Female window cleaners

jamesy

Hi peeps thinking of starting up an all female window cleaning crew!

Well infact it is something that i have been considering for a long time!

Now before not many women would consider this but now with the introduction of water fed pole and that all work can now be done from the safety of the ground, are women more likely to consider window cleaning now? due to the benefits mentioned above!

the reason i got thinking on this is i have beed approached by an 18 yo girl who seems very keen, at the moment she is unemployed and has tried for all cleaning jobs that have been advertised, but with no luck as companies are looking for experianced cleaners,

She just seems so keen to work! i am considering taking her out to work with me on a trial basis,

Will more women consider window cleaning as a job?

Can women handle working out in the cold days the same as men do?

From a public point of view i think female window cleaners would be accepted very well as i would think female window cleaners would be trusted more! not to say you cant trust men.


Your thought please!

thanks jamesy

Savvy_Sue

why not just take her on as a window cleaner?

I wouldn't aim to set up an all female crew unless and until you had enough that you could cope with sick leave, holidays and emergencies and STILL send out an all female crew iYSWIM.

I can see that they could have some competitive advantages, but I'm not sure you'd be able to legally advertise for new female staff, so it could cause problems if a woman leaves, you can only get a chap in, but there are contracts who only engaged your firm because you were offering lady cleaners.

In short, I think it could be a bit of a minefield ...

patman99

If you have the kit already, then give her a day's trial to see if she can handle the weight of a pole-fed system.

In reality, there is no reason why a female can't work as a window-cleaner after all, what red-blooded male wouldn't want to look at a bit of eye-candy cleaning the windows?.

Savvy_Sue

btw, please could I just stress that I think the minefield relates to the employment of an all-female crew, rather than whether or not ladies would be able to do the job. I can see no reason why THAT should even be a question. You give a woman a trial to see if they can manage the weight of the equipment, just as you'd give a weedy teenage boy a trial.

jamesy

I think the minefield relates to the employment of an all-female crew,

Why companies like merry-maids is all female is it not? and i would think stay that way as i would not see many men wanting to work for a company like merry-maids

Savvy_Sue

jamesy wrote: »

I think the minefield relates to the employment of an all-female crew,

Why companies like merry-maids is all female is it not? and i would think stay that way as i would not see many men wanting to work for a company like merry-maids

a quick scan of their website does not indicate that they only employ females, nor that they will send a female team if that's what you request.

You can't just decide "I'm only going to employ women". If you have a valid reason for doing so then you have to state it in your adverts.

jamesy

No it doesn`t but with a name like merry-maids is not going to attract many men!

i have a name in mind myself for the company and it will not attract men either!

I think if it has feminine name then thats says it all really

laurenjs88

I think there is some real tricky regs to get round to employ in a sexist manner. I remember a woman going onto Dragons Den a few years back wanting investment for her all woman taxi firm that picked up the girls on a late night out. Whilst agreed it was a good idea there was no way anyone could invest as i dont think it was legal to just employ woman in that field.

Savvy_Sue

jamesy wrote: »

No it doesn`t but with a name like merry-maids is not going to attract many men!

i have a name in mind myself for the company and it will not attract men either!

I think if it has feminine name then thats says it all really

it says it all about you, and some men.

There is nothing inherently 'male' or 'female' about cleaning.

paddyrg

If the girl is self-employed and you choose to contract to her (and other female subcontractors) I think you can avoid most of the grief, check with a lawyer.

As for 'is there a space for it in the market?', absolutely. There are all-female building companies, etc., and I would be happy for a woman to pop round to do the windows when my wife was home alone.

Savvy_Sue

paddyrg wrote: »

If the girl is self-employed and you choose to contract to her (and other female subcontractors) I think you can avoid most of the grief, check with a lawyer.

If it was a genuine self-employed relationship, and not an attempt to avoid employing them - HMRC would have the final decision on that.

paddyrg wrote: »

As for 'is there a space for it in the market?', absolutely. There are all-female building companies, etc., and I would be happy for a woman to pop round to do the windows when my wife was home alone.

And you wouldn't be happy for Jamesy to pop round and do the windows if your wife was home alone? :eek: remind me again which century we live in ...

I've been working from home (alone) today, and I spoke to a colleague earlier today, told her I had her husband in my bathroom. It's not a problem for her or my DH: he's a plumber, our shower is dead!