Office Cleaning- who should i get to clean?
Thinking of employing a cleaning company to do your cleaning? or thinking why should i bother, it will save money if we just do it our selves or employ our own? First of all Office Cleaning is an important part of maintaining a healthy business and it helps the business to thrive by providing a good working environment for staff and potential customers. We also have a duty to provide safe and healthy facilities to employees so either way make sure you get it right.
You might be thinking of employing a company or just its easier to manage and employee our own cleaner. Before you decide take 2 minutes to read the article below
So below we will look at why we should provide cleaning and what obligations we have to employees. Then we will look at the pro and cons of either employing direct, doing it yourself or using a specialist company. Hopefully this will enable you to make an informed decision about which option to take.
As a business you have a legal duty to maintain safe and healthy standards in the work place and all facilities require regular cleaning to be undertaken. This will ensure that situations do not arise that may threaten the health and safety of those who may come into contact with unhygienic and dirty conditions.
Under current health and safety legislation requirements, premises and facilities should be maintained to an acceptable standard which will require effective cleaning and, where necessary, disinfection.
Under current health and safety legislation employers should:
- Ensure that all work premises are maintained and kept clean.
- Ensure all surfaces, fixtures and fittings are capable of being kept clean.
- Provide training for employees who use work equipment and use or handle hazardous substances.
- Assess the substances used during cleaning and disinfection of the premises and adopt appropriate control measures and safe working methods.
In addition, food safety legislation requires that equipment and food premises are effectively cleaned and, where necessary, disinfected.
Risk assessments should be carried out for all work activities, including cleaning and disinfection tasks. The risks of potential hazards such as steps, power supplies etc should be considered when undertaking the risk assessment. Other people who may be affected by the work activities, (trips due to trailing cables from the vacuum cleaner on staircases will affect everybody using the staircase) should also be considered within the risk assessment. The outcome of the risk assessments should be communicated to employees. Risk assessments may be used to help create safe systems of work or method statements for cleaning activities.
Where possible, cleaning should be carried out when the premises are vacant or closed to the public to reduce the risk of injury. If it is necessary to carry out cleaning activities when the premises are occupied, appropriate warning signs should be displayed. Modern day techniques can help to mitigate any risk. Day time cleaning has become more popular over the years as it has many benefits including both reducing environmental impact and cost through savings on electrcity and heating.
Providing suitable clean environment will not only help towards keeping your staff healthy but will provide a environement that your staff will feel proud of and customers will enjoy to visit which can enhance your businesses profile.
Now we will take a look at the pros and cons of employing direct/cleaning yourself or employing a specialist cleaning company.
Employing a cleaner direct or cleaning yourself has its benifits and is usually seen as the best option as its often cheaper and can feel like you have more control in what the cleaner will be doing. Beware this can sometimes be a false economy and you will need to think about how you will recruit a relaible, experienced cleaner, how you will cover the cleaner if they are on leave or have sickness, who will provide the appropriate cleaning material and equipment, who will train the cleaner, who will carry out maintain risk assessement and check substances that are hazardous to health. If you get all this right and the cost is still competetive and you are prepared to manage the cleaner correctly then this option can doe's have many benifits but the main benifit to the business is cost.
Employing a specialist cleaning company can sometimes be more expensive and how do you know they are a credible company? First of all you will need to do your research on the company, check reference and their website, speak with their managers, check who will monitor the cleaners and agree a specification to meet your needs, check training, and make sure the price is in line with your budget. The cleaning company should provide cover for sickness and holiday within the price and manage all risk assessments, control of substances so you don't have the hassell. Most companys will even supply consumables and should provide any equipment needed. Difficulties can still arise with the cleaning standards of performance of the cleaner but you will have a contact who should be on hand to address these issues.
Hope you find the guidance useful
