industry-guides
Cleaning and facilities employment contracts: employer guide
Create cleaning and facilities contracts covering client sites, travel, lone work, keys, chemicals, shifts and service-transfer risks.
Cleaning and facilities employees often work at client premises, outside normal hours and with limited supervision. The contract should define the employer, workplace, hours, travel and responsibilities clearly while separate site instructions cover local hazards and service standards.
State who employs and manages the worker
Name the employing legal entity and explain the reporting line. A client may control building access and daily priorities, but the cleaning company remains responsible for pay, employment decisions and its own health-and-safety duties.
Give day-one particulars covering role, start date, continuous service, pay, hours, holiday, work location, probation, training and notice. Provide a job description for the actual work: general cleaning, specialist cleaning, caretaking, waste handling, supervision or maintenance support.
Work locations and mobility
Identify the normal site or a reasonable geographic area. If employees may cover multiple client locations, explain allocation, notice, travel, mileage and whether they report to a depot. Avoid an unlimited mobility clause that could require distant work without regard to cost, caring responsibilities or transport.
Travel between assignments during the working day can be working time and may affect minimum-wage calculations. Record all required time, including collecting keys, equipment or supplies.
Hours and lone work
Set guaranteed or normal hours and explain overtime, absence cover, rota notice and shift changes. Cleaning frequently happens early, late or overnight, so address safe arrival, exit, breaks and emergency contact.
Complete a lone-working risk assessment for isolated buildings, cash-handling areas, aggressive occupants or restricted spaces. Provide check-in procedures and a way to summon help. Do not rely only on a clause telling employees to keep themselves safe.
Pay, time and deductions
State the rate and pay interval. Include all mandatory preparation, handover, travel between sites and required training in working-time and minimum-wage checks. If a client requires employees to arrive before the paid shift, resolve that discrepancy rather than ignoring it.
Uniform, equipment, lost keys and property deductions need a lawful contractual basis and fair process. Never make an automatic deduction for a missing item without investigating responsibility and statutory limits.
Chemicals, equipment and site safety
Provide suitable COSHH information, training, PPE and safe systems. Employees should know which products may be mixed, which surfaces need specialist treatment and how to report spills, sharps, biological material or damaged electrical equipment.
Where the role includes machinery, working at height, waste handling or clinical environments, define authorisation and competence. Refresher training should be triggered by new equipment, incidents or site change.
Keys, alarms and confidentiality
Contracts and policies can require reasonable care of keys, passes, alarm codes and client information. Keep issue and return records. Employees should report loss immediately without fear that every honest mistake will automatically become gross misconduct.
Client premises may expose employees to documents, screens, personal possessions or sensitive conversations. Use proportionate confidentiality and data-protection rules. Searches, monitoring and body-worn devices require transparent policies and lawful operation.
Service changes and TUPE
When a cleaning contract moves between suppliers or is brought in-house, the Transfer of Undertakings rules may apply. Do not terminate and rehire staff or issue replacement contracts before assessing the transfer. Employee information, consultation and changes connected with a transfer require specialist handling.
Keep accurate information on assigned employees, hours, pay, holiday, benefits, disciplinary matters and collective arrangements so it can be reviewed lawfully if a transfer arises.
Onboarding checklist
Quality standards should be measurable and achievable within paid time. Define inspection methods, correction procedures and who can vary a specification. If a client complains, investigate the facts and training before treating the report as misconduct. Employees working alone or outside client opening hours should still receive supervision, feedback and access to the same employment information as daytime teams.
Review site changes with the employee. New chemicals, rooms, security requirements or working times may require fresh training, a revised risk assessment or contractual consultation. Keep client instructions current and remove access promptly when assignments end.
- complete identity and right-to-work checks;
- identify the employer, manager and client-site contact;
- state sites, shifts, travel and cover expectations;
- issue keys and equipment against a record;
- complete site, lone-work and COSHH induction;
- explain sickness, holiday and emergency reporting;
- schedule probation and refresher reviews.
Build a cleaning employment contract using the real locations, hours and duties. Pair it with site-specific risk assessments and an employee handbook.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Obtain advice on TUPE, deductions, disputed status or major location changes.
