Paying cleaner.

If they cancel, I don't pay. If I cancel, I do pay.

I pay if I cancel and when she is on holiday. That amounts to a couple of weeks a year and Christmas. I only cancel if we are having work done in the house that would prevent her from getting on - if we are away I ask her to clean out a cupboard or deep clean something.

I wait until someone has been coming a while before deciding whether to pay if they cancel. My current one only does so if she has to, and tries to rearrange if she can (eg childcare issues meaning she can't do the day she usually comes), so I do pay her, but I've had ones who are unreliable and I haven't paid them.

I don't think cleaners should lose out because their clients cancel, and they are entitled to holidays like everyone else.

If I need to cancel then I pay. Also pay when we go away, it’s not fair they should lose out, but when they are on holiday I don’t pay.

That said, we have a new cleaner so are just getting to know her. We paid our last cleaner all through covid even though she wasn’t doing a clean obviously.

Doodledog has it exactly right. I pay for holiday a couple of weeks a year and over Christmas. Wonderful Cleaner is rarely ill but I did pay her when she was recovering from a hysterectomy and when forbidden to work over COVID. I treat her as I would like to be treated and she has been with me since 1996 so it would appear to work!

I have a cleaner for two hours every fortnight. She’s great. She runs her own business and I pay her if I’m away or for any reason I don’t want her here eg if I’m unwell.There’s always plenty for her to do here if I’m away anyway. I appreciate her and wouldn’t want her to go out of business. Also I was self-employed once giving music lessons and I remember what it was like to lose money when students cancelled their lessons for any reason,

I too payed my cleaner through Covid. A good reliable cleaner is too good to lose!

I paid mine during Covid. I also pay her when I am away.
She will pop in do little jobs. Clean out the Fridge, few cupboards or clean windows.

Do as you would be done by. In other words treat anyone as you would wish to treated and pay. It’s surely a one off.

Oh what lovely people you are.
I'm a self employed cleaner (although now I'm only doing on average about 10 hours a week. I don't charge if either myself or my customers cancel. I know many cleaners do charge a cancellation fee.
I've never been paid while I'm on holiday or ill.
I don't mind as I like having the flexibility my customers allow to change days if need be
BUT one family said they didn't need me for 2 months over the summer. When I contacted them at the end of August ready to resume their usual Friday morning slot, they made up some excuse about mummy working from home (she'd being so for months)
For cleaners depending on money I think it's lovely that customers are willing to pay cancellation fees.

I have never had to cancel but when I was in hospital I paid her to come and do a few tasks because I did not want to lose her.

My present one was out of the country for a couple of months recently but organised a friend to come without telling me. She brought her 3 year old daughter.

I would have preferred to have found a temporary cleaner as there were problems with the friend who I would not employ again.