Do you have a cleaner and how much do they charge?

I use a company. They send 3 cleaners who stay for 1 hour. That equals 3 hours work for £45. No worrying about National Ins contributions, tax etc etc as they take care of everything. They only come once a month and of all the 'heavy' work. They provide all cleaning materials. They're amazing and worth every single penny.
Wish I could've afforded them when the kids were small.

Ps, yes I do tidy before they come because it would waste their time having to lift things.

My neighbour is losing one job just as I have to have my knee replacement. She used to clean for my parents and then look after my dad- and is very happy to come and work for me. We are good friends- and she will do 3 hours per week, and more if and when required to help me with decorating, as she did this Summer. Cleaning ladies where I live are a lot more expensive than in the UK though. She will do me 'mate's rates' of about £20 per hour

I'd definitely have a trial. After my hysterectomy I used a professional company to do some cleaning. Two ladies came for an hour, so I paid for two hours cleaning. I wasn't impressed to be honest as their methods seem a bit unhygienic.

I never realised so many people had cleaners! when I mentioned to the Jobcenter woman that I have thought of maybe starting my own cleaning business she almost jumped down my throat offering loans/help/mentors etc ..but on googling enterprise allowance scheme/loan/via jobcenter it has been pulled to bits by others saying it is a waste of time,but this thread has certainly give me food for thought and on Saturday I took ownership of a "Scooter" wondering is it proper! to turn up to cleaning job on a scooter (I couldn't afford to maintain a car)hence my dad has bought me a scooter (so if you see a lady with hoover and mop bucket strapped to her back) Tis I !! lol

I think it's a brilliant idea, biker!

Those online critics were probably expecting to make their fortune, but you'd only need to get a few hours work a week to pay more than you're getting on JSA (you'd have to pay tax and self-employed NI of course) and it would at least keep the JobCentre off your back

But Biker you can also let customers know that you a competent diyer and decorator . You will be raking it in especially with women on their own.

Go for it bikerand all the luck in the world,

could the cost of a cleaner not be lessened by giving them gifts. I had a friend who was paid very little but was given clothes, food and trinkets by her employer. She always said that the two day s a week she worked were worth it as it cost nothing for food those days, she never bought a new item of clothing as she was good at alterations and made the clothes she was given into new items and she would give away the trinkets/jewellery/ornaments as presents. That sounds like a good deal, I would work for those terms.

Biker go for it. I'm sure there is a big market for your skills.

I think too that people are more willing these days to a)employ a cleaner and b)admit they employ one.

Women are realising that they can't work full-time and do all the food shopping and do all the cooking and do all the cleaning, and even if their partners help out, having someone to do the cleaning gives them some very precious time back with their families.

Best of luck to you

biker I'd be lost without my cleaner now. Now she isn't the greatest, sometimes I find bits that she has left, but having her come does make me tidy up a bit so I move about a bit more as and when I can, she does the hard bits I can't, like getting into the nooks and crannies, steam cleaning the kitchen floor, will clean the cooker and oven, will go to the tip with extra rubbish, but most of all, she will be a friend for a couple of hours, chatting, having a laugh, sharing a cup of coffee, which for me is invaluable as I trust her.

If you can find work with vulnerable people, disabled, the elderly, I am sure they would be thrilled to bits to have someone to have a couple of hours company. They may never see anyone all week until you turn up. You'll have to cost it up so that it pays, but I am sure that this catagory of people would benefit along with busy young mums, maybe one parent families, who just need that extra pair of hands, and a well deserved break of someone helping them out a bit.

I wouldn't worry about taking stuff on your scooter (and congratulations of getting it, have you named it yet? ). Many people have their own cleaning products and hoovers so you could use theirs without having to have to take your stuff with you. Go back to the jobcentre and find out what it would entail, it can't do any harm. Then tell them you will think it over. You could plan your own time off, your rates, your working hours, even evening if it suits you better when people are home from work. Sit down and work out how much you need coming in to cover bills and how much you could charge people per hour, adjust accordingly for vulnerable or low paid, maybe.

Just be careful on your new scooter. X

Oh, and take no notice of the miserable beggers on the web, they obviously hadn't the heart to stick with it or the nounce!

I've had my cleaner since the mid 80's. When we were both working full time and the kids were in high school she came in twice a week - once a week to clean the house (3 hours) and once a week to change the beds, do laundry and ironing. Can't really remember how much we paid her at that time.

Now ..... 30+ years on, and just my husband and I living in a small 2 bed townhouse, she comes to us every other week for about 3 1/2 hours. She is a wonderful Filipino lady with a great work ethic and utterly dependable .....and she keeps our home sparkling clean and tidy. Through the years we have become friends and at times depend on each other if and when the need arises.

We now pay her $60 for her bi weekly visits (about 40 pounds sterling). I consider this cost as a necessary investment - knowing I can depend on her to keep our home thoroughly clean and tidy, and I don't ever have to think about that chore, or worry that I am not able to keep on top of a task that I don't enjoy!

