When budgets are tight, it’s tempting to bag the cheapest deal for your workplace cleaning service. But is cheap cleaning really cost effective for your business?

That initial price tag might look appealing, but there are hidden costs and consequences to opting for cheap, lower quality cleaning services.

Productivity and employee wellbeing

Evidence shows that your workforce is more productive in a clean, ordered and pleasant working environment. If your workplace is a nice place to be, employees feel happier and more valued. That’s going to increase productivity and reduce stress levels. It can also contribute to staff retention and reduced turnover too.

Sick days are a big cost to any business. And one study showed that over half of employees survey believed their workplace was making them ill. Dirty kitchens, bathrooms and workstations were all held to blame for spreading germs and causing sickness. So what you’re saving on cheap, poor quality cleaning, you may well be spending on sick pay.

Cutting corners

Is your cheap cleaning service cutting corners on essentials such as training? If the cleaners working in your workplace have not had the right training, it could result in damage to your property or equipment. It is vitally important to use the correct cleaning methods, especially on delicate surfaces. A cheap cleaning service could land you an expensive bill for repairs.

And it’s not just damage to your property that’s at stake. Professional cleaners understand safety protocols and use proper cleaning methods, minimizing the risk of accidents and legal action. Cheap cleaning often overlooks these crucial aspects, putting your business at risk.

First impressions count

In a competitive market, first impressions matter. A clean, well-maintained office speaks volumes about your professionalism and commitment to quality. Bring clients, customers and visitors into a grimy, poorly cleaned environment, and you are risking damage to your brand image and reputation.

Getting to know you

A great cleaning service will intimately understand the needs of your business. And they will make sure their operatives understand that too. But a low quality cleaning service will often experience high turnover of staff, so that relationship doesn’t have time to build. That can mean you are spending time explaining your needs, only to have to repeat yourself just a couple of weeks later, when the new cleaner arrives.

Is cheap cleaning your dirty secret?

Cheap cleaning services, engaged in a never-ending race to the bottom, often means low pay, poor working conditions for their cleaners. Ask yourself – does it align with the values of your business, if you are saving on your cleaning budget at the cost of the person doing the cleaning?

The cost of cheap cleaning

Opting for the cheapest cleaning service might seem like a quick win, but it often leads to hidden costs and negative consequences down the line.

A reputable cleaning company prioritises quality, safety, and professionalism – and that reflects well on your business too. It’s an investment that will pay off in employee well-being, productivity, protected assets, and a positive reputation – all crucial for success for today’s businesses.

Figuring out how to hire a cleaner ethically and responsibly can be a dizzying minefield! In this blog post, we present you with a step-by-step guide to hiring a cleaner with integrity. By following this, it will allow you to make responsible choices for your home and office cleaning needs.

We list the 9 things we think you should check when selecting an ethical cleaning agency:

Step 1: Prioritise Ethical and Responsible Hiring

Firstly, when choosing a cleaning agency, you should prioritise ethical hiring. Therefore, seek out agencies that treat their cleaners with respect, fairness, and dignity, ensuring they receive the benefits they deserve.

Step 2: Research Ethical Cleaning Companies

Look at independent online reviews such as Trustpilot, Google and Facebook.  At Just Helpers, we take pride in providing our cleaners with a work environment that values their contributions. Our satisfied clients have attested to this, stating:-

Step 3: Choose Fair Wages

Opt for an agency that offers fair wages to its cleaners. The Living Wage Foundation are an independent charity that annually calculate the base rate for wages.  By doing so, you support an ethical work environment that values hard work and dedication.  We pay all our cleaners (whom we call helpers) the London Living Wage, which is above the minimum wage.

Step 4: Advocate Essential Benefits

Look for an agency that advocates for essential benefits such as holiday pay and sick leave. This ensures that cleaners receive the support they need for a healthy work-life balance.

Step 5: Transparent Job Descriptions

An ethical cleaning agency provides transparent job descriptions, clearly outlining the duties and expectations for cleaners. This, therefore, fosters, trust and respect between all parties involved.

