[Mrs Nicholls]

hi

i'm back to this again, sorry.
e
cleaner 1 drives and cleaner 2 gets the bus.

cleaner 1 receives mileage for a 10 mile journey taking 20 mins.

cleaner 2 receives the same to be reimbursed against the cost of the travel ticket but the journey takes 45 mins.

Would you pay your cleaners their travel to the jobs on top of the mileage rates?

I have some cleaners 'concerned' that they are spending up to 2 hrs travelling being unpaid out of their day, as they have to use buses.

And the drivers are noticing it a bit too, as they could be working 9-5 but only cleaning for 6 hrs out of the 8 (30 mins lunch also).

Thanks
Lisa

[PremierPDS]

Hi Lisa

I'm not aware of any job where employees are paid for their travelling time. I've come across this problem myself both as an employee and an employer and the easiest way to deal with the problem is to move your staff to calls closer to their homes and rearrange your rotas as required. This may take a little bit of jiggling about to start with but it'll pay off in the end. Get your A-Z out and map where all your clients live or where their offices are (don't know if you're dom or com cleaning) and work out the geographics. This means your staff will spend less time  travelling. They might not like you moving them from their regular jobs but explain to them that you cannot pay them for travelling time so it's this way or nothing. Clients might also get a bit cheesed off with any changes but it would only be the same if one of your cleaners decided to leave and you had to replace them with someone else and we all know how often that happens in this game!

I had this problem about 3 weeks ago when a client cut our time in some offices from 3 hours per week to 2 and the girl who did the job was travelling 6 miles at peak time which took nearly half an hour in the traffic. I emailed the client telling them that it was no longer viable for their regular cleaner to travel there anymore and that I would be replacing her with someone that lived much closer. They weren't very happy at first but I just told them that I'm a running a business and doing so in the most efficient way possible and if that means moving cleaners to different sites to save on resources then this is what we have to do. Fortunately, they came around to the idea in the end and everything seems to be okay now (touch wood lol).

Nickie x

[Mrs Nicholls]

Hi nicki

Thanks for your reply

We do doms in the day and coms in the eves and weekends.

spanner in the works here but, what about cleaners coming into the office to collect kit and keys, and drop of payments etc. i can't allow all this to build up all week. i feel like ive tried everything and got nowhere with this one. I guess thats where my supervisor would come in.

[*Chris Browne]

Hi Lisa, when you say drop off payments to you mean the custys? if so why cant they pay by cheque or direct, as for travelling expenses, i think you've put yourself in a position that's going to be hard to get out of, personally Ive never known a company pay there cleaners travelling time or expenses for travelling to jobs, I advertise where the jobs are and if they want them they apply. I suppose if you are out in the sticks and you are taking on clients 30-40 miles away then i can understand.

Chris

[myvanwi]

Hi nicki

Thanks for your reply

We do doms in the day and coms in the eves and weekends.

spanner in the works here but, what about cleaners coming into the office to collect kit and keys, and drop of payments etc. i can't allow all this to build up all week. i feel like ive tried everything and got nowhere with this one. I guess thats where my supervisor would come in.

We have a similar problem with staff here there and everywhere and only getting paid for the work they actually carry out. Some of our customers will only pay in cash (always the older ones). We make it clear before we start a member of staff that this is how the  job is then it is thier choice. There is no answer to it really. Do you run your office from home or unit?

[PremierPDS]

Hi Lisa

I don't have this problem personally as my customers pay electronically either over the internet or through standing orders and this might be something you want to think about. I know other companies get around this problem by stating at the interview that they have to call into the office every Friday between 1pm and 5pm for example to drop off time sheets, pick up keys and materials and drop off cheques. You should maybe think about adding this to your contracts too and that way nobody can complain later.

Nickie x

[Mrs Nicholls]

hi

i currently work from my house at home, would love to be in an actual office but cant really afford it just yet.

i have some older ones pay cash, most pay chq, some d/d s/o.

also ive had key probs in the past so dont like to have them out and about with them all week. I think they will just have to accept this is the way it works.

[Bizzie Lizzie]

Hi Lisa, Hope you are well?  You always get the same probs as me!  I put a driver and non driver together, I swap jobs about so that everyone knows (pretty much) each job.  I too have staff complaining about working longer - but at the end of the day if for example they worked in a shop they don't get paid until they get there!  Which could take them half an hour (maybe??).  Staff come to my house each morning to collect keys and products etc and drop off at the end, I like to make sure they are locked in teh safe each night.
Jan

[Mrs Nicholls]

Hi Jan

I'm rushed off my feet at the moment, sorry ive not emailed.

we do seem to have same probs dont we 

i have a new girl starting tomorrow, so fingers crossed it will take a bit of pressure off the others and give them something else to talk about.

I do like it that they come in pick up what they want off to the cleans and then come back again. That way if some one is of sick we dont have to have the nightmare of getting hold of the keys again. But where do you start paying them? When they arrive in the office, or at their first job? at the moment when i say they need to be at the office before they have to leave say at 10am to travel to a job that starts perhaps 10.30. They turn up at 10am rather than 10 mins before, cos they know they dont get paid for it i suppose.

Its a whole new kettle of fish with the evening offices and one goes off on the sick and can't be contacted to get the keys back, or returns them well after the job should have been done. staff are brill arent they?!

[Bizzie Lizzie]

Sounds like you're a very busy lady at the mo - great!

I get staff at mine for 8.45 & say the sooner they get there the earlier they finish but they start getting paid per job! - sorry for the rush me too am busy - bye for now

[PremierPDS]

Hi Jan

I'm rushed off my feet at the moment, sorry ive not emailed.

we do seem to have same probs dont we 

i have a new girl starting tomorrow, so fingers crossed it will take a bit of pressure off the others and give them something else to talk about.

I do like it that they come in pick up what they want off to the cleans and then come back again. That way if some one is of sick we dont have to have the nightmare of getting hold of the keys again. But where do you start paying them? When they arrive in the office, or at their first job? at the moment when i say they need to be at the office before they have to leave say at 10am to travel to a job that starts perhaps 10.30. They turn up at 10am rather than 10 mins before, cos they know they dont get paid for it i suppose.

Its a whole new kettle of fish with the evening offices and one goes off on the sick and can't be contacted to get the keys back, or returns them well after the job should have been done. staff are brill arent they?!

Hi again Lisa

This is entirely up to you but if your staff are getting to you either just tell them that this is the way things are and they only get paid from when they start their first job or send a memo around telling them that from now on you are only allowing one hours pay per week for pick ups and drop offs. If you only allow one hours pay for this then at least they'll feel like they're getting something as opposed to nothing and hopefully it'll stop them hanging around before they start work and keep them out of your hair too and let you get on with the other things you need to have your mind on.

As for key, it's an age old problem and although I really don't like my staff holding on to keys I have had no choice but to do this. I'm sure you've vetted them well before you employed them so you should be able to trust them enough to leave them with keys. If they go off sick then make it clear to them that they must have the keys back to you within 2 hours of when you are due there next. You should start making a list of these things as they crop up and make them sign that they agree to it before you employ them and then you can avoid problems like this further down the line.

Nickie x