Within months of joining the cleaning industry some 30yrs ago it dawned on me that our cleaners weren’t earning nearly enough - and it’s a feeling that’s grown stronger over time. It’s not just being tasked with cleaning up other people’s mess, which can be hard work and soul-destroying too, but also the unsocial hours which can mean walking out alone to the workplace, bus/tram stop or train station when the streets are quiet and dark and perhaps unsafe. Many also face working in isolation for much or all of the shift. Then there’s the lack of acknowledgment by, and respect from, the general public.  

  

Many contractors have made a commitment to paying their cleaners the much-deserved Living Wage, which is a good bit higher than the Government’s Minimum Wage. I admire them for their commitment as I can imagine it takes quite some negotiating and can so often put them out of the running! Hearing the UK Government confirm yesterday that from April, minimum pay for over-21s must increase by 6.7%, (from the current £11.44/hr to £12.21/hr) and that 18 to 20-year-olds will enjoy a 16% increase - taking their current minimum pay from £8.60/hr to £10/hr, initially excited me, (and especially so since the Government’s also removing the cap on single bus fares in much of the country, allowing them to rise by 50%!). Then the reality set in... How will employers afford it - particularly those being forced to contend with higher National Insurance contributions? After all, those seeking cleaning services so often award the contracts to those who can seemingly do the same work for far less money than all the competition professes to need! Far too few can willingly accept that great service and results don’t cost mere peanuts. How do we persuade them otherwise? Or will jobs have to go and cleaning standards be reduced as a result of pay rises that just can’t be maintained?   

  

Could The British Cleaning Council’s latest initiative provide the answer I wonder? It’s calling for minimum standards of cleanliness and hygiene for UK workplaces to be legislated by Government, with premises subjected to regular inspection. It says that this could help reduce the national bill for employee sickness, (reportedly £103bn in 2023!) thereby supporting economic growth. It argues that although employers currently have a legal duty of care to provide clean workplaces, standards are too vague. Mmmm… Could ‘minimum standards’ legislation force everyone looking for services to pay what the job’s actually worth, so that all those involved in providing the services can enjoy a decent standard of living? It’s a brilliant idea, but one that I’m not 100% sure is likely to be workable, when it comes to the reality of staffing and policing it. Your thoughts please?