Why Most Cleaning Companies Don't Pay Between Jobs (And Why That's a Problem) | DayMaker Cleaning Co.
You hire a cleaning company. They quote you a price. Someone shows up, cleans your house, and leaves.
What you don't see is what happens between your house and the next one.
Most cleaning companies don't pay their workers for that time. Not for the drive. Not for the 20 minutes it takes to get across town. Not for the time spent loading and unloading supplies.
Let me explain how this works, why it's a problem, and why it should matter to you as a customer.
How the Typical Payment Model Works
Here's the reality for most cleaners in our industry:
They get paid per job, not per hour worked.
A cleaner might get $30-50 for cleaning your house. Then they drive 15 minutes to the next house and get another $30-50 for that one. Then another 20 minutes to the next job.
Those drive times? Unpaid. The time loading supplies into their car? Unpaid. The time unloading at your house? Unpaid.
They're only getting paid for the actual time spent actively cleaning inside your home.
Why This Happens
This model exists because companies can get away with it.
Even companies with actual employees structure their pay this way. They pay "per job" or "per house" instead of hourly for the full day.
So an employee gets paid for the 2 hours they spend cleaning your house, but not for the 20 minutes driving to the next one, or the 15 minutes after that.
Technically, if they're employees, this is probably illegal. Employees are supposed to be paid for all time worked under their employer's control. That includes drive time between job sites that the employer scheduled.
But enforcement is weak. Workers don't know their rights. And companies know they can get away with it, so they do.
It saves them money. That's really all it comes down to.
What This Actually Means for Cleaners
Let's break down a typical day for a cleaner working under this model:
8:00 AM: Leave the office, drive 20 minutes to first client (unpaid)
8:20 AM: Arrive, unload supplies (unpaid)
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM: Clean house (paid $40)
10:30 AM: Load supplies, drive 25 minutes to next house (unpaid)
10:55 AM: Arrive, unload (unpaid)
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Clean house (paid $45)
1:00 PM: Load up, drive 15 minutes to next house (unpaid)
1:15 PM: Arrive, unload (unpaid)
1:20 PM - 3:20 PM: Clean house (paid $50)
3:20 PM: Load up, drive 30 minutes back to office (unpaid)
Total time worked: 7 hours and 50 minutes
Total time paid: 6 hours
Total earned: $135
That's $17.30 per hour for their actual working time, not the $22.50 per hour it looks like if you only count the cleaning time.
And they're using their own car, paying for their own gas, and putting hundreds of miles per week on their personal vehicle.
Why This Is Mean (And Wrong)
Let's be honest about what this practice really is: It's exploiting workers to maximize company profit.
These cleaners are working a full day. They're driving between your house and the next house because the company scheduled them that way. They're following the company's route, the company's client list, the company's schedule.
But they're not getting paid for a significant chunk of their working time.
This isn't like a contractor who sets their own schedule and decides how to spend their day. This is someone doing what their employer tells them to do, but only getting paid for part of it.
And it's mean. These are people working hard, doing physical labor, trying to make a living. And they're being told "sorry, we only pay you when you're actively inside a client's home."
Would you accept a job where your employer only paid you for some of your working hours? Of course not. But that's exactly what's happening to cleaners across the industry.
Why Companies Do This
Simple: It's cheaper.
If you only pay per job instead of per hour worked, your labor costs are lower. You don't pay for drive time, prep time, or any of the other work that goes into running a cleaning business.
You can also schedule more jobs per cleaner per day because you're not worried about their total hours. Pack in five houses even if it means 90 minutes of total drive time, because you're not paying for that anyway.
It maximizes company profit at the worker's expense. That's the bottom line.
How This Affects You as a Customer
You might be thinking, "Okay, that's bad for the workers, but how does it affect me?"
Here's how:
Rushed Work
When cleaners are only paid per job and not for their time, they're incentivized to rush through your house to get to the next one. More houses per day equals more money. Taking time to do thorough work equals less money.
High Turnover
People don't stay in jobs where they're exploited. When cleaners realize they're working full days but only getting paid for part of it, they quit. High turnover means you're constantly getting new, inexperienced people who don't know your home.
Workers Who Don't Care
If your employer doesn't care enough about you to pay you fairly, why would you care enough about them to do great work? When workers are treated poorly, quality suffers.
Stressed, Burnt Out Cleaners
Driving all over town, unpaid, rushing between jobs to make enough money to survive? That's exhausting. And exhausted, stressed workers don't do their best work.
When companies treat their workers badly, you get worse service. It's that simple.
How We Do It Differently
Our employees are incredibly important to us. Not just in a "we say nice things in our marketing" way. In a "we actually structure our business to treat them well" way.
Here's what that looks like:
Real Employees, Not Contractors
Everyone on our team is an employee. Not a contractor. That means they get:
Hourly wages for all time worked (including drive time)
Benefits
Paid time off
Workers' compensation
Payroll taxes paid properly
Company Vehicle Provided
We provide a company vehicle for our teams. They're not racking up thousands of miles on their personal cars. They're not paying for gas out of their own pocket. They're not dealing with extra wear and tear on their vehicles.
Paid for Their Full Working Day
As soon as they arrive at the office, our team clocks in for the day, they're getting paid. Drive time between houses? Paid. Loading and unloading supplies? Paid. Their full working day is their paid day.
Scheduled Efficiently
Because we're paying for their time, we schedule efficiently. We're not packing in six houses with 90 minutes of drive time just because we can get away with not paying for it. We route smartly so our team isn't spending half their day in a vehicle.
Why We're Willing to Pay More
This costs us more. Significantly more than the industry standard.
We could absolutely save money by switching to only paying per job, and making our team absorb all the costs and unpaid time.
But we won't.
Because our employees are human beings who deserve to be paid fairly for their work. All of their work. Not just the parts that are convenient for us to pay for.
And because we know that when we treat our team well, they do better work. They stay longer. They care more. They take pride in what they do.
That directly benefits you. You get consistent, quality cleaning from people who actually want to be there.
What This Means When You're Choosing a Company
When you're getting quotes, you're probably comparing prices. That's normal.
But now you know: that lower price might be coming from somewhere.
It might be coming from cleaners who aren't being paid for drive time. From contractors who have no benefits and are scrambling to fit in as many jobs as possible. From workers who are being exploited to keep your price low.
Is that really the service you want to support?
We're not saying you need to choose us specifically. But we are saying you should ask questions:
"Are your cleaners actual employees or contractors?"
"Do they get paid for drive time between jobs?"
"Do you provide a company vehicle or do they use their own cars?"
The answers will tell you a lot about how that company operates and what their priorities are.
The Bottom Line
Most cleaning companies don't pay their workers between jobs. It's legal (sort of), it's common, and it saves them money.
But it's also mean, exploitative, and bad for everyone involved.
It's bad for workers who are putting in full days but only getting paid for part of them.
It's bad for you because rushed, burnt-out, exploited workers who might not do great work.
We choose to do it differently because we believe people should be paid fairly for all the time they work. Even when it costs us more. Even when it makes us less "competitive" on price.
Our employees are incredibly important to us. Not as a cost to minimize, but as people whose livelihoods and wellbeing matter.
That's not just the right thing to do. It's also what makes us better at our jobs.
When you choose a cleaning company that treats its workers well, you're not just making an ethical choice. You're making a smart one. Because happy, fairly-paid employees do better work.
And isn't that what you're actually paying for?
