Risk of Hiring Unlicensed Cleaners
The Potential Risks when Hiring an Unlicensed Cleaner or Subcontractor
Mrs. Clean knows there’s a tremendous difference in hiring house cleaning companies with employees vs. subcontractors, vendors or individuals.
Serious Consequences are Possible if the House Cleaner is not Insured
Mrs. Clean’s employee’s are trusted, background checked, pre-screened and bonded for your protection. If we would not trust a house cleaner in our home, we will not send them to yours. Our house cleaning service is reliable and 100% guaranteed.
Anybody can put out an ad Offering Housecleaning Service.
It’s all about the protection you’ll get when you open the door of your home or office to a house cleaner, the quality of the cleaning job, the guarantee, and who is ultimately responsible for any liability or risk when the day is done.
Have more questions or would you like a free estimate? Here’s a form to request a custom cleaning estimate online.
There is no way of Knowing who or what you’ll get when you Call.
Lower-end cleaning companies that send you a housekeeper (subcontractors) have risks. The individuals hired as a subcontractors are independent and are considered a vendor of the company you hire. They have not been trained by the company, (the IRS has very stringent rules on this) and are not covered by Labor and Industries workers compensation insurance.
You Might be Liable if the House Cleaner gets Hurt
An individual who is hired under the table is a serious risk if they are hurt or disabled on your property. Since they are not covered under Labor and Industries, there is the real possibility that they may sue you for lost wages, damages, or for medical costs.
Technically, hiring an individual makes you an employer, which means you can be held liable for injury claims, worker’s compensation insurance and unemployment insurance. It’s important to review your home liability insurance to make sure it covers service people in case of injury, and notify your insurer of the relationship.
You Could be Liable for State and Federal Employment Taxes
If you hire an individual and they do not pay employment taxes, YOU as the legal employer can be held liable for the taxes due to the IRS. Hiring a company that pays all employment taxes and carries Labor and Industries insurance coverage protects you.
You Might not be Compensated if something is Damaged
Unfortunately, many ‘cleaning companies’, and I’d guess 100% of individuals for hire, do NOT carry liability insurance. If your belongings are damaged, (and accidents do happen on occasion) you will have no easy compensation recourse.
You Might not be Compensated if Something Valuable Goes Missing
Employee honesty bonding insurance is sadly lacking in our industry. A bond is insurance that protects the client and compensates them if an employee is guilty of theft. We’ve turned down 100’s of applications from house cleaners that have current experience AND theft or other serious criminal conviction.