It’s going to be more costly initially, because I want to pay my people the living wage and I also want to offer them some prospects if they continue working for me, with professional training and development.
Overall, I think it will be worth the investment. Everyone needs to earn a decent living wage or they cannot afford to live in the area. It’s about balance – finding decent staff and being able to pay them a decent rate requires finding customers willing to pay an appropriate rate which allows me to run a sustainable business that brings in a reasonable a profit. That way everyone in the team benefits.
Having started at the bottom myself, I know what it’s like to be self-employed with no rights and potentially having to suffer the consequences of being powerless in this situation. Long term, although my costs might initially be
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higher, it’s ultimately going to mean I can offer a much better service and attract better clients, which means more financial security to counter those short term cost increases.
Bringing people onto the payroll or redefining them as dependent contractors as suggested in the Taylor Review will create a stronger team spirit, people will have to adhere to my company values and philosophy. I can start to build a stronger brand. When you are dealing with subcontractors, it is difficult to control them and you don’t always get the commitment you would like. I can also start to branch out into offering more specialist cleaning services, like soft washing with biocides and environmentally friendly services, because I can bank on more commitment from my staff, specify exactly how they work, the products they use and provide them with
specialist training. This is something that’s harder to do when you rely on outsourced contracts to do the work.
I can only speak for myself, but as a contract cleaning company owner talking to others in my position, if you can start employing people directly and give them the wages and rights they are entitled to, then you should. The whole industry needs to act responsibly and provide proper development opportunities for their staff. Some people might not want to be employed directly and you can’t force them to change, but having a core team, built up of loyal employees is important for any firm with ambitions to succeed in the service industry. So, I welcome the Taylor Review and think of it as a very helpful trigger to re-evaluate how I’m running my business.
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