IndustryNews Equality and Human Rights Commission:


03 Industry News 08 BICSc Comment 08 People


12 Special Report Vax Commercial.


‘Firms are failing to protect key rights of cleaning workers’


14 BCC Comment


16 Golden Service Awards


The winner of the Best Cleaned Premises – Hospitality and the Service Delivery Innovation of the Year categories, presented at the 2013 Golden Service Awards.


20 Special Report Hydro Systems.


22 Contracts


24 Feature Street Cleaning and Graffiti Removal.


32New Products


An examination by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has re- vealed that some employers in the commercial cleaning industry are failing tomeet their responsibilities to their staff in relation to pay, holi- day or sick leave and dealing with their concerns.Many cleaners feel that their em- ployer, client firms and the public do not treat themwith the dignity and respect everyone should expect. The non-domestic cleaning


workforce is largely made up of women, migrant and older workers. While the Commis- sion found many examples of good practice in employment and working conditions, many cleaners spoke of being ‘invisible’ - the ‘lowest of the low’, being spoken to rudely and treated badly compared to other employ- ees. Significant numbers of


cleaners said they received no support when they com- plained of being harassed or bullied, and some said they were punished with extra work or worse duties for raising concerns. Others said they were afraid to report problems for fear of losing their jobs, and a few workers said they were threatened with dismissal when they told their employer they were pregnant. Despite the £8 billion con-


Does this report reflect a true picture of the UK’s cleaning sector?


Read Doug Cooke’s comments on page 14 of this issue.


tribution the cleaning indus- try makes to the British economy each year, large numbers of cleaners re- ported problems with under- payment or non-payment of wages. The report identified examples of workers being sacked for complaining about not being paid in full and on time. The industry has been the


subject of extensive out- sourcing since the 1970s and, according to the EHRC, price competition has led to a general downward pres- sure on wages and working conditions. The Commission found that longer contracts created a more positive rela- tionship between the client and the cleaning firm, gave greater job stability to clean- ers, and encouraged invest- ment in workforce development. Migrant workers’ lack of


awareness of employment rights and poor language skills left them particularly vulnerable to mistreatment. Some of the migrant work- ers interviewed had not been given an employment con- tract, while others did not have their contracts ade-


quately explained to them. A few migrants said employers used language barriers to avoid paying them in full. In some cases workers


were told by their employer they were not entitled to paid holiday or sick leave, al- though they were permanent workers with legal entitle- ments. Some felt pres- surised into going into work when they were ill and oth- ers were expected to arrange their own cover. Some cleaners said they


had nowhere to take a break as some clients did not pro- vide for this and they were denied access to staff can- teens. The Commission, which


promotes and enforces the laws that protect everyone’s right to be treated with fair- ness, dignity and respect, makes a number or recom- mendations for the industry. These include encouraging clients to commission clean- ing services at living wage rates, as a matter of good practice. It also wants them to consider what action they can take to ensure cleaners are treated with the same dignity and respect as their


own workforce and cus- tomers. The Commission is now


setting up a taskforce, chaired by EHRC deputy chair Caroline Waters, to look at issues raised by the report, identify examples of good practice, and ways of taking these forward. Caroline Waters said:


“Fairness, dignity and re- spect are values we all share. Yet the Commission uncovered some disturbing evidence of the absence of these in the treatment of many cleaning workers by supervisors, clients and the public. Cleaners are largely invisible, despite the clean- ing workforce numbering nearly half a million people. Our evidence showed that, while many workers are treated well, enjoy their job and have their rights upheld, a significant number do not. Cleaners do physically hard


Continued on Page 4. www.cleaningshow.co.uk


The Cleaning Show 2015


www.cleaninghub.net l SEPTEMBER 2014 l C&M l 3


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