[clairewillmoth]

Hi there,
I am currently doing all the cleaning - for a year now, and want to expand - I have the customers available, however am really nervous of taking on cleaners - any advice you can offer would be great please.
Thank you, Claire

[newbroom]

Hi Claire do you have any specific questions in mind

[clairewillmoth]

Thanks so much for your reply - I feel that cleaning a home is the closet you can get to a customer - so trust is a big issue.  Can I contract cleaners instead of employing?  I ran a cleaning company in SA for 7 years and it was easy as I knew the culture of people I employed, however I am nervous of a new culture - if that makes sense?  What sort of wages does one pay?  Is £8.00 an hour realistic.  Many thanks Claire

[need a cleaner]

Is £8.00 an hour realistic.

Is that amount the actual wage or your hourly rate?

[Jan K]

i'll come and work for you is you are paying £8.00 per hour!!! i pay my cleanerws £6.00 per hour and charge my clients £10.00 per hour.

i have found that most of my cleaners have come via the jobcentre....not something I like doing usually as the pressure is on the hob seekers to find a job, not necessarily meaning they are finding a job they actually like, so us in the cleaning business tend to get the people who think 'oh i will apply for a cleaning job cos its easy money and easy to do and it makes me look good to the jobcentre people'!!!

i ALWAY make sure i employ people with experience and people who LOVE to clean.  it is up to you to decide what sort of references and checks you want to do, but i would suggest 1 current and 1 previous reference at least

[clairewillmoth]

Thank you for all your advice - I charge £10 and hour and would pay £8.  Sounds great that I can pay £6.  Thanks so much and I now know what I am up against.
Claire

[J. Deans]

But you only get what you pay for!

We pay £7.30 per hour and charge £15!

It really depends on how much you can charge in your field of cleaning and how much profit you want to make.
Where you are will also make a difference.

Be careful underpaying good cleaners.
Start them off at £6 by all means. But when you find a good one - pay as much as you can afford for the income you are getting - and the profit you want to make!

You also have to take into account their Tax and NI as well as your Employers contribution. Start of with a part-timer (under 15 hours and under £110 p/week gross wages) this keeps things simple until you get the hang of things.

Hope this helps...

[clairewillmoth]

now you're talking - thank you - I totally agree that paying good wages will attract the service one expects and requires.  One question - do you transport your cleaners to their jobs or do they find their own way there? Thank you, claire

[a-r window cleanin]

decent wages equals decent cleaners!!

[J. Deans]

Hi again Claire.

Transporting again depends on the contract,
For example: When we do build cleaning on sites, we need a fair amount of equipment and there is usually 2 or 3 people. So we all go together in a van.

But we also have communal areas that only require minimal equipment, Ie: Vacuum, polish, some cloths etc. So we employ a local to do this for us. If we are lucky, we can store the equipment somewhere in the area to be cleaned.

To begin with, always start a new contract by doing the cleaning yourself. Then employ a local with a car to carry it on for you. Keep your employees that don't drive, with you!

Good luck...

[clairewillmoth]

Thank you - really appreciate your advice