ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A campaign to promote good working conditions in the cleaning industry has been launched by an industry-led taskforce set up by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The taskforce is made up of businesses, trade associations and trade unions.

The Commission convened the taskforce following publication of its report The Invisible Workforce: employment practices in the cleaning sector. This set out EHRC's findings on employment practices in the commercial cleaning sector in England, Scotland and Wales.

The report found many examples of good practice. These included cleaning firms with policies in place to promote equality and also clients who enter into longer-term contracts. These help firms to develop positive relationships with suppliers and also encourage investment in workforce development, leading to greater job stability.

However the report also found some employers did not provide contracts to staff. And some failed to pay their employees in full, or to pay sickness or holiday leave entitlements Many cleaning operatives are female migrants, who spoke of being ‘invisible', of being treated badly compared to other employees, and said they did not understand their rights.

So the taskforce has developed principles for responsible procurement. The purpose of this is to encourage clients who buy cleaning services to consider the impact of procurement on the employment practices of cleaning providers. The taskforce also developed a poster to highlight the value of cleaning operatives, and Your Rights at Work postcards for cleaning firms to send to their employees explaining their employment rights.

Caroline Waters, equality and human rights commissioner and taskforce chair said: "The Commission's role is to promote and enforce the laws that protect our rights to fairness, dignity and respect. It has been a great privilege to have worked over the past year or so with so many people who are committed to improving the working conditions of cleaning operatives."

Click here for more details of the campaign