Key points
- Write the scope as area, task and frequency, and set down the exclusions as carefully as the inclusions.
- Ask for the public liability figure and the certificate, not a spoken yes.
- HSE's COSHH pages put the duties on employers, so they sit with the employer of the cleaning staff. Ask the supplier how it handles them for its own people.
- Get the term, the notice period and the remedy for a missed visit in writing before you sign.
A commercial cleaning contract in London can look settled once the price is agreed, because the price is one line and easy to compare. The clauses around it decide whether the arrangement still works in month three. This guide lists what those clauses should settle, so you can put the same questions to each supplier.
It is a list of questions, not legal advice. Where a rule matters it points to the official source, and for what applies to your own premises you should ask your own adviser.
What should a commercial cleaning contract in London cover?
Eight clauses carry most of the weight. If a proposal is silent on one of them, that silence is your next question.
| Clause | Pin down | Ask the supplier |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Areas, tasks and how often each happens | What is on the list for each area? |
| Schedule | Days, times and whether people are on site | Can visits move if our hours change? |
| Access | Keys, fobs, codes, alarms and sign-in | Who holds what, and what if it fails? |
| Insurance | The public liability figure and certificate | Can we read the certificate? |
| Products and safety | Which products are used and who manages the risk | How do you handle COSHH for your own staff? |
| Exclusions and extras | What is left out, consumables included | Which jobs are billed on top? |
| Term and notice | Length of the first term, notice on each side | How do we end it? |
| Missed visits | The remedy, in writing | What happens, and by when? |
How do you write the scope and schedule of a cleaning contract?
Name the area, the task and the frequency, every time. "Offices, weekly" tells you almost nothing. "Washrooms: basins, mirrors and floors cleaned and bins emptied, every working day" tells you what you are paying for.
Regulation 9 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (opens in a new tab) says every workplace, and its furniture, furnishings and fittings, "shall be kept sufficiently clean". Those words do not say what that means for your site. Your scope does, so write it area by area.
- Reception and any area visitors see.
- The open-plan floor and individual offices.
- Meeting rooms.
- The kitchen or break room.
- Washrooms.
- Stairs, lifts and corridors that belong to your premises.
- Bins and waste: what is emptied, how often and where it goes.
Give each task its own frequency, because a task with no frequency has nothing to be measured against. Office cleaning frequency in London helps you decide those numbers.
Write the exclusions down with the same care. If carpets, windows or a deeper periodic clean sit outside the price, the contract should say so and say what each costs. Check consumables too: bin bags, hand soap and toilet roll may be in one quote and billed separately in the next.
Who carries the COSHH duties when a cleaning firm works in your office?
COSHH is about hazardous substances, which the HSE says include chemicals and products containing chemicals. HSE's COSHH page for cleaning (opens in a new tab) puts the duties on employers: assess the risks, prevent or control exposure, and give staff information, instruction and training. Its page on COSHH and cleaners (opens in a new tab) notes that some ingredients in cleaning products can cause skin allergies and asthma, and that some products are corrosive.
So the COSHH duties for cleaning staff sit with the employer of those staff. If the operatives who come to your office are employed by the supplier, the duty is the supplier's. If they are subcontracted, ask who employs them.
- Who employs the operatives who will be on your premises?
- How does the supplier assess the risks from the products it uses?
- Can it tell you which products will be used on your site?
- What protective equipment and training do its operatives receive?
For where responsibility lies between a client and a contractor, read the HSE leaflet Using contractors (opens in a new tab), which the HSE describes as covering how to select a suitable contractor, assess the risks of the work and manage and supervise it. This guide does not set out those rules, so check your own position with your adviser.
Ivory's team brings its own equipment and eco products. If you need paperwork for your records, ask on the survey request and we will say what we can supply.
How do you agree access, keys and building rules?
Agree when the clean happens and how operatives get in: before opening, after closing or while people are working, with a key, a fob, a code or someone to let them in. Vague access is how a visit gets missed without anyone noticing.
- Who holds the keys, fobs or codes, and what happens if one is lost?
- What is the plan for an alarm, a locked door or a bank holiday?
- If someone else manages the building, does it set rules for contractors, such as a sign-in or a pass?
- Are the operatives employed by the supplier or subcontracted, and how are they vetted?
If your premises sit inside a building with shared entrances or shared washrooms, say which parts are yours. The contract should cover your premises and nothing you do not control.
What should the contract say about notice and missed visits?
Put three questions to every supplier and keep the answers in writing.
- How long is the first term?
- How much notice does each side give to end the arrangement?
- When a visit is missed or falls short of the scope, what is the remedy, and how soon?
For the third, look for something concrete. Is the visit made up, credited or both? Is there a time limit? Who do you tell? A contract that says nothing here is the one most likely to leave you arguing later.
At Ivory, if part of a site is missed, tell us and we come back and re-clean it.
What if you have more than one site in London?
A second or third site multiplies the questions, not only the price. Each site has its own layout, hours and access, so each needs its own scope and schedule, even inside one agreement.
- Does each site get its own written scope and schedule?
- Can one site's service change or end without touching the others?
- Is there one contact for every site, or one for each?
- Does the insurance cover every address?
How do you ask Ivory for a commercial cleaning price?
We price commercial work after a site survey, so the scope fits your premises and not a template. Ivory carries £2m public liability, operatives are vetted, and a reply comes within 30 minutes, 8am to 10pm, seven days a week.
We cover all 32 London boroughs and the City of London. Ivory takes London contracts that cover more than one site, so list every address on the request. Hold us to the same questions as everyone else, and start from commercial cleaning in London to request a site survey. Choosing between suppliers? How to find a trustworthy cleaner in London uses the same approach.
Questions people ask
Public liability is the baseline, so ask for the figure and the certificate rather than a spoken yes. Check the figure against any minimum your lease, landlord or clients set. Ivory carries £2m public liability.
HSE's COSHH pages put the duties on employers, so they sit with the employer of the cleaning staff. If the operatives are employed by the supplier, that is the supplier, so ask who employs them and how the supplier manages the risks.
Ask the supplier whether each site gets its own written scope, schedule and access arrangements inside the one agreement. Ivory takes contracts that cover more than one London site, so list every address on your survey request.
That depends on what the contract says, so ask before you sign. Look for a written remedy: whether the visit is made up, credited or both, whether there is a time limit and who you tell. At Ivory, tell us and we come back.
Request a site survey. We price commercial work after the survey so the scope matches your premises, and you hear back within 30 minutes.
Sources
Written by M.A. Published .
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