Cleaner

I doubt very much that the cleaner is liable for tax on her earnings. I think her rates are exceedingly cheap as I pay more then double that. Grab her while you can! Good cleaners are hard to find.

I don't have a cleaner but know folk who do. £7.00 an hour is ridiculously low. Is the person 16 years old? Rates I know off are £12 an hour another £12.50. Both cash in hand.

Pps , she is a lovely young woman with young family , she is happy ,friendly and kind . I certainly don’t begrudge her what money she earns with all her clients , all I know is that she deserves all that she gets as she works hard for it, bless her .

Recent research has shown that income distribution in the UK is on a par with Russia
1% earn in excess of £160,000 pa
9% earn between £40,000 to £160,00
90% earn less than £40,000
I imagine she falls into the largest percentage.
I am now 70 and still work as a self employed photographer. I declare everything I earn. (Most of my income comes from my 3 lodgers with whom I share my home) I am caned for every penny possible, including the tiny pension I self funded over the years. I applaud anyone who is willing to work to help support themselves, especially for the tiny amount she charges. You and others are doing a good thing by employing this lady. The real tax dodgers are way higher up the income scale.

grannyrebel7 - please speak to your sister about paying this little.
She may not know she is possibly breaking the law, irrespective of the cleaner.

You don't say how old the cleaner is but here's the situation as far as I remember:
National Living Wage, for age 25 plus £8.72 an hour.
Age 21 - 24 £8.20.
18 to 20 £6.45 an hour (maybe she's a youngish mum?)
Under 18s £4.55 .

Hope this helps.

I pay my window cleaner £7.50 for about 10 minutes. No ladder or special equipment required. He also has a full time job on the bins with the local authority. £7 per hour is peanuts in this day and age.

She probably doesn’t earn enough to pay tax as others have said. Maybe you could offer to pay her at least the minimum wage if you take her on and encourage your sister to do the same and raise the bar? I could never pay someone £7 per hour, it’s dreadfully low!

I agree with many on here; £7 per hour is far too low a payment. Doing a rough calculation she would have to be working over 38 hours a week just to reach the income where tax becomes payable! That would be near impossible for a single mother. I think that it is shameful to pay someone that little and to judge them for defrauding the system.

£7 an hour? Mine was costing £13 and spent most of her time on the bloody phone!
Poor woman is probably struggling bringing up children on her own so give her a break, that's why she only charges £7 an hour

I used to get paid £7 an hour for cleaning about 20 years ago!
Going rate is actually £10+ per hour an what others have said about lower tax limit is correct.
However she is only allowed to work 16 hours per week before it will affect her benefits and it is her responsibility to declare to DWP that she is earning, not yours.

Just because your sister has said she foes not pay tax does not mean that she has to!! We all suspect she is defrauding the system but maybe she has declared her earnings to DWP. It is possible to work and claim nowadays.
Please don't assume... ASK

glammanana

I personally would be ashamed to pay someone £7.00 per hour for any job they did for me.

Absolutely agree....

You can hardly expect her to pay tax etc. when she only earns £7 an hour. I get my cleaner through AGE UK and I pay £18 an hour. But she gets holiday and sick pay and pays tax etc. This is what she deserves.

Gosh all year cleaners are cheap. I pay £60 for 2hours once a fortnight.
It was £40 for 2 hours before covid but went up to £60.She has said she will review it at Christmas.! It is not that we cannot afford it but £60 is a bit over the top.

Could somebody remind me how much Amazon pays in taxes?

We have yet to establish the age of said cleaner.

Whilst I think £7 is way too low, if she is aged 20 or under it is not illegal.

At that price for her work , she has a moral right not to pay tax on £7 an hour. I'd employ her and be damned to this present unfair distribution of wealth.

As she is presumably self-employed as a cleaner it's nobody else's business how she conducts her tax affairs. But £7 per hour? Poor girl. I pay mine £12.50. I'd feel terrible exploiting someone at such a low rate.

Cleaning in someone’s house, so non-stop for £7 an hour wouldn’t buy a fish supper. This doesn’t presumably include transport costs or shoe leather.
If she’s reliable and honest why pay extra to an agency, up her rate and take her on. £14 is the cheapest rate around here.

I have help in my garden and feel that what my gardener charges is a pittance.However it is his choice his life and whether he declares it is up to him.

At my age and being disabled I need help with not only cleaning but some personal care. I have had my lovely help for four years. She mainly comes in for an hour every day but is on call if I should need her. When I had to go to hospital thirty miles away every day for five weeks for radiotheraphy she drove me there. She stayed with me overnight for seven hours while waiting for an ambulance. I pay her £13 an hour. She has a little craft business and does pay tax.
I never question people who do odd jobs and window cleaner to whom I pay cash. That is their business.
£7 an hour is disgusting.

grannyrebel would you work for £7 an hour?

£7 an hour is pure exploitation! Pay her £10 at least and then you can look yourself in the mirror without shame! It's none of your business what she declares. Paying someone less than the minimum wage is encouraging dishonesty and just downright mean!

£7 an hour is below minimum wage and you would like her to ‘pay tax’.....how about paying her the going rate for the job. She may be illegal but so is £7 per hour ...If the cap fits!!!!

£7 an hour is a pittance, your sister should be ashamed.