Step 6: Encourage Open Communication

Effective communication is vital for ethical hiring. So, choose an agency that encourages open dialogue between clients and cleaners, ensuring that everyone’s concerns are heard and addressed.  Ask your agency how they manage that three-way feedback process between you, them and your cleaner.

Step 7: Prioritise Safety

An ethical agency prioritises the safety of its cleaners by providing the necessary equipment and ensuring safe work environments. This commitment to safety, without doubt, underscores the agency’s integrity.

Step 8: Embrace Diversity

Support an agency that embraces diversity and promotes an inclusive work environment. This ensures that all cleaners are treated with respect and fairness, regardless of their background or identity.

Step 9: Make a Difference

Lastly, by choosing an agency that ethically and responsibly hire a cleaner, you contribute to a positive difference in the lives of their cleaning team. It can mean the difference between an individual being able to afford fruit and vegetables verses fast food saver menus.

In summary, cleaning with integrity means choosing an agency that prioritises ethical hiring practices. At Just Helpers, we take pride in providing our cleaners (we call them helpers) with fair wages (we pay well above the Real Living Wage), essential benefits, and a supportive work environment. 

By selecting our services, you contribute to a cleaner world that values respect, fairness, and dignity for all.

One of the biggest challenges in the cleaning industry is finding software to support smooth operations.

With the cost of living crisis, as cleaning businesses we want to keep overheads low. And we are all facing challenges in recruiting both cleaners and admin staff, so efficiency is more important than ever.

That’s why we are creating “Justly” – a specialist cleaning industry software solution.

As the founder of Just Helpers, the ethical cleaning agency in London, I know the challenges involved in running a cleaning business. So I’m working with experts to develop a cleaning industry software solution that works for me. And it will work for you too.

We are talking to colleagues in other cleaning businesses to understand their needs, as we develop this brand new cleaning industry tech solution. 

Justly will free you from juggling spreadsheets, giving you more time to build your business. And a tech solution which makes everyone’s life easier will keep your team happy too.

Features

Justly includes features such as:

• Customisable onboarding stages for clients and cleaners
• Smart scheduling for your cleaning business
• Time tracking for cleaning operatives
• Intuitive Matching for clients and cleaners
• Programme optimising for your team – to reduce travel time and carbon footprint, and maximise efficiency.
• Plugins to your favourite accounting packages
• Apps for cleaners and clients

Justly has been developed especially for cleaning businesses like yours. Plus you can customise Justly to suit your needs. It’s intuitive and easy to use, and makes communication between your team members a breeze, wherever they are.

Accessible for All

We want Justly to be accessible to all cleaning businesses, whatever their size. So Justly has a “pay as you grow” model, You pay per scheduled hour of cleaning in the system. And this means that even micro businesses will be able to benefit from Justly. 

Get Involved

We would love to know – what would YOU like to see us incorporate into Justly?

What would be your dream features in a cleaning industry tech platform?

Sign up to get involved and to keep up to date with Justly as we develop. 

For the first time in our history, we have recruitment problems. We are struggling to find Helpers to work with us.

In the past, sharing the benefits of working with Just Helpers – our great working conditions, paying at least the London Living Wage, our caring, supportive values – has been enough to attract the right people.

But now, we’re experiencing real difficulties. And we are not alone in our recruitment problems.

A recent report highlighted critical staff shortages in several sectors including retail, warehousing, airport baggage handling, cleaning, and hospitality. In fact, one quarter of medium sized UK companies are experiencing serious recruitment problems which threaten normal operations.

Why Recruitment Problems?

Anecdotally, we hear there’s unease amongst the sections of our communities who would often come to work for us. People who moved to live in the UK from parts of Europe such as Bulgaria, are feeling more uncertain. Since Brexit, they may feel unwelcome here. And the rise in the cost of living is adding to their worries. They are looking for higher pay than sectors like cleaning can afford.

Brexit Impact

Brexit has introduced restrictions on freedom to move to the UK for work. The emphasis is on highly qualified people, or those with skills which are under-represented in the UK workforce. Sadly, the list of Shortage Occupations” does not include many traditionally “blue collar” sectors such as cleaning. And with over 1.66 million active job adverts recorded in August 2021, UK job seekers are not choosing to work in cleaning.

