Employing a cleaner

first78

My partner and I are working crazy hours at the moment and I'm wondering if hiring a cleaner for a couple of hours a week would help relieve some of the pressure.

Just wanted to ask if anyone has experience of having a cleaner at home, how they hired them, is it just straight forward paying cash in hand or are there other things we'd need to consider?

Many thanks in advance everyone.

FBaby

OH have considered it a couple of times as we both work FT in demanding jobs. We decided against it. The reasons is that we felt that to get the house cleaned so that it would be making it worth getting a cleaner, we would want more hours than a couple a week, at which point, it starts getting expensive. Indeed, a couple of colleagues who pay for a cleaner have said that they still do a lot of cleaning because they either don't want to wait for the once a week session, and/or because the cleaner can't do all that is needed during that time.


Also, OH has high standards and if we are going to pay for a cleaner, we would want someone who meets these standards. The stress of having to potentially go through a few before finding the one, who could then go to other pastures makes it not worth the stress.

Finally, we've learnt that good habits mean that it doesn't have to be so tedious, mainly learning to clean as you go. My kids are naturally messy so it is especially important that they learn good habits anyway, which I think would be harder to do, if not impossible, if we had a cleaner.

Darksparkle

It's highly unlikely you'd be employing the cleaner. Most cleaners are already employed by a company or self employed.

I know a couple of people that use one. Usually found through recommendation. The cleaners are self employed and are paid by cash.

I'm using one next week for a one off job (end of tenancy). She is self employed and I'll pay her cash.

There is a difference between paying cash and cash in hand, cash in hand is usually the term for paying cash and not declaring it for tax/NI purposes.

NeilCr

Yep. I've got one

I live by myself (plus two cats) in a fairly modern house which doesn't take too much cleaning. But she is worth her weight in gold. Gets it done without fuss and is friendly. Most importantly she turns up when she says she is going to. She's been cleaning my house for a number of years now and I trust her completely. She has a key in case she needs to come in when I am not there - and she is happy to nip in and feed the cats when I am away

She started working for a company but that ceased trading so she is self employed now. I pay her cash once a month

I'd heartily recommend it - I am not that great at cleaning (bloke!) and it takes away a job I don't want to do. Obviously, I am lucky that I can afford it

first78

Darksparkle wrote: »

It's highly unlikely you'd be employing the cleaner. Most cleaners are already employed by a company or self employed.

I know a couple of people that use one. Usually found through recommendation. The cleaners are self employed and are paid by cash.

I'm using one next week for a one off job (end of tenancy). She is self employed and I'll pay her cash.

There is a difference between paying cash and cash in hand, cash in hand is usually the term for paying cash and not declaring it for tax/NI purposes.

Thanks. We were thinking along the lines of advertising either online or in the local paper and offering minimum wage, so I'm guessing we'd be unlikely to get someone who is already employed by a company?

If we were to pay cash in hand...approx £15 a week, would that be legal? I'm sorry if that's a silly question but I want to know all the facts before making a decision.

elsien

I think it very unlikely you will get a good cleaner for minimum wage. You want someone who is reliable and trustworthy - after all they're going to be in your house when you're not there.
Good cleaners who go by word of mouth are paid more, depending on which part of the country.

Darksparkle

You don't advertise for them. They advertise their services and you get in touch with them. Google your town and cleaner or see if there are any Facebook pages for your town. That's how I found mine.

Most cleaners I've spoke to are between £10-£15 per hour. Highly unlikely you'll find one for minimum wage (not that NMW applies to the self employed) as they need to increase their costs to cover their expenses (cleaning products, travel etc).

As I explained, you want to pay cash. Not cash in hand.

Also depends on the size of your house and what you want done as to whether two hours would be enough. Are you wanting them to just do hoovering/polishing/kitchen and bathroom? Or do you want skirtings/fridge/oven/windows cleaned etc.

first78

Darksparkle wrote: »

You don't advertise for them. They advertise their services and you get in touch with them. Google your town and cleaner or see if there are any Facebook pages for your town. That's how I found mine.

Most cleaners I've spoke to are between £10-£15 per hour. Highly unlikely you'll find one for minimum wage (not that NMW applies to the self employed) as they need to increase their costs to cover their expenses (cleaning products, travel etc).

As I explained, you want to pay cash. Not cash in hand.

Also depends on the size of your house and what you want done as to whether two hours would be enough. Are you wanting them to just do hoovering/polishing/kitchen and bathroom? Or do you want skirtings/fridge/oven/windows cleaned etc.

I'll have to check that out, thanks.

We only want the basics doing...hoovering, dusting, kitchen, bathroom and ironing the toddlers clothes.

AndyBSG

We hired a cleaner after my wife returned to full time work at the end of her maternity.

We have a 3 bed house with mostly wooden flooring throughout and originally was going to go for 2 hours a week but after discussing it with the cleaning firm they said 3 hours every other week might be better and it works great for us.

Obviously we do things like tidy up and hoover but during the 3 hours our cleaner is there she dusts, polishes, mops all the floors, cleans the microwave and oven, cleans the bathroom and toilets, cleans all the inside windows, kitchen sink etc.

We just googled local cleaning firms and checked out any reviews on places like Google reviews and Yell.

We provide all the cleaning materials after they gave us a list of what they needed and she just leaves us a note if anything is running out.

We paid £13 an hour through a cleaning firm and simply had a standing order set up to pay it but the cleaning firm shut down so we now just pay our cleaner direct and leave the cash in an envelope on the counter on the days she visits(she has a key to our house).

I actually prefer it that way as she is now getting the whole £39 each time whereas before she was only getting £30 with the rest going to the firm.

You may find that cleaners don't really offer ironing/laundry services though or that it's something they offer separately at a different cost

rhino_horn

Good cleaners are worth their weight in gold.

I have had numerous cleaners over the last few years. One was amazing but she got pregnant and left - completely understandable.

In my area the cheapest I can expect to pay is £10 per hour. My new cleaner is £12 per hour. It takes 2.5 hours to clean my house.

I found her on Facebook as she advertised on our local community Facebook pages and she had good reviews.

I would recommend being at the house for the first few cleans, you get a feel for the person and if you can trust them. Plus get their address just in case... my new cleaner has now got my house key. I felt I could trust her after a couple of cleans.

I have advertised online for a cleaner (Gumtree). All of them who I asked to come along have been rubbish for various reasons - either unreliable or poor attention to detail.

I find recommendations are the way forward.

Darksparkle

It's unlikely you'll get one to do ironing but there are ironing companies you could send it out to.