Contributing over £8 billion to the British economy, the cleaning sector provides an essential service to many organisations. Without it, our workplaces, hospitals, schools, transport and many public spaces would not be the clean and welcoming places we very often take for granted. The workforce behind this daily transformation is made up of well over half a million people.

Employer Compliance

During the study conducted by The Equality and Human Rights Commission in Europe into employment practices within the sector, information was gathered on compliance by employers of their obligation on equality and respect for human rights. It focused on non-domestic office cleaning in the healthcare, retail, hospitality and commercial sectors looking at key areas of the job such as:

• Pay
  • Working hours
  • Dignity and respect
  • Equality and non-discrimination at work
  • Safe work environment

Positive Employment Conditions for Cleaners

Following the study Mark Hammond Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission stated “What is clear from our evidence is that many workers are treated well, enjoy their job and have their employment rights upheld. Some clients outsource their cleaning services in a responsible way offering longer contract lengths, paying the living wage and supporting daytime cleaning which offers workers more sociable hours. Since fairness, dignity and respect are values we all share, we would hope that such treatment was the norm”.

He went on to say that “Many workers, however, do not have their employment rights upheld. They may be bullied or discriminated against by supervisors, experience problems obtaining their pay, have excessive workloads, and are not treated with dignity or respect”.

The findings showed:

• Some lack of values relating to dignity, respect or fairness.
• In some cases, migrant workers reported discriminatory treatment by their supervisors or colleagues.
• Lower pay though in general there were no problems of unequal pay between men and women.
• Some workers had limited availability of holiday or sick leave
• Unrealistically large workloads and being unable to take regular breaks.
• Working additional hours without extra pay.
• There were few health and safety concerns because most operations had health and safety policies in place with some relevant training and personal protective equipment was supplied.

Mark Hammond stated, “Our report also contains a number of recommendations, based on the good practice that we found.” The full report can be found here.

Cleaning Assurance uses good practices and is proud of its reputation for staff welfare. As a “people business” we know that the company would not exist without our staff, and we believe that our staff must understand their crucial importance as part of the team.

Given that we use various methods of communication, we are able to enjoy a good working relationship with staff. This includes staff inductions, handbook, site user manuals, clear job descriptions, regular staff/manager meetings and appraisals for all.

We also have a robust recruitment process in place, extensive training opportunities for staff and multiple policies covering many aspects of work practice. Each of our teams are friendly, work harmoniously together and take enormous pride in their work.

We understand the pressures faced by large businesses to organise the cleaning of workplace premises. This, and complying with an obligation for equality and respect for human rights. Cleaning Assurance can remove that challenge and take care of the management of service offering you complete peace of mind on every aspect and you can be confident that the job will be conducted to exacting high standards.

If you would like to find out more how we can help you, click here. Alternatively, contact us today to discuss your cleaning requirements.