on the floor?

That's up to the cleaner. The cleaner was not given permission to use the op's item for herself. It really doesn't matter what the item is. The fact that it was a personal care item just makes it a bit more squeamish for some people, and I personally feel that anyone with common sense would not help themselves to someone else's nail clippers, especially an employer's.

I wouldn't fire her over this but you say she's not very good at cleaning either. So I think you'd be unreasonable to fire her for cutting her nails but you would not be unreasonable to fire her for not being very good at her job.

You seem very invested in this - are you the cleaner?

I don’t have a cleaner so thankfully this won’t be an issue.

I’m a self employed cleaner. I’m often amazed at some of the antics of cleaners that I hear about on here!
In any normal working day, I am rushing about like a blue arsed fly, to get through my jobs and keep to schedule.
I do a thorough job and always treat my clients’ homes and possessions with the utmost respect.
I don’t help myself to their coffee or scoff their biscuits, spray their perfume or use their clippers. On the odd occasion I’ve needed to use the loo, I’ve asked first and of course, clean it afterwards.
I’ve never used a client’s WiFi code or taken lengthy phone calls while I’m working-there isn’t time!
I just go in, exchange a bit of chat, and crack on.
I’ve kept most of my customers for over 5 years, call many of them friends, and still wouldn’t dream of using their things.
I am aware that I’m in a position of trust.
Most of the domestic cleaners I know are the same.
Using someone else’s nail clippers is 🤮
(How would the cleaner know for sure that YOU don’t have rabies/bubonic plague?!)

(How would the cleaner know for sure that YOU don’t have rabies/bubonic plague?!) @RumDo

exactly I was thinking this too. It would just me make me doubt their common sense and judgment in regards to hygiene in general.

I offer my cleaner water or juice but they always decline and just get on with the job and have a quick chat at the end before they’re off. This behaviour of being overly comfortable is just too odd.

I used to be a home tutor for children and I’d never behave like that in anyone’s house.

This thread is like reading the transcript of a Victoria Wood sketch or Hyacinth Bucket in full flight.

On what planet are the people thinking this is ok?! Or equating taking and using nail clippers, (for a sustained time and taken away from the place they are usually kept) with using the loo?! There are clear boundaries in any job within someone's home and this obviously oversteps it.

It's clear there's a group of MNers who disagree with the concept of a cleaner and unless you are treating her like your sister, but with a salary, you're an evil person.

I love my cleaner and she loves us. I respect her hard work, trust her implicitly and forgive small errors. I'm always clear about the stuff she doesn't need to do that day so she doesn't do too much (gets same money even leaving earlier) but she offers to do more when she has time - I've only ever said yes once in 4 years! It's possible to have a good working relationship but still think this is not acceptable (in fact I'll ask her for her thoughts when I see her on Monday).

Oversteps the mark. It makes you question her judgement , honestly and what else she does if she thinks this is ok .

No. But accusing someone of theft when you know nothing about them is a bit off - not to mention utterly prejudiced. My DD has a cleaner. She's a nice woman. She's a person and if she clipped her nails in the bathroom with the nail clipper (fat chance of finding one in DD's bathroom, though) no-one would turn a hair. Going on about this as though it's the end of the world suggests that none of you have any manners. Do you also object if the cleaner needs to have a pee in you lavatory?

Having a pee does not run the risk of passing on a fungal nail infection or Hepatitis C, for starters.

Eh, no.

I've occasionally used the nail clippers at work (private housekeeper) when I've broken a nail and need to sort it out ASAP. Doesn't mean I'm doing anything else.

Bit of an over reaction?

How so? I'm sure you'd be happy for your cleaner to borrow your mooncup, though.

The OP didn't need to - she was lurking close enough to be able to count the clips .😆😆😆.

I've honestly never heard anything as bonkers as this. I can't believe anyone would seriously consider sacking someone for spending a couple of minutes using their clippers to cut their nails. If I didn't know it was mid June I would be checking to see if it was April Fool's Day.

Yes because nail clippers go in the vagina.

The risk of anyone catching a fungal nail infection or hep from nail clippers is tiny. And it's insulting to say that the cleaner has such poor hygiene that they'd have a disease that can be transmitted and still use someone else's nail clippers.

Most people currently living with Hepatitis C have never been tested for it and are unaware they have it. It is common advice if you do have it to not share personal hygiene tools, including toothbrushes, razors, nail files and clippers.

Oh, and the cleaner clearly does have poor hygiene and also poor boundaries to use her employer's nailclippers without seeking permission. She knew it was wrong, hence why she did it surreptitiously.

She's crossing boundaries. She not there to clip her nails wtf

😆

Seriously I'd be mire annoyed she's a bad cleaner. Not because of the nail clipping.

Have you told her what she's not doing properly op?

I normally absolutely hate "I asked my DH" responses, but I did ask my DH because he actually is a cleaner He would never consider this because he is a cleaner! He has fucking standards. A cleaner who would use a client's nail clippers does not have acceptable standards to be a cleaner (and you've actually said she's not up to scratch).

DH works in the commercial sector now and you'd be amazed how many companies/institutions are so badly cleaned and actively unhygienic (that's a vomit face). Things like cleaners not adhering to the coloured cloth systems so the toilet cloth is used for other areas straightaway. Some of these are large companies that provide premium/expensive services.

I don't think it really matters whether individuals think it's OK or think it's minging - a good and professional cleaner (whether in commercial or private households) would know it's wrong someone else's nail clippers, and if they wouldn't they're in the wrong job. They should also automatically have good hand hygiene already. DH wouldn't break a nail on a job as they're always kept short and well maintained so he can do his job.

I'm genuinely curious to know what the problem is with someone clipping their nails, with a nail clippers?

What do you think is the cross contamination here?

I'm sorry but I really am struggling to understand the outcry!

I don't have a cleaner, but the amount of threads here from people wanting to sack their cleaner for the most innocuous things blows my mind. Why do you think so little of your cleaners? The people cleaning your houses. Doing the work that you don't want to do yourselves?

It's a fking nail clippers. That's what it's supposed to do.

Fungal infections are the most likely risk, but also warts etc. Let's face it, a lot of people don't wash their hands well enough and harbour dirt and germs under nails, and children often bite their nails! In our own house we are actually relaxed and DH and I share nail clippers ourselves (on the grounds we share other bodily fluids ) but in a professional setting it's inappropriate, especially when it's an actual cleaning job!

Cleaners are the very people who should know this. DH would never do it and would expect to be sacked if he did. Whatever people think about the invasion of privacy/cleaners using clients personal items, it just shows a total disregard for the basics of the job - cleanliness. (He is a very good cleaner and in high demand with agencies if he wants extra hours )