Cleaner

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Could somebody remind me how much Amazon pays in taxes?

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.

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.

glammanana

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

Absolutely agree....

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

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.

£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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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.

Would you clean a strangers home for £7 an hour???!

But if she had not had to pay taxes- as someone said, some don't earn enough to have to- then it would have been her business!

I have a cleaner and she charges £10 per hour , she has lots clients around my area so is doing very well . I give her cash and don’t think about what she does with it after , that’s her business. All I know she is a godsend to us all in our village and worth every penny .
Ps, I do think paying £7 per hour is rather mean .

*she's done well.?

I transfer the payment by bank whens shes done- it got a business name/account and everything's done correctly.she's done well to get it all going by herself.now she employs a couple of others too i think.