Cleaners are responsible for the cleaning and tidying of commercial and residential buildings, such as offices, shops and homes.
They are employed to perform a variety of different cleaning tasks, including hoovering, mopping, dusting, sweeping, maintaining supply rooms and heavy cleaning tasks such as oven cleaning.
This guide includes a full cleaner’s job description and a breakdown of everything you need to know about the position, including salaries, skills, qualifications and more.
Guide contents
- Cleaner job description
- How much do cleaners earn?
- What does a cleaner do?
- Requirements, skills and qualifications
- Who employs cleaners?
- Which junior jobs progress to more senior cleaning roles?
Cleaner job description
Cleaner |AB Cleaning Solutions
About AB Cleaning Solutions
At AB Cleaning Solutions our team have a reputation for delivering the best results. We offer a top-quality cleaning service that gives our clients peace of mind.
About the role
We are looking for a cleaner who takes pride in their work, to join our friendly and successful team in delivering an outstanding cleaning service to our customers in a mixture of offices and retail outlets.
Responsibilities
- Performing a range of cleaning tasks including hoovering, dusting, mopping and cleaning washroom facilities
- Working across a number of different buildings including offices and retail outlets
- Tracking and performing maintenance tasks such as routine inspections
- Operating cleaning machinery such as dishwashers and washing machines
- Maintaining supply rooms and ensuring they are always stocked with the appropriate cleaning products
- Making minor repairs and adjustments when required
- Updating management on any issues or larger repairs that need to be fixed
- Following all health and safety regulations, ensuring all cleaning products are accounted for and stored safely away at the end of each shift
Location & commitments
- The role is based in Waterway Business Park, Plymouth
- This is a full-time position, Monday to Friday working 4 hours a day (20 hours a week in total)
- These will be split shifts (in the morning and evening) as cleaning needs to be carried out outside of the employer’s business hours
- Overtime may be required during peak seasons
Candidate requirements
- Previous experience in a similar cleaning position is preferred but not essential as training will be provided
- Ability to be flexible, work efficiently and manage your time well is essential
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills needed
- Must be thorough and pay good attention to detail
- Ability to work alone without supervision is a must
Contact us to apply
If this sounds like you and you’re looking to join a friendly and successful company, please send your CV to emmagreenwood@absolutions.co.uk.
How much do cleaners earn?
Cleaning positions offer an average salary of £18,579 – this is relatively low, but progression and promotion opportunities are available
Cleaner salaries in the UK
- Low: 16,622
- Average: £18,579
- High: £21,000
Source: Total Jobs
Cleaner salaries will vary hugely depending on:
- The type of premises being cleaned – e.g. does the cleaner work within office buildings, private homes, or factories?
- The type of employment – e.g. are they self-employed? Or do they work for an agency?
- General salary factors – such as specialist skills, level of experience, skills and location
For example, a self-employed cleaner in a well-funded industry such as private housekeeping, where skills are in high demand, will normally earn more than an agency cleaner working in the public sector, where budgets are limited.
Bear in mind that these are average figures taken from job advert samples, and they do not include extra benefits such as staff discounts, bonuses, overtime and non-financial benefits such as health insurance.
What does a cleaner do?
Now we’ll look in more detail at the responsibilities section of the job description, breaking down the typical tasks that cleaners carry out in an average week:
- Supplying facilities – Ensuring that all designed facilities are stocked/supplied with all the appropriate products, such as hygiene products
- Hoovering and mopping – Regular cleaning and maintenance of floor spaces
- Dusting and polishing – maintain a clean and professional appearance of furniture
- Emptying waste – Keeping areas free of rubbish for health and safety, and cleanliness
- Heavy cleaning – Deep cleaning tasks such as oven cleaning or end-of-tenancy cleans
- Minor maintenance tasks – Occasionally carrying out minor repairs, such as replacing a light bulb
- Taking stock – Maintaining supply rooms and ensuring they are always stocked with the appropriate products
- Updating management – In the case of bigger issues or repairs, updating the management or senior staff so they can make arrangements to have these solved
- Following safety regulations – Cleaners must be aware of and ensure they follow, all health and safety regulations
What do cleaners need?
Cleaners need a range of skills in order to carry out the job efficiently and to the highest standard. Some positions will also require a set level of experience to back this up.
Of course, the exact requirements will depend on the seniority of the role and the industry, but generally speaking here’s what’s needed.
Experience
Junior cleaning jobs don’t usually require too much previous experience if any, though some employers may list previous experience as beneficial in the job advert.
Intermediate to senior cleaning roles will usually require a few years of experience in a similar cleaning position – the more experience, the better. This is particularly true for specialist industries/roles.
Skills
As well as some of the skills mentioned above (like supplying facilities, cleaning and taking stock) there are also some more generic or “soft” skills that are vital for cleaners.
