ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A new website and app designed in New Zealand would allow greater monitoring of cleaners by their clients. But a trades union has warned warned an "extreme level" of monitoring could lead to unrealistic expectations on cleaning staff.

Developers Kenneth Ho and Charles La say they have launched spongehero.co.nz to address shortcomings within the current cleaning market.

Ho said the site used an algorithm to pair independent cleaning contractors with customers based on a number of criteria relevant to their needs and the cleaner's availability.

"The new cloud based platform will use technology to allow customers greater flexibility and efficiency when making bookings and monitoring the quality of service," he explained.

Other upgrades would include the ability for clients to monitor when a cleaner has arrived and when a cleaner leaves the property in real time. Clients would also be able to tell how long it takes the cleaner to perform the service, and the actual work that has been done.

Unite Union president Gerard Hehir said it was fine to monitor when an employee arrived and left work, but monitoring people while they were at work would be of great concern.

He said by allowing an employer more visibility around the time it took a cleaner to perform a service, unrealistic expectations were created.

"On a continuous basis the problem with monitoring is it gives employers the idea that because they can do that, a person should be working 100 per cent of the time, and that is not realistic for any of us."