As a company we have been in the cleaning industry for a decade now, but I, personally, have been working as a cleaner for much longer than that. I know the ins and outs of the job from all different angles. And it concerns me that more households choose to hire a solo cleaner for their home rather than trust a professional company. And the reason I feel this way is certainly not loss of business. Luckily, we have plenty of loyal clients. But I fear that many families who think having a self-employed cleaners is the better option because it seems cheaper on the surface, are simply misinformed.

What’s behind the price per hour?

Some solo cleaners can go as low as £9-10 per hour. I’ve even seen £8 in some areas! At a glance, it sounds great for the average consumer, who would like to save some money. But this is seriously hurting the professional cleaning industry.

There are so many costs for us and benefits to you that you don’t see in the regular cleaning prices cleaning companies charge you. Let’s have a breakdown.

A cleaning company will have to pay salaries to their workers, as well as NI contributions, pensions and holiday and sick pay. Most of the time we would supply cleaning products and equipment when needed, cover the travel costs of cleaners and have an insurance. Time spent in administrative duties, marketing and planning is also part of the equation.

Now, a self-employed cleaner will have almost none of these expenses, but even at that, they lose out more working on their own and charging £10 p/h than working as an employee at a cleaning company. Why? They end up getting paid work for just about 30 hours per week, because they will have to do the admin duties themselves. They will need to subtract the travel cost, which would be around £50. At the end of the day, after calculating all expenses, solo cleaners end up earning less than the national living wage. On top of that, if they are sick or for some reason unable to work, they will lose much more money, because as self-employed they are not entitled to holiday or sick pay.

Now imagine how companies, who need to cover so many other costs would cope with £12, £13, £14 per hour charges. They can’t. It will be nowhere near enough to ensure excellent, reliable, high quality service.

What’s the Extra when you hire a cleaning company?

The main benefit you will have as a consumer when you choose to hire a cleaning company as opposed to a solo cleaner is security and piece of mind.

Companies are required by law to have insurance, which can cover any damage to your property as a result of the provided service. Self-employed cleaners don’t need to cover that requirement and most of them are not insured.

Cleaning companies also vet their staff before they employ them. At Bredon Hill Cleaning Services, for example, we ask all of our candidates to present a DBS check certificate or if they don’t have one we check them upon employment. We train them in-house to make sure they always deliver the service up to our high standards. Many solo cleaners do not have clearance to work, however, they do it because their clients don’t require any background checks.

If your cleaner is sick or unable to come for the day, your house remains unclean, which could be a significant inconvenience for some households. However, when incidents like that happen and you’ve chosen a cleaning company, the majority of times, you will be sent a replacement and the job still gets done.

All of us, who have build a cleaning business and boost the economy by creating working spaces are often questioned when we charge the appropriate price for our services. No, we are not trying to live a luxurious life, travel abroad on holidays all the time and stack money in our bank accounts. We are simply trying to provide you the quality service, reliability and professionalism you deserve.

Yes, it won’t be £10 per hour, but it will be worth every penny!