- Communication: Written and verbal communication for dealing with staff, colleagues and customers, and for being able to understand and follow instructions
- Time management: Managing time effectively to ensure all facilities are cleaned and maintained within the stipulated time frame (e.g every morning before the business opens)
- Reliability: Cleanliness is important, therefore cleaners must be punctual and reliable
- Attention to detail: Being thorough and paying great attention to detail to ensure all facilities are maintained to the highest standard
- Flexibility: Being flexible and able to pick up additional/longer shifts during busy periods (such as summer holidays and other peak seasons)
- Problem-solving: Dealing with unexpected issues in a timely and professional manner
Cleaner qualifications
Qualifications are not essential to start a career as a cleaner, as many employers value experience over qualifications.
That said, there are some cleaning qualifications that are recognised across the profession and can help candidates to land a job, in addition to helping them perform better in their roles.
Cleaning and Support Service Skills
Cleaning and Support Services Skills is a nationally recognised qualification for cleaners from Pearson Edexcel.
These qualifications are for anyone who works as a cleaner or cleaning supervisor or is looking to join the industry.
The framework covers everything from teamwork, safety, and simple skills, through to managing a team and training others.
There are 3 levels to this Cleaning and Support Service qualification;
- Cleaning and Support Services Skills (L1)
- Cleaning and Support Services Skills (L2)
- Cleaning Supervision Skills (L3)
Level 2 Certificate in Cleaning
This Certificate in Cleaning is one of the most popular cleaning courses in the UK and is ideal for anybody who wants to work in the industry.
British Cleaning Course
The British Cleaning Course is a CPD accredited qualification which teaches students proper British cleaning procedures.
Cleaning Business Diploma Course
The Cleaning Business Diploma from the Centre of Excellence is a more advanced qualification for those looking to start up their own cleaning business.
What is expected of cleaners?
Typically, cleaners will be expected to commit the following:
- Full-time hours – 30 – 40 hours per week which may be done in shifts (part-time cleaners may be expected to commit to 8 – 15 hours a week, also on a shift basis)
- Evening or weekend shifts – Cleaning normally needs to be carried out outside of the employer’s core business hours
- Location – for the most part cleaners will be based in the office, or facilities of their chosen employer
- Additional travel – agency workers may be expected to travel to different sites for cleaning jobs
Cleaner benefits
Benefits packages will vary hugely for cleaners, usually based on the size of the company they work for and whether they’re on the payroll, part of an agency or self-employed. But some of the most common benefits include:
- Seasonal bonuses – such as Christmas/end of the year bonuses
- Pension
- Health insurance
- Staff discounts
Who employs cleaners?
Maintenance and cleanliness are crucial and as a result, cleaners are in high demand across a vast range of industries in the private and public sectors.
Most companies who occupy any kind of building (office, factory, shop, restaurant etc.) will need cleaners on a weekly and sometimes even daily basis.
In fact, there are an estimated 448,400 professionals working in the UK cleaning industry right now.
Typical employers for cleaners include companies within:
- Cleaning agencies – Companies who supply outsourced cleaning services to other companies
- Catering
- Retail
- Public sector – such as schools
- Healthcare
- Construction
- Residential – such as private homes
- Care/social care
- Professional services – office buildings
- Hospitality
- Leisure and tourism
Which junior jobs progress to cleaner roles?
Previous experience is not usually necessary for junior cleaning positions, however, there are some positions that can boost a candidate’s chances of landing a job. These include:
Cleaning assistant
Cleaning assistants are responsible for taking on basic cleaning tasks such as hoovering, mopping and washing under the guidance of more senior members of staff.
Cleaner apprentice
Cleaning and support service apprenticeships allow students to learn the key skills required to become a cleaner and naturally progress into a junior position.
Which senior jobs do cleaners progress to?
Cleaning roles offer plenty of opportunities to move into more senior and higher paid jobs, such as:
Cleaning manager
Over time and as they gain more experience, cleaners can progress to become managers, overseeing the cleaning and maintenance of their specified facilities and coordinating other cleaning staff.
Senior housekeeper
Senior housekeepers are responsible for ensuring a high quality of cleaning service for an entire residential building (usually for a wealthy family). They will lead a team, overseeing and coordinating a number of cleaning and maintenance staff.
Cleaning technician
With enough experience (and maybe some additional qualifications) under their belt, cleaners can go into specialist areas to become a cleaning technician. For example, aircraft or healthcare cleaning technicians.
Cleaners job description – conclusion
Cleaning staff are essential to businesses in both the public and private sector, making them in high demand across the UK.
Offering fair salaries with the potential to progress and earn more, this can be a very rewarding industry to work in with plenty of opportunities to work in a variety of different sectors.