Everyday life · England
Finding and hiring a cleaner
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A cleaner can help with jobs around your home.
You can ask someone you trust to help you choose.
Choose the jobs
Make a list of jobs you want help with.
Say which things should be left alone.
Check who will visit
Ask for the cleaner’s name and contact details.
Ask for references from people they have worked for.
Ask what their insurance covers.
Agree the price
Ask for the full price in writing.
Check for extra charges.
Agree when and how you will pay.
Check your responsibilities
Ask who employs the cleaner.
An agency may only introduce you to someone.
You may have duties for wages, holidays and tax.
Get employer advice
Get advice before directly employing someone.
Calling someone self-employed does not settle their legal status.
Keep written agreements and payment records.
Protect your privacy
Agree how the cleaner gets into your home.
Agree how any keys are kept safe.
Explain which rooms and belongings are private.
Your routines matter
Explain noise, smells or products that upset you.
Ask the cleaner to check before moving or throwing away belongings.
Never mix bleach with other cleaning products.
Cleaning and care are different
A cleaner is not automatically trained to provide personal care.
Ask for suitable support if you need help washing or using the toilet.
If something goes wrong
Explain the problem and keep messages.
Check the rules before cancelling.
Citizens Advice can help with consumer problems.
What you can do next
Choose help that fits your needs.
Ask for clear information before agreeing.
Read about help at home Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- NHS: homecare and home help Web page
The difference between domestic help and personal care, and routes to support.
- Age UK Wiltshire: choosing domestic help (PDF) PDF
Questions about cleaning tasks, references, costs and insurance. Some service information is local to Wiltshire.
- GOV.UK: employing someone in your home Web page
Check duties if the cleaner is your employee.
- GOV.UK: employment status for employers Web page
Understand why actual working arrangements determine employment rights.
- HMRC: check employment status for tax Web page
A tool for the tax position; employment rights may need separate advice.
- Citizens Advice consumer service Web page
Free advice about problems with a cleaning business, contracts or cancellation.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Finding and hiring a cleaner
Choose cleaning help, agree tasks and costs, protect your privacy and check whether you will have employer responsibilities.
Adults · England · General information
Choose the help you want
List the tasks you want help with, such as floors, bathrooms or laundry, and anything you want left alone. Decide whether you want regular visits or a one-off clean. Ordinary cleaning is different from personal care. Do not assume a cleaner is trained or contracted to help with washing your body, using the toilet, medicines or lifting you. If disability makes essential daily tasks difficult, you can ask social care for an assessment of your support needs.
Check the person or business
Ask people you trust for suggestions, then check the cleaner’s identity, business contact details and recent references. With permission, contact referees to ask about reliability and similar work. Ask to see insurance details and check what damage or accidents the policy covers, including exclusions. Reviews can help but are not proof of suitability. You can choose someone to help you meet the cleaner and ask questions.
Agree the work and full price
Compare written prices for the same tasks and visit length. Check whether the price is hourly or for the whole job, and whether supplies, travel, agency fees and any tax are included. Agree which equipment and products each person supplies. Record visit times, payment dates, cancellation terms and who provides cover during absence. If you agree a trial visit, agree its cost beforehand. Keep the agreement and receipts.
Understand the working arrangement
You might buy a cleaning service from a business or directly engage a person. Ask who employs, pays and supervises the cleaner. An introduction agency may only introduce you to someone, leaving responsibilities with you. Calling someone self-employed does not decide their legal status: the real arrangement matters. Employment rights and tax status use different rules. Use HMRC’s tax-status guidance and seek employment advice if the position is unclear.
If you become an employer
Before work starts, get help to understand your duties. These can include checking the right to work, giving required written terms, minimum pay, paid holiday, payslips, payroll, tax and workplace pension duties. Check employers’ liability insurance requirements. Budget for employment costs as well as hours worked. Paying cash or using a payroll service does not remove your responsibilities. Use the official employing-at-home guidance; the personal assistant guide explains similar practical arrangements.
Agree access, privacy and routines
Explain how to knock, announce arrival and communicate with you. Agree who may enter, whether another cleaner can attend and how you will be told about changes. Decide whether you will be home and how any keys will be stored and returned. Explain private rooms, documents and belongings that should not be handled. The cleaner should ask your permission before photographing your home or belongings. Record preferences about noise, smells, pets and moving familiar objects. Your home should remain comfortable for you.
Plan safe cleaning together
Discuss allergies, products, ventilation, wet floors and any equipment that needs special care. Cleaning products should be used according to their instructions and stored safely. Never mix bleach with other cleaning products: dangerous gases can be produced. Agree which jobs need specialist help, such as unsafe access or heavy lifting. Do not let tidying become an unagreed clear-out. Ask the cleaner to check with you before moving, donating or throwing away belongings.
Review the service and deal with problems
Explain concerns promptly and keep messages or photographs of any damage. Ask for the complaint and cancellation process. A service bought from a business must meet legal standards, including reasonable care and skill. Cancellation rights depend on how the contract was made and whether you requested work to begin early; ask for advice before assuming cancellation is free. The Citizens Advice consumer service can explain options. If you are the employer, ending the arrangement also needs employment advice: do not simply stop wages or dismiss someone without checking the process.
Words you could use
“Please explain what cleaning you provide, the full price, who employs the cleaner, and how you will respect my home and preferences.”
More useful links
- NHS: homecare and home help Web page
The difference between domestic help and personal care, and routes to support.
- Age UK Wiltshire: choosing domestic help (PDF) PDF
Questions about cleaning tasks, references, costs and insurance. Some service information is local to Wiltshire.
- GOV.UK: employing someone in your home Web page
Check duties if the cleaner is your employee.
- GOV.UK: employment status for employers Web page
Understand why actual working arrangements determine employment rights.
- HMRC: check employment status for tax Web page
A tool for the tax position; employment rights may need separate advice.
- Citizens Advice consumer service Web page
Free advice about problems with a cleaning business, contracts or cancellation.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 9 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- NHS: help at home from a paid carer Web page
Domestic cleaning and home help are distinct from personal care and may be arranged alongside it.
- Age UK Wiltshire: domestic help guide (PDF) PDF
Updated July 2026. Practical questions about tasks, quotes, references, supplies, insurance and access.
- GOV.UK: employing someone to work in your home Web page
Householder employer responsibilities, pay, leave, tax, insurance and payroll.
- GOV.UK: employment status and rights for employers Web page
Updated 14 October 2026. Status follows the real relationship; employment and tax rules differ.
- HMRC: domestic cleaner introduction agencies Web page
An agency introducing a cleaner does not necessarily take responsibility for PAYE.
- HMRC: employment status for tax Web page
Checking the tax status of a proposed or existing arrangement.
- HSE: cleaning chemicals (PDF) PDF
Product hazards, safe use and dangerous gases from incompatible cleaning chemicals.
- GOV.UK: statutory rights for services Web page
Reasonable care and skill, and reasonable time and price where these were not agreed.
- Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, part 3 Web page
Cancellation rights for distance and off-premises service contracts and requested early supply.
- Citizens Advice: consumer service Web page
Free consumer advice, practical options and the limits of the service.