The Pay Dilemma

You may be asking, why don’t we simply increase pay to attract people to work with us? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Small cleaning businesses may afford to do this, because their turnover is below the threshold for VAT. However, for medium-sized businesses like ours, the tax burden means that we cannot afford to increase pay without increasing our charges to our clients. And we know our clients are feeling the pinch too.

As well as the recruitment problems, this situation brings other ugly consequences. It plays into the “cash in hand” culture, which places workers at risk of breaking the law if they don’t declare their income. In addition, it further disadvantages bonafide, ethical businesses like ours who want to do the right thing.

So what is the solution to this recruitment crisis in the cleaning industry?

A Potential Workforce

There are thousands of people in the UK right now who are desperate to work, but are prevented from seeking a job because of their immigration status.

The war in Ukraine has brought refugees to this country who want to build a new life for themselves and their families. Ukrainian citizens who have family in the UK, or who are sponsored under the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme, can get a visa which enables them to work here.

However, for those outside of these schemes, the usual points-based immigration system applies, which means Ukrainians who could fill vacancies in sectors such as cleaning, would not be eligible.

In addition, in the UK there are many people who have fled countries other than Ukraine, who are unable to work. These are asylum seekers, who may have to wait months or years for their asylum claim to be processed. During this time they are not allowed get a job, and are trying to survive on as little as £5.66 per day. And under new plans from the UK government, those arriving through illegal routes may be sent across the world to Rwanda.

This seems illogical, as well as inhumane. In a situation which echoes that which brought the Windrush generation to our aid after the Second World War, we need people to fill our vacancies in these key sectors.

Allowing asylum seekers to work in sectors where we have a real recruitment crisis would help the UK economy. It would alleviate shortages on supermarket shelves, and reduce the need for price rises for consumers. And it would give real hope and dignity to people who are simply looking for a safe place to live.

Our Mission

Just Helpers was founded in response to the exploitation of vulnerable people in our cities – including migrant workers. We provide our people with decent working conditions, fair pay and the chance to reach their potential through support and mentoring.

We would welcome the opportunity to recruit people from Ukraine, and elsewhere, who share our values and want to be part of the Just Helpers family. Because we need them to grow our business, just as much as they need us.

This month it’s “Thank Your Cleaner Day”. So just how SHOULD you say thank you?  And should you clean for the cleaner? 

We are cleaning experts, with our Helpers working in homes and businesses across London. Here is our worry-free guide to getting the best from your cleaning service. 

Should I clean for the cleaner?

You definitely shouldn’t feel worried or embarrassed if your space is untidy. Having a cleaner should not be another source of stress. Our Helpers love to clean and transform your space into a sparkling clean and calming place to come home to. 

However, putting away clothes, tidying toys, and washing dishes all take time, and that means less time for vacuuming, or cleaning kitchen surfaces, for example.  So, if your clean is a short one, you might want to make the most of your cleaner’s time and have a quick tidy before they arrive.  But please don’t feel you need to clean for your cleaner!

Should I tell my cleaner what I want them to do?

If there are particular tasks you really want your cleaner to do, it’s a great idea to leave written instructions. That way, you can both be clear about your priorities. You might like to leave a few tasks which can be done if there’s time left over, such as ironing. 

Make sure you think about how long your cleaner will be in your home, so your instructions are realistic. 

When you book your cleaning through Just Helpers, our team will visit your home. This gives us time to discuss your priorities and assess your needs, so we can tell you how long your cleaning visit should be.  Plus, you can contact our office team any time, and we will make sure your message is communicated to your regular Helper, and cover Helpers too. 

Should I go out when my cleaner comes?

 It’s quicker to do all the vacuuming, or dusting, at once, and this is much easier when there’s no-one home. However, we know it’s not always possible, and our Helpers are happy to work around you. That might mean cleaning one room at a time, for example. 

What about cleaning equipment?

When you are arranging your cleaning, it’s important to check what equipment and products they will need. Chat with your cleaner about their recommendations, and make sure you are both happy with your choices. 

