When cleaners break stuff

[gemmaxyz]

but you like the cleaners, and they're otherwise good and you would like to keep them on... Do you try and dock the cost of a replacement item or do you really have to let it go if they don't offer to pay? Haven't found it easy to get reasonable cleaners here so I don't want to piss them off.

Doesn't your cleaner have insurance?

When I had a cleaner she had insurance so that if she broke anything then she would claim on the insurance to replace it. I think she only broke something once and it was some old figurine that I had been gifted and always hated so I told her not to bother claiming as she had done me a favour.

If they don't have insurance then you just need to state the facts ", last time you were here X was broken. I have made enquiries and it will cost £X to repair or £Y to replace. Would you prefer for me to take the money from your next pay (you could offer installments if it is over about £20/30) or would you prefer to transfer the money directly?"

We are cleaners and our excess on the insurance policy is currently £250.

I've been cleaning since 1997 and it's never been lower than £100. There are no policies that start lower than that with the excess, so you have to either pay for smaller damage yourself or hope that the homeowners are kind and understand that your job is touching all of their things and therefore, being humans, we do break the occasional item.

We currently have around 120 regular clients on our books and if one of our cleaners breaks anything the vast majority just understand that accidents happen and don't make us pay for it.

As a cleaner, you really can't afford to keep clients who will charge you for mistakes that your job entails that you WILL make on occasion.

I think the same rule should apply to cleaners as it would with any other job. ie some breakage or mistakes is the cost of employing people and as the employer you have to factor that in. However, consistent breakage or mistakes becomes a problem that may need to be dealt with, most likely with a warning and/or guidance over when it will cost them their job and/or they will need to start replacing items.

I broke my keyboard. New one was sent up no problem. I suspect if I broke a keyboard weekly or monthly, that might have changed.

I wouldn't expect a self-employed cleaner to pay for it. I would expect to be reimbursed by a company employing cleaners - they usually charge more and I think covering costs of breakages is part of what you should get in return.

I think the same rule should apply to cleaners as it would with any other job. ie some breakage or mistakes is the cost of employing people and as the employer you have to factor that in. However, consistent breakage or mistakes becomes a problem that may need to be dealt with, most likely with a warning and/or guidance over when it will cost them their job and/or they will need to start replacing items.

^This