In our weekly series, readers can email in with any financial dilemma and enter the Money Moral Maze.
Are your friends racking up big drinks tabs and then trying to split the bill equally, is your partner overspending on your joint account? No matter your dilemma, email in anonymously, and the i money and business team will do our best to answer.
This week’s dilemma can be found below – email us at money@inews.co.uk with yours.
Dilemma
Both my husband and I have busy working lives and four children, so we don’t have much spare time between us.
The very little time we do all get together – usually of an evening, when we aren’t ferrying our brood to and from their afterschool clubs – or at the weekend, we don’t want to be spending it cleaning, we want to be making memories together.
But our children are messy. We live in a four-bed house, and I can safely say I haven’t seen the lovely carpet we had put down in my eldest two’s bedroom in years.
So, to alleviate some of that pressure, we decided to hire a cleaner and it was one of the best decisions we ever made, but now we’re having second thoughts.
She comes once a week and up until this summer, she charged £20 an hour, which I thought was reasonable.
From the skirting boards to the oven, she wouldn’t leave a speck of dust behind. I would often big her up to my husband, who has never really seen eye to eye with her, but recently I have noticed her standards have started to slip.
Now, she is charging £25 an hour, citing the cost of living crisis as the main reason for the increase. Of course, I think this is fair enough, but we are being hit hard by it too, and in recent months (I might be partly to blame because I am a chatterbox), she is spending more time gossiping about her week than cleaning my house.
I really like her, and I’d feel terrible saying anything, especially because I know she is struggling financially, but I think I’m starting to agree with my husband – I don’t think it’s on.
What should I do? Should I come up with another excuse for sacking her or be honest?
Emily Braeger, i‘s money reporter, replies
You might have seen this coming, but honesty is the best policy.
I know it is an awkward subject to broach, particularly when money is involved, and I know you’ve become pals over the years, but at the end of the day, you’re paying her to do a service.
Rather than accusing her of dropping the ball, ask her if she is doing okay, as you have noticed she isn’t as enthusiastic when she comes around to clean anymore. I would be ready with specific examples because I’m sure she will ask what you mean.
By doing this, you are not only making it clear that you’ve noticed a change in the standard to which she is cleaning your home but also making her aware of her errors which may mean she’ll pay extra attention to these areas next time.
You never know, she might thank you for bringing it up. I’m sure she isn’t doing it deliberately – it sounds like she just really enjoys chatting to you when she comes to your house and gets side tracked.
I think, as prices are rises everywhere we turn at the moment, her raising rates by £5 an hour is reasonable. But you are well within your rights to bring this issue up, particularly as you are paying her more for her time.
Reassess the situation in a few weeks’ time after speaking to her and see if she has listened to your concerns. If you’re still not impressed, maybe schedule for her to come when you know you aren’t going to be home to avoid the distraction of catching up with you.
Sacking her at this stage, if you want to carry on the nice friendship you seem to have with her, seems drastic. So, just see how it goes – I’m sure she will change her ways and go back to the excellent cleaner you used to big up to your husband.
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