As part of our new client visit, we will look at what cleaning equipment you have available. We also have a recommended kit list, with tried and tested products that we love. We prefer eco-friendly brands such as Delphis Eco, Astonish, Method and Ecover because they are a healthier choice for you, your Helper and the planet. 

Just Helpers Tip

Make sure your vacuum cleaner is empty and working well, with strong suction. This will save time for your Helper so they can get more done during their visit. It’s a great idea to invest in a good vacuum cleaner too. We love Miele and Shark. 

This is down to personal choice, of course.  Our Helpers bring their own snacks and drinks, but may help themselves to water. Unless their visit is more than 4 hours, they will not take a break. So feel free to make yourself a coffee and relax while our Helpers work their magic!

How should I thank my cleaner? 

At Just Helpers, we believe the best way to show you appreciate your cleaner is to ensure they receive fair pay and decent working conditions. That’s why all our Helpers receive the London Living Wage, as well as sick pay and holiday pay too. Isn’t that more meaningful than flowers or chocolates?

If you want to feel good about booking your cleaning, call Just Helpers. We are changing the world for the better, one clean at a time. 

When Lydia first met Just Helpers Founder Antoinette, she knew she wanted to be part of it.

Doing the right thing is at the heart of Just Helpers, from a commitment to fairness, to the London Living Wage, and this appealed to Lydia straight away.“It was an instant click,” she says. “Antoinette’s ethos, passion and commitment is so inspirational.”

Working for Just Helpers

Lydia is our Finance and Enquiries Manager, and brought valuable experience to the business. Before taking a break to care for her children, Lydia had worked as an Executive Assistant to the Chief Information Officer in a large insurance company. A friend, ActionCoach James Dodd, introduced her to Just Helpers.

For Lydia, it’s the people that make Just Helpers so special. “We are a fabulous team,” she says. “We’re passionate about ensuring that we do the right thing for our clients, our Helpers and the company, and I’m proud to be part of it.”

Doing the right thing in 2020

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lydia sees dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic as being the biggest challenge she has faced with Just Helpers. After weeks of uncertainty, the team had make sure that the business could continue to deliver a service in a way that is safe for clients and Helpers alike. Again, for Lydia, it was the people that made it possible. “Our Helpers carried on, our clients supported us, we supported each other. If we hadn’t been as strong and determined, I don’t think we would have survived this far.”

Job Satisfaction

As well as the flexibility of working from home, Lydia enjoys the opportunities for learning at just Helpers. Her role has provided lots of opportunity to develop new skills, through working in different areas of the business as well as learning new software applications.

Again, Lydia recognises that the team has played a big role in her development too. “I really value feedback from the team. I’m quite a talkative person and I’ve learned to listen more, and pause before I speak. I was already quite calm but It’s made me calmer.”

As the first point of contact for new clients, Lydia spends a lot of time of the phone. “It can be quite nerve-racking, but I really enjoy it and I’m developing my communication skills all the time,” she says.

The satisfaction of working for a business that is doing the right thing makes it all worthwhile for Lydia. “I get up every day and look forward to doing my job,” she says, … “I look forward to all our dreams and aspirations coming to fruition.”

Find out more about how Just Helpers is doing the right thing, on our website.

All the indications are that COVID-19 is going to be with us for a while longer yet. So more than ever, using a professional cleaning company is a must, for safety and peace of mind.

We are scouring the government guidelines, so you don’t have to. We have put in place the protocols we need with the safety of our clients and our Helpers as our top priority.

Safety is our top priority

These measures include:

• Social distancing
• Wearing of masks and using hand gel on public transport
• Hand washing and use of hand gel on entering a client’s home or business
• Removing shoes in your home

Currently, our Helpers are not required by government guidelines to wear a mask while they are cleaning. However, all our Helpers carry an emergency kit which includes masks and gloves. If you would like your Helper to wear these, please ask.

All of our team, including all new Helpers, complete an online CPD Infection Control Certificate from Staff Skills Academy .

Cleaning Products

Our clients generally provide their own cleaning products for our Helpers to use, and this prevents cross-contamination from one premises to another.  We can advise you on which products and materials your Helper needs. Please get in touch for more information.

