The housekeeping and home cleaning market is unique in that it is estimated that as much as 70% of service delivery is by private and self-employed agency cleaners. Is this necessarily a bad thing?

Well, anyone can set themselves up as a private cleaner and there are lots of companies out there offering agency franchises based on a self-employment business model. Most private cleaners are hard-working individuals doing their best to support themselves and their family, and many of them do a great job for their clients. But this mode of housekeeping begs the question; is this good for the overall standards and development of our industry?

We believe that any responsible industry has a duty of care both to the people working within it and the customers who enjoy the service it provides. But can an industry with such a large unregulated workforce ever really achieve that aim? And are those involved, either employed or as a client, fully aware of the laws and responsibilities that comes with service delivery of this kind?

Over the next few months, we will be posting a series of articles that identify issues that are a direct result of private and agency cleaning practices, with the aim of answering the question of whether these may be holding this growing industry back from making much-needed improvements in standards of employment and service.