To feel completely betrayed by staff member

[BurpeesAllTheWay]

I run a cleaning company, I started 6 years ago on my own and over the last 1.5 years have added in 6 more employees. The first lady I hired, Ann has been with me since October 23. I employed her daughter to work with us 2 and the pair of them work in a team and the daughter doesn’t drive. Everything was fine until this year, they’ve had 6/7 clients leave and they are calling in sick atleast one of them weekly.
Today, the daughter called in sick because she was too tired to work. I managed to cover her work and team up someone else with Ann for the day, I did ask Ann if she could work late and she said she had something on, which was fine. Then driving home from work today, I drove past one of their old clients houses, who left us a couple of months ago, to see Ann and her daughter loading up their car with all of their cleaning equipment (which is actually all of my cleaning equipment) I’ve had 2 more clients leave in the last 2 weeks, which I now suspect have been taken on privately by them too. Am I being unreasonable to feel really hurt by this dishonesty from someone who I trusted as a friend?! I’ve always subbed her wages early, helped her out when her husband left, we go out for drinks together and catch ups regularly! How would you go about confronting them?! I also now have to sack them, I’m so upset to lose them as members of staff.

A very good point about the dishonesty involved. I bet most of this lady's customers would be appalled to know that Ann and her daughter have keys which frankly they have gained fraudulently.

I'm fuming with my blood boiling for you, and I don't even know 'ard faced Anne and her devious daughter.
I hope it works out for you 🙏

Consult a lawyer
sack them immediately
hire new people asap

They are stealing from you and it would be a police matter.

Check what is in their contracts. Get advice,Accas or legal ,i have a trade body that i can ask for advice regarding employees.Don't do anything without making sure of your facts, get evidence and document it. Once you have everything in place then set up a meeting. This is gross misconduct, also if they have taken client details it's breach of data protection. Don't be swayed by thinking that you are their friend. You are their employer and this is your business
You are better off without them. You will find better staff. Good luck

Chuck them out and get your stuff back, also contact the people you know they have pinched and explain the situation .

I'd advertise for new employees. I'd remove their ability to use your stuff and kit. Bit by bit ease them out - fewer and fewer hours.

When you have a new team. Confront them. Ask for their company's name because you nwed to send an invoice for using your kit/stuff. Then sack them both for gross misconduct. Notify HMRC that they have other jobs so HMRC require tax returns from them.

What a pair of AHs. Greed has no bounds!

This is gross misconduct. If it was my business I would recruit new staff as quick as possible and sort out the rota to cover their cleans. Ask them to come and meet “in the next hour” telling them to bring all keys as there’s been an issue with key holding “at the office” or whatever and there’s a need to account for all keys. When they arrive account for all the keys then dismiss them both (with no notice) telling them what you know and that you will take legal action against them if any further contact with clients is made and if you discover that they’d retained any keys, company property etc. Have a statement prepared for all the clients saying that everything is in hand and that whilst Ann and daughter have left the business (no need to detail why) very experienced staff have already been recruited to take over. I’d also go with new staff members to meet the clients as a handover for the first cleans if time allows. I would also contact each client by phone or in person to discuss any concerns. You’re more likely to retain the business by having personal contact. Good luck OP, so annoying to be taken for a ride when it’s your business they’re stealing!

Did you go to the client's house this morning?

You haven’t answered any questions about contracts etc which makes me think they haven’t signed one? Taking emotion out of it - hard I know as you’ve been betrayed by a friend - think about your business now. If there is no contract stipulation about clients then they haven’t done anything wrong (only morally!) except for claiming double pay - again you haven’t confirmed this though? Do they get paid if they don’t turn up? You could try and reclaim this if they have been claiming sick pay from you whilst working for themselves. Not sure how easy it would be though.

I have a cleaning company also and a lady who stole some of my clients. But this was after she quit with no notice. We had a feeling she was planning something because of a big change in her attitude towards us. The clients approached me and told me she’d got in touch with them directly and they wanted her and to cut us out. I knew she’d end up letting them down. And she has! There isn’t much you can do, but hold your head high! You haven’t done anything wrong. They are the sneaky ones and they’ll get their karma. In the meantime, I’m not sure I could continue with them working for me. I’d have to try to cover, or maybe subcontract some jobs out so you’re at least still making a little money from them, (with a clause in a contract) temporarily. Moving forward, ensure there is something in writing to attempt to prevent this in the future.

Ehh sorry, things they've done wrong:

1. Lying
2. Stealing clients
3. Using the OP's cleaning equipment to service the OP's clients for their own gain
4. Retaining & using client's keys without consent
5. Faking being sick (I.e. probably letting down client's intentionally when working for OP)

Tbc:

1. Claiming sick pay? while simultaneously moonlighting Using company equipment??
2. Tax fraud?
3. Social welfare fraud?
4. Knowingly damaging the OP's business for nefarious purposes (e.g. what have they been saying to these clients to steal them from the OP)

Outrageous behaviour by the pair of them!