We’ve been testing Delphis Cleaning Products, and we are recommending these to all of our commercial clients. As well as being effective against Coronavirus, we love these British made products because they are:

• Highly effective
• Low odour and kinder to our Helpers
• Plant based
• Supplied In bottles made from recycled plastic.

The products have passed our rigorous testing with flying colours – we were especially impressed with the Limescale Remover and the X Factor Spot Cleaner.

Once London is back to a Tier 1 rating, we will be using this range in our Deep Clean and End of Tenancy Cleans, as well as in our set-up packages for commercial clients.

Although Delphis are professional cleaning products, they are also available for you to use at home and we highly recommend them.

Ready to Serve You

For as long as London is in Tier 1, 2 or 3 measures, we will do all the heavy thinking and planning around your cleaning so that you don’t have to. By using a professional cleaning company, you can be confident that we have the procedures in place so that we can continue to serve our clients.

image from clay banks on Unsplash

I founded Just Helpers after seeing first hand the exploitation which migrant workers – and particularly women – were experiencing in our cities. I wanted to offer an alternative – a cleaning business which paid fairly, offered decent working conditions and developed potential in our people.

I’m proud of what Just Helpers has achieved. But if we are to see meaningful change in the cleaning industry, we need to address the real cost of cleaning. We need to tackle some fundamental issues, nationally. And we can’t do that alone.

A Clean Conscience?

A recent report from Clean For Good, our main ‘running mate’ in the cleaning industry, estimated that in 2020, 60% of workers in the cleaning sector still earn less than the Living Wage.

The report states that the Low Pay Commission estimate 1 in 5 cleaners in the UK who were entitled to the Minimum Wage were actually being paid less than this by their employer. Remember – the Minimum wage is widely recognised to be a poverty wage, which means that someone working full time being paid the Minimum Wage would still be living in poverty.

The Clean For Good report urged businesses who are outsourcing cleaning, to ensure that their cleaning provider shares their values. “Too many employers don’t just outsource a service, they unwittingly outsource their values and responsibilities too.”

The Challenges we Face

We share the vision expressed in the Clean For Good report.  However, while Clean For Good focus on providing commercial cleaning,  at Just Helpers, we want to provide domestic cleaning to ethically minded individuals in their own homes.

But, we face some big challenges.

 Price – The Real Cost of Cleaning

We pass as much of the cleaning charge as possible on to our Helpers. All of our Helpers receive the London Living Wage.

However, we also need to keep our charges as low as we can so we remain affordable to our clients.

The challenge is to pay our Helpers a decent wage, while remaining competitive in a crowded cleaning market.

We want to highlight the real cost of domestic cleaning. That’s not just about the amount your cleaner is paid. It’s also about the cost to their health and well-being of low wages, and uncertain income.

We want to reveal the cleaning industry’s dirty secret of exploitation, low wages and poor working conditions. And, we want to offer an ethical, quality, affordable alternative to people who want a clean home and a clean conscience.

Survival – A Profitable Business

Since April 2020 the domestic side of our business has been profitable for the first time. This is as a result of some changes we made to our contracts. We increased our rates, and we now require our clients to pay for their cleaning, even if they cancel.

This is important so that our business can survive tough economic times and continue to offer decent, predictable pay to our Helpers, and a quality, reliable service to our clients.

Taxation -An Unfair Burden

We believe that low margin industries like ours should sit within a lower VAT bracket.

Currently, cleaning services are subject to 20% VAT. This high tax burden encourages illegal practices such as “cash in hand”.

In the current COVID-19 climate, some industries such as hospitality have been moved into a lower VAT bracket to help them survive.

We would like to see the cleaning industry moved into the 5% VAT bracket, permanently.  This would lead to better regulation, better working conditions and ultimately more money being paid by our industry in taxation.

Changes to Employment  Law

The “gig economy” has been the subject of much criticism recently. However, the fact remains that some workers want the flexibility that being self-employed offers. Plus, the additional costs of being an employer, and the risks associated with uncertain income, mean that we, like many cleaning businesses, cannot afford to directly employ our Helpers.