One little word of advice biker.
When you work out your hourly rate, don't forget that you won't be getting any holiday pay, or sick pay, and that you'll have to pay NI contributions and spend time filling in a tax return.
So work out what you want to earn per annum, add your costs (petrol getting to place of work, materials if you're going to provide them, my cleaner uses mine), add some for sick pay and savings, and then divide by the number of weeks you want to work per year(ie how many weeks holiday you want). Then divide by the number of hours you want to work per week.
What I'm saying is that your charge should be based on what it costs to provide the service, not what you can get away with or what the competition is charging.
Don't undersell yourself. Remember you're worth it

I have a cleaner once a week for 2 hours - at £10 an hour. I first had my cleaner when my husband had a stroke and I found it harder to do all the house myself. I found her name on a card in my local library. Someone put up a notice saying, "My wonderful cleaner has 2 hours' availability..."
The rest is history!

She is very good at her work and is thoroughly reliable.

I'd like to add that 2 hours a week in not enough to clean a fairly large semi-detached, so what I do is work with my cleaner. I do two rooms - sitting room and my own bedroom. This is so my husband has somewhere where he can be in peace, while all around him cleaning is going on! My cleaner completely cleans the rest of the house and then, apart from a quick dust and hoover at the weekend, everything is perfect!

Biker send me me a pm and I will happily give you help with costings as I run a cleaning business. As others have said you need to cost it properly and I can let you know the true costs. I am getting more work that I can cope with at the moment so can confirm that there is a definite market.Ethelbags I really dont think anyone wants to work for trinkets and hand me down clothes, that is condescending, patronising and doesnt pay the bills. Last time I checked Sainsbury's don't swap groceries for ornaments and altered second hand clothes!

I've had a variety of cleaners from indifferent to amazing. One, threw away all my herbs and spices that were out of date I think this is a wonderfully flexible type of job.

I used to leave a note if anything in particular needed doing. As you're coming via scooter I'd suggest you change £10-12 an hour if they provide cleaning materials, vacuum, etc. Also, my cleaner was asked to clean for 50 minutes and sit with my dog and a coffee for 10, which she was happy to do.

Another thought, but this might not suit. I used to help, just as a neighbour, the old lady next door have a bath. She could just about manage a shower but she did miss her bath. She needed help getting in and out, there was a sort of pull out seat to help her, and though we were both a bit bashful at first, it soon wore off. When I moved away her cleaner, who'd been coming for years, volunteered to help her, but the lady insisted on paying her the same rate as for cleaning. She paid out of her attendance allowance.

So apart from actual cleaning, there is a whole host of jobs that the elderly need help with, including shopping, gardening, pet care, that could be tapped into.

Anya helping people in and out of baths or with any personal care, and being paid for doing so, is a minefield of regulations and liability insurance and best avoided! Within my business, I come across a lot of people who need help, and we are happy to change beds, put washing on, make a cup of tea, put a casserole in the oven etc., but anything defined as personal care is a not permitted by my liability insurance. It is interesting though to see how cleaners are often very willing to cross over into care ( as I described above), but carers will not even push a vacuum around because it is outside their job description.

You shouldn't be liable for tax until you're earning more than the £10,600 personal tax allowance. Also do keep receipts for petrol used, work clothes and aprons, dusters, rubber gloves, work related telephone calls, etc as these can be offset against tax.

The bath help was just a suggestion. I was helping out, unpaid, as a friend/neighbour and as far as her present cleaner/helper goes, what the eye doesn't see....

I totally agree with GillT57 re not taking on any personal care. If you injured your back you would not be covered. Stick with what you know, cleaning and small DIY jobs. The majority of people prefer that their own cleaning products are used.

The only advice I would give you is to take a few dusters with you. My cleaner tells me that she went to one house and was handed a filthy duster and she was expected to use it everywhere.

Use clients products but take your own cloths. That way you can control the hygiene and what you have to handle. Different colour cloths for different areas of the house, then washed at 90 degrees. Easy to manage that on a scooter!

Well, this thread was obviously the push encouragement I needed. My ex-cleaner will be returning to me soon at my request.

We have a four-bedroomed barn conversion with lots of beams and very high ceilings that even an extendable feather duster cannot reach.....(I tend not to look up very often ?) We have frequent visitors and I do like the house to look nice but I'm a lot less keen to do it myself these days

I'm feeling quite liberated already

Thank you minimo for this thread and all others who have contributed

Or take some gloves. Disposable ones, not your best Sunday church gloves, lol.

You can help me biker come October if you want, some painting needs doing again and I probably won't be up to doing it on my own.

LolRuby

I can diverse, I'm pretty handy with a drill/a circular saw/jigsaw/carpet cleaner and D.I.Y in the past I have helped many a neighbour/person garden/put curtain rails up, mend bits of things,power wash/paint/look after house whilst they are away/pop in and feed the dog if they are out all day, but of course I am getting a little older now so need to calm down lol.

You are just brilliant.

I've just PM'd you. x