I would be using this time period to play innocent whilst gathering evidence (eg photos of their car outside / leaving clients houses whilst off sick using your cleaning equipment).

Once you know for sure (not hunches but hard evidence) id take legal advice. You will need legal advice for knowing how to deal with it without leaving yourself wide open for any revenge tactics.

It is

Here is some AI advice: This is unfortunately quite common in the domestic cleaning sector, especially when staff develop close relationships with clients and aren’t under formal contracts. What they’ve done — taking your equipment and potentially poaching clients while still employed by you — could constitute gross misconduct, breach of trust, and possibly theft (if the equipment is yours and not returned).
A few practical steps you can take:
Secure your business assets: Demand return of keys and equipment in writing. If they refuse, inform them that retaining client keys or company equipment after dismissal may be considered unlawful and reportable.
Contracts: If you don’t already, formalise all employee arrangements with contracts that include:
Non-solicitation clauses (e.g. staff can’t clean privately for your clients for 6–12 months after leaving).
Terms on equipment use and return.
Client communication: Proactively contact all clients to explain you are reviewing staffing due to recent concerns. Reassure them that you remain in control of the business and their service. Ask if they've had direct contact from your staff outside of work.
Future safeguards:
Rotate staff more regularly.
Avoid assigning all client contact to cleaners — centralise billing and communication where possible.
Keep ownership of relationships with newer clients in particular.
Finally, if clients have been paying them directly while you were also paying wages, that’s potentially fraud, and you may need to speak to an employment solicitor or HR advisor to confirm next steps. It might also be worth checking your business insurance and speaking to ACAS (UK employment advisory service).

Call in all key and equipment, sack them, and immediately email the clients they clean for in a very professional manner saying that issues about the conduct of certain staff have come to light and you take client safety and provacy very serioisly etc therefore you have recently needed to let go of certain staff members and that alternative staffing will be in place. As a gesture of good will, you will offer a (generous)% discount on the next e.g four cleans.

You want to

1. put the idea in those clients minds that Ann and daughter are dodgy without accusing them
2. undercut them hard so a customer can't turn down the offer
3. Offer the dicount for a long enough that the client wupd feel.guilty leaving after such a generous dicount and familiarity with a new cleaner
4. So Ann and daughter find themselves sacked and with no customers or client lists.

^^ it's not about being able to replace clients, it's about the principle of them being sneaky bitches and frankly I'd pay out of pocket if it meant screwing them so they had no work.

And make sure all cleaners sign a proper contract which covers this and consider retention bonuses for clients e.g. free deep clean every 12 months.

You can speak to ACAS (advisory service on employment matters) and it doesn't cost anything.
"Advice
^https://www.acas.org.uk/advice^
Acas's advice is for every worker and employer across England, Scotland and Wales. We advise on employment law and good practice.
If you want to speak to someone, you can contact the Acas helpline."
------

Also, here is an article by a solicitor which discusses where fraud may arise; the role of police; alternatively, what civil remedies may be available to you:
www.orj.co.uk/setting-up-in-competition-with-your-employer-can-be-a-criminal-offence/

I think you’ve been had here, op, and as a micro business, you might not have the resources to fight this. TJe this as an opportunity to lock down your business terms for both clients and employees. You might have to accept you’ve lost certain clients, but you should still pursue them for monies owed, advising them that your staff members MAY have offered them a direct service outside your terms. You need to pot Ann and her daughter oj some sort of suspension pending investigation and return of all materials. I feel for you, but I think you have to tighten things up to move forward without them.

Just get your cleaning equipment away from them and then move on. Horrible cockroaches. It’s disgusting when you hired them to help them and you thought they were your friends.

That is really a betrayal. I’m sorry

Get advice. If your contract doesn't stipulate that they can't do this maybe change all contracts and get the rest of your staff to sign new ones. I would write/ message all clients to tell them what's going on and make it clear that they no longer work for you. If they damage anything who is liable? The customer may blame you. Also you are not seeing any of the money.

I would get legal advice before confronting them.

Contracts need to include a clause to say they cannot work independently for the Company's clients during employment and for a year after they leave.

This protects you as you can then sue them for breach of contract. I'd also put it in the Contract of your Clients. They will then know that to use your cleaners outside of the Company will result in being sued.

I'd also bill the Client for the time you witnessed Ann etc cleaning at their house with your materials.

As a client, I wouldn't be happy that a cleaner was retaining my keys either. You need to have a system where they are logged back at the end of the day and no payment given unless keys are returned.

I'd gather photo evidence and when you're ready, I'd inform them that your contacting revenue to report them working without paying taxes. They're doing this using your equipment, I'd be taking it back.

Id cut their hours down to nothing & take back your equipment while you seek legal advice. No doubt theyre also dodging the tax man and doing this without the correct insurances etc