Key takeawayBefore appointing a commercial cleaner, check health and safety accreditation (CHAS, SafeContractor or equivalent), insurance, staff vetting and right-to-work checks, fair pay, written specifications, risk assessments, quality audits and a clear notice period.
Switching cleaning contractors is disruptive, so it pays to choose carefully the first time. Use this checklist when comparing proposals.
- Health and safety accreditation. Ask for CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline or an equivalent SSIP scheme. Many corporate and public-sector buyers require one at pre-qualification.
- Quality and environmental standards. ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment) show audited management systems. ISO 45001 covers health and safety management.
- Training. Look for structured training, for example to British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) standards, and sector training such as infection control or food hygiene.
- Insurance. Confirm public liability, employer’s liability and, where relevant, professional indemnity, and ask for certificates.
- Vetting. Staff should have right-to-work checks and, where your setting needs it, DBS checks.
- Fair pay. Ask what cleaners are paid. Contractors paying the Real Living Wage tend to retain staff, which means consistent standards.
- Written specification. A good proposal states exactly what is cleaned, how often and to what standard.
- Risk assessments and COSHH. RAMS and COSHH assessments should be provided before work starts.
- Quality audits and reporting. Ask how quality is measured, how often audits happen and how issues are reported and fixed.
- Cover and continuity. What happens when your regular cleaner is off? Trained cover should be guaranteed.
- Sustainability. Look for low-toxicity products, microfibre systems and responsible waste handling.
- Contract terms. Check the notice period, price review mechanism and how TUPE will be handled if staff transfer.
Red flags
- Prices close to minimum wage per cleaner hour
- No site survey before quoting
- Vague specifications
- Unable to provide insurance or accreditation certificates
- Long lock-in periods with no performance clauses
Prestige FM is happy to be measured against every point on this list. Book a free site survey.
