ADVICE & OPINION COMMENT 26 FEBRUARY 2016 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY FAIR DEAL FOR CLEANERS As a member of two of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Cleaning Task Force’s working groups, Phil Smith, corporate relationship director at Facilicom UK is well placed to explain its campaign to improve the working conditions of those employed in the cleaning industry BENEFITS FOR ALL Facilicom is a family business where we appreciate that people are our greatest asset. We believe it is counterproductive not to treat our colleagues with dignity and respect and pay them a fair wage. We also pay statutory sick pay as a minimum and ensure all our operatives have access to welfare amenities at their place of work. We want to be an employer of choice, not last resort. When cleaning operatives are treated with dignity and respect, and paid a fair wage there are benefits for everyone. The operative has a better quality of life, the employer sees lower rates of churn – reducing recruitment and training costs – and better attendance rates, and the client gets a better cleaning service from a fully committed worker. RAISING AWARENESS OF THE INVISIBLE WORKFORCE By taking the lead to improve the pay and conditions of cleaning operatives, Facilicom can also help deliver benefits to our clients as they get a happier, more skilled and productive workforce and a better working environment. All colleagues at Facilicom can take part in a communications and customer service skills training package we call ‘Hostmanship’. This helps to instil people skills in our operatives and gives them the confidence to communicate with colleagues and customers and be a more visible and valued part of the workforce. Back in 2013 when it was putting together its report (published as The Invisible Workforce in 2014) the EHRC found some reluctance from the cleaning industry to participate in the process. Whether this was due to fear of criticism, time constraints or just a belief that the nothing would change is unclear, but when Facilicom was offered the chance to get involved in improving working conditions in the sector we jumped at it and have been involved ever since. Following the publication of the report, the Commission convened an industry-led Cleaning Taskforce – chaired by commissioner Caroline Waters – to develop practical and cost-effective solutions to the concerns raised. The task force and its working groups looked at examples of existing good and bad practice in the industry to develop their understanding of the issues and the Task Force has now “committed to improving working conditions for cleaning operatives across the cleaning industry by: ÍÍ Promoting employers’ compliance with employment law and improving workers’ understanding of employment rights ÍÍ Improving the impact of public and private sector procurement of cleaning services on employment conditions in the sector and; ÍÍ Encouraging the respectful treatment of cleaning operatives.” The three working groups developed products to help people involved in the industry meet those commitments: ÍÍ A Know Your Rights briefing pack and pocket sized guides ÍÍ Responsible Procurement Principles ÍÍ A Dignity and Respect poster campaign. They are all available on the EHRC website and I’d encourage everyone connected to the cleaning industry to take a look and see how they can play their part. RESPONSIBLE PROCUREMENT There are a number of contributory factors to the negative perceptions of the cleaning industry and those who work in it. A key one is the procurement process. A combination of tough economic conditions and an increasing move towards outsourced services puts a constant downward cost pressure on cleaning firms with a knock-on impact on working conditions and pay. Shortterm contracts can also negatively impact investment in training and development with a resultant deterioration in worker conditions and service levels for clients. The drive for the cheapest price at all costs puts unreasonable pressures on employers, whose ability to create a proper and decent working environment for their operatives is severely hampered. This can include the ability to pay holiday and sick pay or provide uniforms. Although it is illegal to enforce a pay cut on employees without their consent, unless they are bound by a collective agreement, we still hear of cases where that seems to be happening in order to drive tender prices down. By contrast, at Facilicom we offer a dual tender process where we show the cost differential between a standard contract and one that pays the Living Wage. We understand that it will not always be possible to pay the higher wage, but believe that procurers should always at least consider the two options. Paying the Living Wage does not have to mean incurring huge costs and the benefits are demonstrable and lasting. We have developed models which show how increased costs are mitigated through efficient and innovative approaches. DIGNITY AND RESPECT FOR ALL In a sector that employs around half a million people and contributes over £8 billion to the British economy every year, providing a vital service ensuring our workplaces, hospitals, schools, transport and public spaces are clean and pleasant to use, it shouldn’t be too much for cleaning operatives to ask to be noticed, appreciated and treated with dignity and respect and it doesn’t have to cost the earth to make that happen. The availability of longer contracts, payment of the Living Wage and increase in daytime cleaning which offers workers more sociable hours are promising signs. So it’s not all doom and gloom in the industry. The cleaning sector is becoming more ‘professionalised’ and many cleaning operatives are already treated well, get job satisfaction and have their employment rights upheld. Since fairness, dignity and respect are values we all share, we would hope that such treatment can become universal.
CHT February 2016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above