We need changes to employment law to protect workers and protect businesses, so that direct employment becomes viable.

Sharing the Challenge

My passion is for people, and for tackling injustice and doing the right thing.

But these challenges are too big for me to tackle alone. I need people with the know-how to navigate these issues, so that we can achieve change for the cleaning industry at national level.

Will you join me? Get involved – join our End Exploitation Facebook Group and share your energy, experience and expertise to help us.

At Just Helpers, it is part of our ethical ethos to support and mentor our Helpers to achieve their potential and fulfil their personal goals.  For Yana, this meant becoming a manager. This is Yana’s story.

Working for Just Helpers

Like many of our team, Yana found out about Just Helpers through word of mouth. “A friend of mine was working as a Helper,” she explains. “She told me amazing things about Antoinette and the experience she had with Just Helpers, so I decided to give it a go!”

Balancing work with becoming a first time mum has been Yana’s biggest challenge, but she received lots of support. “Antoinette was very patient, giving me extra time,” says Yana.  This investment has proved to be worthwhile because Yana is even more committed to Just Helpers as as a result. “Actually this was the reason I decided to stay and gain extra knowledge, and to prove myself and my commitment to the agency,” she says.

Moving from Helper to Manager

Becoming a manager has always been one of Yana’s goals. “This was something that I really wanted to do and I had many conversations about it with Antoinette,” she says. “I really wanted to prove to Antoinette that I can do the job.”

Yana recognises that the support which she had as a Helper has contributed to her development as a manager. “When I first came to the agency, I was making a lot of mistakes,” she explains. “Antoinette was going through everything with me, and setting challenges for me. So when I became a manager I knew what to expect from the clients and what to expect from the Helpers.” 

Yana’s experience as a Helper meant that becoming a manager within the business was a natural next step – “it gave me what I needed to move forward and to grow.”

Goals for 2020

Yana’s commitment to Just Helpers shines through in her vision for the rest of this year, following the Covid-19 lockdown. “I want to help Just Helpers to come back stronger than ever,” she says.

With such a great team, and our amazing clients, we can’t wait to see what the future holds. To find out more about what makes Just Helpers special, visit our website.

Last week we “Clapped for Carers” for the last time. It was the tenth week that the country had come together to show our support for NHS workers, care staff, and also for keyworkers – including cleaners.

The question is, now that the clapping has ended, what happens next?

Our Keyworkers

In those first weeks of Lockdown, as the reality of the Corona Virus pandemic sunk in, it became clear just how vital a role is played by delivery drivers, supermarket staff, and cleaners, in keeping the country going.

It’s noticeable that these are also some of the lowest paid workers, at greatest risk of exploitation.

So, now that the clapping has stopped, we need to make sure we continue to value our keyworkers with lasting and meaningful change.

Change is needed

For Just Helpers, this means all of our Helpers continue to receive the London Living Wage. We’ve recently changed our contracts so that all of our Helpers also receive four weeks’ holiday pay courtesy of their clients.

We will also be campaigning for changes in taxation and employment laws. The low margins in the cleaning industry make It difficult for agencies to pay their cleaners fairly, and still be affordable to hardworking people on middle incomes. We want the government to encourage businesses that do the right thing through the tax system, so that they can be both profitable, secure and ethical.

Working Together

And we’re not in this alone. We work closely with other ethical businesses such as Clean For Good – our main ‘running mate’ in the cleaning industry. Clean For Good were founded by the Parish of St Andrew by the Wardrobe in the City of London. The church discovered the high number of low paid cleaners working in their parish, and responded by forming their own cleaning company. Clean for Good pay the London Living Wage and provide decent working conditions, as well as offering training and development for their cleaners.

Clean For Good offer commercial cleaning for businesses looking for 10 or more hours’ cleaning per week, and so perfectly complement Just Helpers as we offer cleaning for smaller commercial, and domestic clients.

So, as life slowly gets back to normal after Lockdown, our hope is that the appreciation of key workers goes beyond clapping and rainbows, and that more cleaners get the respect, decent working conditions and pay that they deserve.