to be annoyed that cleaner gave my house key to her friend?

[MumNWLondon]

I have had my cleaner for 6 years, and although she can be unreliable she is a very good efficient and good cleaner. Occasionally she had asked if her friend can come with so she can do the work in half the time, I have always said that was ok.

Over Christmas she went back to Poland and asked if her friend could come instead. I said that was ok only if I was actually in and she shouldn't give the friend my key.

Friend doesn't speak a work of english and after cleaning asked for £10 a hour I pay cleaner £9 and friend is much less efficient and I can't tell her what to do. Tried to tell friend after 4 hours it was enough but she didn't understand. I didn't have much choice put to pay her the £10.

Anyway cleaner texts me to say her father had died and she has gone back to Poland for a few days so can't come (fair enough) but can her friend come? I said ok but she needs to come before I leave for school run at 8.15am so I can let her in or after 8.45am. She didn't show so I did school run camback and then at 10am went out to do some shopping. When I came back at 11am and friend is there - cleaner gave her my key and alarm code!

Again she said she was there for 5 hours (normal cleaner would only do 4) and demanded £50.

So I am annoyed about cleaner giving her the key... also this morning when I went to get DS dressed I noticed that one of his shirts missing, also DH complaining one of his shirts missing too. Spend all day looking and can't find either. So now worried about friend stealing from me.

AIBU to be annoyed???

My granny had a cleaner for 13 years! and now she has her daughter, this is in spain and she gets paid now 15?...

If the shirts have really disappeared you should deffo change the locks, alarm, etc.

I would ask the cleaner where did she put the shirts, or the original cleaner can ask her. To see if the have disappeared or not.

"The sign of a norty cleaner/nanny is one who leaves her porn in your bookshelf" LOL!

Fair dues, OP, you are a better woman than I.

sack and change the locks. NOW, way too risky

I think you might well find that the 'friend' is not that much of a friend. There was a network of Polish cleaners when we lived in Brussels. Mine was very nice indeed and stayed with me for years. One of the things she told me was that, when they went back to Poland either permanently or temporarily (before Poland joined the EU, Poles could get temporary visas to work in Belgium under some old agreement, but had to go back to renew them every so often) - they earned a bit extra by 'selling' their clients to other Polish cleaners. Thus the replacement would almost certainly have given the original some kind of commission to get the work, even temporarily, and maybe she's trying to earn this back by charging you more.

£9 an hour, so thats £36 quid for 4 hours work, cleaning someones house!!

Im a child minder and I charge £4 per hour to look after some ones child, who is supposed their most precious gift, (for want of another word, brain not working too good this morning)
and from what I understand, a lot of parents dont like to pay too much over this amount to have their child looked after, yet they pay someone more to clean their house, unbelivable IMO!!

Saying that my parents are lovley have never complained about their childs fees. And I get £36 for 8 hours work.

I suppose cleaners are a luxury therefore you pay luxury prices, whereas childcare is a necessity that most people have to pay so the going rate is lower? Or something like that...I'm not justifying it at all, btw. I think it's appalling that childcare workers are paid as low as they are, given the importance of the job they do.

Oh to be able to afford a cleaner!

Yes mandy1966, but a cleaner can only do one house at a time. How many childminders only look after one child at a time?

To Mandy1966 - surely a childminder charges £4 as they can look after 3 children at a time - so potentially £12 an hour?

Also as someone else pointed out, cleaners don't get paid for the whole day often its just a couple of hours and then they go to their next job.

surely shirts more likely to have been burnt when Ironing then hidden/binned rather than owned up to rather than stolen?

Still doesn't seem right - looking after 3 children only brings in £2 more an hour than cleaning one house. It's bizarre that we as a society pay cleaners more per hour than we pay childcare workers. I'm not sure how much a nursery worker gets, but I'd be suprised if the vast majority earn more than £10 an hour.

Personal choice innit - no-one makes you do either, but at £4 an hour v. £10 an hour I know what I'd rather do (and I've actually done both in the past).

Childminders can (legally) look after up to 5 children at hour. And look after their own wee darlings...

Childminders also have interesting approaches to charging, such as charging for holidays, charging when they're not available.. charging when the kids are at pre-school

On the other hand, cleaners don't have 5 screaming kids smearing chocolate spread sandwiches into their sofas... all swings and round abouts - don't think cleaners and childminders are that comparable tbh...

Mandy1966 it's all about supply and demand isn't it? If you charged £9 an hour to childmind, you'd have no clients or very few, because people don't need to pay that much for a childminder. Whether childcare workers ought to be paid more for the work they do isn't really the point.

If someone wanted a cleaner and offered £4 an hour, no one would apply because there are enough jobs paying more than that for cleaning.

I wouldn't sack her, but you do need to have a really really clear conversation about no handing over keys (in any circumstances) and definitely change the alarm codes.

I pay 10pounds an hour, is the going rate around here. I hate being stolen from and have sacked a cleaner in the past when it was clear that that was what was going on (shirts as well, isn't that an odd thing to steal? - DH would get new shirts, I would wash and iron and hang them up and one or two would vanish on the days that the cleaner came - weird). It makes me really angry.

I would sooner childmind for 4quid an hour than clean for 10, I hate cleaning with a deep and abiding hatred. Children I can tolerate.

Oh god, I'd clean houses any day over looking after a load of pre-schoolers. Much easier work. You can wear your ipod and you don't have to be nice to anyone. Bliss!

She might not have copied your keys but I wouldn't be too sure her friend didn't

I'm afraid I concur with others, get rid. your security has already been compromised, you can't be certain it won't happen again.

I presume you will find a way not to give her the alarm code now you have changed it? Or she will just tell her friend again.

Probably.

I think I would rather do the cleaning myself tbh, can't believe how many people actually have a cleaner!

Where do you live LadyBiscuit we should barter childminding/cleaning services!

I have very low expectations of my cleaner, as long as the house no longer looks like a "before" picture from How Clean Is Your House, I am happy!

I'll tell you why I clean, it's for flexibility. It means I have time to do the things I enjoy while still earning a useful wage. I regard it as my business, so I am professional about it and treat my customers well. If my customers don't treat me well... I sack them .
I can't imagine having the time to read Country Life while working, and if I didn't do a good job I'd expect to lose the client.
I do have a friend cover for me while I'm away, but only with the agreement of the customers. I wouldn't sack your cleaner, but I would have a word with her and I'm afraid I would change the lock. Maybe she should pay for that?

I am considering doing cleaning because it is the only thing i can think of locally that pays well enough that fits in with school (but not with school holidays, so bit of an issue there). I am highly qualified but cannot get a job locally that pays well enough to make it worth my while to work full time. £10 an hour to clean? I think thats a fair rate.

So, for £10 an hour - two hours say - what would you expect done?

The thing is, how do we judge worth of a job - my DPs friend is a plumber - he charges £70 an hour and is over run with work because he is CHEAP. Is that worth more than looking after someone's children? People working in care homes get minimum wage. Scientists working for the NHS don't get much more (i know this because i am a scientist and have investigated and ruled out the NHS) Fat cat bankers earn barrow loads of money - is there job more important than looking after someones children, teacher? doctor? nurse?

Ive never really got it

oh heavens, i would much rather be a cleaner than a childminder - i just couldnt cope (big respect to those who can!)