Cleaning business, Just Helpers

When I started my cleaning business Just Helpers it was meant to be just a side hustle while I got on with my main job of building a grass roots anti human trafficking charity in London.   

I realised fairly soon after demand increased and I started to recruit women to help me with the increased load that for the workers in the cleaning industry, the system is severely broken. I saw first-hand the exploitation which migrant workers – 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 its 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 3 main challenges: The national perception of the real cost of cleaning, gig economy work contracts that work and VAT categories for low margin industries.

A Clean Conscience?

A report from Clean For Good, 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 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 – Ethical Cleaning is not cheap

All of our Helpers receive the Living Wage as a minimum.  However, we also need to keep our charges as low as we can so we remain affordable to our clients.

The challenge is how to remain competitive in a crowded market. 

Most agencies, us included, in the UK contract self-employed cleaners.  This sits very uncomfortably with us.  While our basic hourly rate is significantly higher (6-29%) above the real living wage, Covid highlighted the vulnerability of our colleagues in the face of absence, lack of work and sickness.  Because of the strong relationships we have brokered in our community, we were able to lobby their clients to continue paying their Helpers despite receiving no clean.  67% of clients did. 

In consultation with the team, we have increased the hourly rate by 8% to allow our colleagues to earn the equivalent of 4 weeks leave while they work, changed the client contracts so that they pay for an uninterrupted service all year round, whether they cancel or not, to enable their Helper to plan and budget effectively.

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 and plan to have a small pot of money that can provide interest-free loans to our longer serving colleagues to help them bridge financial gaps. 

One area that we woefully neglected while attending to our cleaning team was the office team salaries.  They have had a salary freeze for the last two years as profits were challenged through growth and Covid.  We have planned a regular salary review into our annual calendar.

Taxation – 20% VAT creates a cash transaction culture

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”.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some industries such as hospitality were 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 – Stop vilifying the gig economy and make it work

The “gig economy” has been the subject of much criticism recently, particularly following the recent ruling against Uber. However, the fact remains that some workers want the flexibility that being self-employed offers. 

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

Strategies to improve staff wellbeing

1.Hold regular consultations with all of your team including the lowest paid colleague.  Ask them what they need.  Some of our best ideas and innovations around pay and conditions have come from the team.  Our colleagues are invested in our business and while we get some ‘out there’ suggestions, most comments have something that can be turned into a great idea whilst fully appreciating the limitations of our time and  budgets.

2. Celebrate your team – We have a ‘Helper of the Month’ award, which goes out across all of our socials and our colleague receives a gift voucher too.  At our annual awards we aim to go bigger and better each year with winners sashes, bouquets, sizeable gift vouchers amongst other things happening each year.

3. Make space to socialise – Nothing beats informal interactions ideally in person, from the get-go we hold our cleaning Interviews in coffee shops so that we can ‘host’ them in a small way. We encouraged our managers to take a cleaning colleague out for a coffee if they do an end of day spot check. Once a year we hold a bring and share party in the park where everyone can come with friends, partners and children. We do the same at a central London pub for  Christmas drinks and our annual Annual Event turns into a massive party with food and dancing.

4. A simple ‘thank-you’ or ‘well-done’ goes a long way – Each Friday in our team WhatsApp, we share all of the positive comments that clients have shared and great things that the office team has observed.

5. When a global pay rise can’t work, think about smaller one-off rewards that make a difference. Last year we introduced an extra day’s annual leave for the office staff on their birthday.  We have allowed some to work from abroad where extra family support has helped with childcare, given away Virgin experience vouchers for hard working colleagues to pamper themselves, and our most surprising reward, the gift of choosing which charity projects we give to that month.

In the end though, kindness and respect and a fair standard of pay is why most of our colleagues stay.

Sharing the Challenge

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

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

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 make a difference and change lives.