£22 per hour for cleaning - REALLY?!

[DorotheaShottery]

I was thinking the other day "Dot - you've had enough of this cleaning lark - get yourself a cleaner!"

I put some feelers out on FB and it appears the going rate is £20-£22 per hour!!

Is that normal in the not-SE-not-Cheshire parts of the UK? AIBU to think it's ridiculous?

Well they can charge whatever they want but realistically this will end up pricing them out of the market and being undercut by those willing to do it for less.

Post-Brexit there is a shortage of cleaners, hospitality staff, au pairs and care workers which were all roles filled by European workers. We are seeing the knock on effects of this in various ways, including the rising costs of hiring domestic cleaners.

Why does mumsnet think the only people who should earn a decent wage are those who fart about on a laptop all day? I see the same threads moaning about plumbers/electricians/decorators/mechanics etc charging above NMW 🙄

Thats the way of the world
It still doesnt mean a cleaner cant decide their own rates of pay .

I also looked at the cost of a gardener for weeding and tidying and that was more than a cleaner. I would rather spend my own time outside work doing that, than cleaning, so that works out for me.

Shit covered toilets stink and still need cleaning whatever part of the country you live in. There's no such thing as fancy turds.👸💩

They have to be incredibly stupid to not pay NI and into a pension. I know lots of self employed, but cash payments, who do, including cleaners. Do you think taxi drivers, who still take cash aren't legit and never were?
When I get builders etc in, it isn't about price, but who I can trust my home (and the vulnerable relatives I care for) to. People are forgetting they have access to every room. I wouldn't fully trust a teen neighbour to not be discussing finding sex/personal items.
I'm also surprised that seeing how Primark etc is looked down on, child labour is being advocated, because the poster doesn't want to pay a proper wage, unless it's your own child, because for those who are disabled, every person who lives in the house should be pitching in.

Pay 18 in Manchester

This is mumsnet uli saw a thread a few months ago
Some posters were shocked a fully trained car mechanic was earning more then minimum wage.

Anyone can do it

Whether they do it well is a different matter

£22 is not ridiculous IMHO. We have £24 ph including VAT (there are at least 10 cleaners working for the company so VAT registered) We live in a rural area not in London.

London - was quoted £20 cash in hand. Minimum of 4 hours per visit. Minimum once a week to "keep on top of things".
Who has £80 a week to spend on a cleaner?
It's a standard 3 bed semi, 1 bathroom.

Whereabouts in south east are you? And would you recommend your cleaner? I am desperate for a cleaner but have had too many terrible experiences with people off Facebook so now only willing to only get someone based on a recommendation!

Oh plus a list of branded products that I get to buy!

The point is that it is a pure market-based transaction. There is no regulatory or professional body. It is literally not a profession as there is no regulation, no required qualification, no requirement for CPD and no code of conduct.

It is also a locally-determined market, similar to oligopoly. So in some cases the local market price is £22, in others the market price is £14.

The cleaner is free to set their price, the customer is also free to say ‘That’s too much!’
Then the market mechanisms of supply and demand or negotiation work to determine the price.

I have been engaging cleaners for eighteen years and happily paid whatever price they have asked, because it has always seemed a reasonable price to me. If I felt it was an unreasonable price then I wouldn’t take them on. Plus I am a decent client, as described above.

Ah... Mumsnet. The website where some users are completely unaware of the misogyny of calling cleaners "unskilled" and a decent pay rate, is undeserved. Then following on with claims on people in such positions fiddling the tax man and child support.

If working for yourself is so easy. If having no holiday nor sick pay. No company pension contribution. If the insecurity of not knowing if you will have work week to week is for you, can I suggest you do it?

Cleaners are not making millions out of you. Owners of cleaning companies may be who employ or subcontract others but that's a separate question entirely. Fact is wages in many jobs have not kept pace with costs in the UK. That's not the cleaner's fault.

How patronising.

When my grandmother was a cleaner she was doing it to keep the roof over their heads and her children fed.

Many others will still be doing the same today.

Its an honest way to make a living. Its not about fucking pocket money.

OP your post is in poor taste. £22/hr is not a great wage these days. My cleaner just put her's up to £20 and I was expecting it. I felt terrible paying £15 considering COL, living wage etc. but left it to her to bring up the subject. I understand it may seem a lot. We were used to £12 for years and years. But these are people trying to make a living too. You are dealing with a human who pays tax (hopefully), will need a pension and so on. If a cleaner is no good I'd let them go regardless of whether I was paying £15 or £20. A reliable and decent cleaner is absolutely worth that.

Who cleans skirting boards as part of a general clean? Yes it is deep clean.

Quotes range from about £20-28 per hour round here (North West) for a solo cleaner (companies are more of course). So sounds reasonable and well within the normal price range to me.

I don't think it is too much, I can see the value in that amount.

I work as a self employed Personal Trainer. I can charge what I like (what the client is prepared to pay). I have to earn enough to pay myself for the sessions worked, cover rent at the venue I work out of, pay for my transport, business insurance, advertising, save up for the tax bill, put some into a pension. And down time in between. Yes, I can take time off when I like, but I don't get holiday pay, or sick pay.

In contrast to a person in paid employment - who is paid for every hour they are in the office/shop or wherever. The employer has to provide a pension and pay part of it, provide paid holidays and some sickness, maternity pay.

Same as you and it was me comparing ( but for the same reason as you ) . I was bd also a cleaner and now a solicitor ( well have Ben for 15 years ) . My Júnior colleagues get paid less than that .

If you don't want to pay it, then don't hire a cleaner. Simple really.

You don't commute every hour, or every other hour do you?

And also, you haven't built in travel time. So 2 jobs, 20 minutes drive apart. An 8 hour day might take up 9 1/2 hours of time.

So her actual work day would be 6 hours. Takes her down to 30K a year. Not quite the high income you're projecting.

Be realistic if you want to be convincing.

This is a reason I won't hire a cleaner. I don't want a standard clean. I want an hour of a cleaners time with me deciding my priorities.

So yes, some weeks, I'd like an hour of skirting board cleaning. One set of cleaners I had wouldn't do this so I sacked them. They were lovely, but didn't offer what I wanted.

In my job (also self employed) I am client led. I spend my time doing what the client wants. If I didn't I'd be out of a job.

I don't have an issue with a high hourly rate. I value what they do. But I want done what I want done, not what the cleaner wants to do.

How much do you think you should pay a cleaner? ‘Women’s work’ has been underpaid and undervalued for too long. If there is a demand for cleaners and people are willing to pay £22 per hour, then they should crack on, but if my towns fb page is anything to go by, demand for cleaners is through the roof, there’s a post at least weekly for recommendations for cleaners!