Woman Cheered for Firing Cleaner Just Before Christmas: 'That's It'

The internet has backed a woman for firing her cleaner, just weeks before Christmas.

In a post on the popular online discussion site Mumsnet, the woman asked if they had been unfair for firing the cleaner so close to the holidays.

Using a database of over 30 million job profiles, Zippia estimates that there are more than 1.5 million cleaners in the U.S., with an average wage of around $25,500 per year.

In the Mumsnet post, the poster explained: "I've had a cleaner for approximately 9 months and literally only the first two visits were ok. Every single other time she's been 5 to 10 minutes late—sometimes 15 minutes—and leaves between 15-30 mins early. The first visits the cleaning was to an ok standard but then things started going downhill."

The woman even recalled a moment that she realized the cleaner was not even working: "I went up [the stairs] one day and the vacuum was just on—she wasn't actually vacuuming.

"I asked can we please have a chat and I'd let her know my expectations and she could let me know what was and wasn't working for her as I wanted to give her a chance," explained the poster.

But despite this conversation, the cleaning didn't seem to be improving, and the cleaner started to cancel appointments at the last minute.

"I booked in an extra two days for the week before Xmas and she agreed—now she's cancelled and I've had to say that's it," wrote the poster.

"Apparently I'm out of order for firing someone so close to Christmas when I had booked extra hours, and she says she had factored that in and needed the extra money for Christmas but I've tried to be reasonable and I'm getting nowhere at all."

Maritza Castillo Calle, vice president of the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and herself a former cleaner, told Newsweek: "Cleaning is an extremely precarious job, often done for poverty pay and without basic worker rights.

"When cleaners are classed as self-employed and work alone in private homes, there may be no contract at all, no due process, no protection from unfair dismissal and no independent oversight. Where there is no accountability and the boss' rule is law, workers are extremely vulnerable."

However, in the comments, other Mumsnet users praised the poster for firing the cleaner, despite the proximity to the festive season.

"You've tried to work things out and it's not worked. You can't keep on paying for a service that's not being provided," wrote one commenter.

Another replied: "I'm a cleaner, her behavior is totally unacceptable. I would have sacked her after the vacuum being left on incident. You've bent over backwards. Time for a new cleaner."

"You gave her ample opportunities to change, to discuss work problems and she chose to do neither," said another commenter.

When it comes to employing a cleaner, Castillo Calle had some advice: "Our advice for employers is simple: Do the right thing. Use a contract and make it fair. Pay a living wage. And if issues do arise, respond as you would want your own employer to respond to you—by giving you a fair hearing and offering support.

"Workers who rely on their wage to survive will do their best not to let you down," said Castillo Calle, "so if something's going wrong, it's most likely for reasons beyond their control, such as illness or caregiving responsibilities.

"You would hope that your employer would offer flexible hours in such a situation, and that is what this comes down to: treating others as you would wish to be treated and not just at Christmas time.

"And if you are not treating your cleaner with respect, you had better hope they're not in the IWGB, or you may come home to find a samba band and a throng of protesters outside your house," Castillo Calle said.

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.