Signing a cleaning contract feels like a small job. It isn't. Get the wording wrong and you're tied to a service that doesn't fit your building, sometimes for a year.
Most people rush it. Pick someone, sign, get on with the day. Then a month in, the niggles start. Was the kitchen meant to be included? Who covers the cleaner when she's off? And if the standard drops, how do you actually get out again?
So here's the stuff to sort before you sign. And if you're already lumbered with contract cleaners who've stopped pulling their weight, the back half covers how to move on without your building falling into a state while you do it.
Price and frequency aren't a contract. Not really. A proper commercial cleaning contract says what gets cleaned, how often, who carries the risk when something goes wrong, and how either side walks away. Read it line by line.
Scope. Where most fallouts begin. "General office cleaning" tells you nothing. You want the actual rooms and the actual jobs named. Desks and bins, obviously. But also the washrooms, the internal glass, the kitchen nobody wants to touch. If carpets and deep cleans aren't in the monthly price, the contract should say so out loud.
Cover. Daily, three times a week, whatever you've agreed, get it written down. Then the question nobody asks until it bites. Who turns up when your regular cleaner is off sick? Decent contractors have that sorted already. The rest leave you with a dusty office and a sorry text.
Insurance. Public liability at the very least. Ask to see the certificate. An actual certificate, not a comforting line on the website. Someone slips, a laptop gets knocked off a desk, and it matters a lot who's carrying that risk.
Vetting. These people hold your keys and work in an empty building after hours. So ask how they're checked and trained. Any firm worth its salt won't bat an eyelid at the question.
Keys and access. Alarm codes, spare keys, who's allowed in and when. On some sites that's a bigger deal than the cleaning itself. Get it down in writing, including what happens to the keys if you ever part ways.
Standards and checks. How do you know the work's getting done to the level you were promised? A decent contract spells out the checks. Spot audits, a supervisor who actually drops in, a clear way to flag a miss and get it put right. Without any of that you're just trusting it happens.
Getting out. The clause everyone skims. How much notice do you owe? Can you tweak the service partway through? A year's lock-in with a nasty exit clause should make you stop and think, especially if things slide early and you're left waiting it out.
| What to check | Why it matters | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of work | Stops the "that wasn't included" rows later | Vague lines like "general cleaning" |
| Cover | Keeps standards steady when staff are off | No mention of who covers sick days |
| Insurance | Protects you if something gets damaged | Won't show you a certificate |
| Keys and access | Keeps keys and alarm codes accounted for | No key-holding policy in writing |
| Standards and checks | Proves the work's done, not just promised | No audits or supervisor visits |
| Notice period | Lets you leave if the service slips | Long lock-in, heavy exit clause |
| Pricing basis | Shows what you're actually paying for | One lump figure, no breakdown |
Some businesses weigh up hiring their own cleaner against bringing in a contract cleaning firm. Both work. They just come with different headaches.
Take someone on in-house and the cleaner is yours. You set the hours, you know exactly who's in the building. But you carry the rest of it too. Holiday cover, sick days, buying and storing the kit, sorting the vetting, scrambling for a replacement the day they hand their notice in. Go with contract cleaners and all of that sits with the company instead. Here's the rough shape of the two.
| What you're weighing up | In-house cleaner | Contract cleaners |
|---|---|---|
| Cover when they're off sick | On you to sort, or go without | Handled by the company |
| Kit and cleaning products | You buy them and store them | Brought in as part of the service |
| Vetting and training | Your job to check and train | Sorted before they set foot on site |
| When someone leaves | You recruit and cover the gap | They replace, you carry on |
| Day-to-day managing | Yours to run | Supervised by the contractor |
| Extra jobs like carpets | Hire someone in separately | Add it to the existing contract |
None of it is one-size-fits-all. Small setup, someone about most of the day, in-house can tick along fine. Bigger site, or anywhere the cleaning needs doing out of hours, and most people land on a contract.
Ask three cleaning companies what a contract runs to and you'll get three shrugs, or three numbers plucked out of the air. Here's the straight version. Anyone quoting you before they've seen the place is guessing.
It hinges on the building. A single open-plan floor is a different job to a warehouse with three washrooms and a canteen. Bolt on out-of-hours access, or anything specialist, and it moves again. No two sites read the same.
That's why we survey first. Walk the site, work out what it really takes, then quote against what's in front of us. Slower than firing a number back on the call, sure. But it holds, instead of creeping the second we're through the door.
You usually know. The standard dropped and never climbed back. A different face every fortnight, so nobody learns where anything lives. Messages that vanish into thin air the moment you flag a problem. One rough week happens to anyone. A run of them is the site telling you something.
Loads of businesses stick with cleaners they've long outgrown, purely because changing sounds like a headache. It really doesn't have to be. The bit that trips people up is TUPE.
What TUPE is, in plain English. It stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. Long name, simple idea. Swap contractors while the same cleaning carries on at the same site, and the existing cleaners usually come across to the new company on the terms they already had. The rules call it a service provision change. The outgoing lot have to pass staff details over at least 28 days before the handover.
We do these all the time. More often than not the cleaners who already know your building stay put, and we run the transfer so you're not stuck in the middle refereeing it.
How a clean switch goes. Give notice on the old contract, but read the exit terms before you do anything. Get the new firm in to survey. Line up the TUPE side between old and new. Pick a start date that meets your notice period. In that order there's no gap, the building stays clean the whole way through, and your team barely clocks the change.
There's no flat rate worth quoting, and anyone who reels one off down the phone hasn't seen your building. It comes down to the site, the work involved, and how often you need us in. That's exactly why we survey first, then quote against what's actually there rather than a guess.
Scope of work, frequency, cover for when staff are off, insurance, key-holding and access, a clear pricing basis, and notice terms you can live with. If a contract for office cleaning services glosses over any of those, ask why before you put your name to it.
Depends on your notice terms, so read the exit clause first. Plenty of contracts sit on a rolling notice of a month or a few. If the service has genuinely slipped, you may have more room than you'd assume. Worth actually reading the wording before you decide you're stuck.
Usually a few weeks, start to finish. Your notice period sets most of it, plus the TUPE process where it applies. Since the old contractor has to hand staff details over 28 days ahead, getting the conversation going early is what keeps the changeover smooth with no gap in cover.
Look past the shiny website. Ask for references from places like yours. Check they survey before they quote, not after. Get the insurance and the cover in writing. And local does count, since a cleaner based near you can be on site quicker when something goes wrong.
Whether you're setting up a first contract or done with one that isn't working, the fix starts with a quick chat. Tell us about your building today and we'll get you booked in for a survey. The sooner you do, the sooner it's sorted.
Get in touch today