Running a cleaning business

A small cleaning business brings a lot of rules with it. They cover staff, clients, tax and safety, and they apply whether you run a franchise or work on your own.

Paying your staff

From April 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over. The rate for 18 to 20 year olds is £10.85, and for under-18s and apprentices it is £8.

HMRC counts travel between clients' homes as working time for the minimum wage. The journey from home to the first client does not count.

Almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year, up to 28 days. Someone working three days a week gets at least 16.8 days.

Employed or self-employed

Someone who cleans for you might be your employee, or they might be self-employed. GOV.UK lists some signs of self-employment. The person gives quotes to get work and sends invoices. Nobody supervises them directly, and they get no holiday or sick pay.

HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool gives HMRC's view of a worker's status. HMRC says it will stand by the result, as long as the information you give is accurate.

An employer must check that each new worker has the right to work in the UK. An employer who has not made a correct check can face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker.

New domestic clients and the 14-day rule

When a householder agrees a booking with you at their home, or books online or by phone, they usually have 14 days to cancel. That comes from the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.

You should not start work inside those 14 days unless the client asks you to. For a booking made at their home, the request has to be on paper or by email, or in another form they can keep. If you never told the client about their right to cancel, the cancellation period runs for a further 12 months.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you must also carry out the work with reasonable care and skill.

Business clients who pay late

You can charge a business client who pays late statutory interest of 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, unless your contract sets a different rate. You can also claim a fixed sum for the cost of recovering the debt. It is £40 for a debt up to £999.99, £70 up to £9,999.99, and £100 above that.

Tax dates and thresholds

The trading allowance lets you earn up to £1,000 a year from trading free of tax. If your trading income is over £1,000, you must register for Self Assessment.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies from 6 April 2026 if your income from self-employment and property was over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year. The threshold falls to £30,000 from April 2027, and to £20,000 from April 2028. HMRC measures it on income before expenses.

You must register for VAT once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in 12 months.

If you use simplified expenses for a car or van, the flat rate for the 2026 to 2027 tax year is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p.

Client details, keys and the ICO

Organisations that use personal information, sole traders included, need to pay the Information Commissioner's Office a data protection fee unless they are exempt. For a micro organisation the fee is £52. The ICO has a short self-assessment that tells you whether you need to pay.

The ICO also says you have to keep personal information safe, and destroy it securely when you no longer need it.

Health and safety

The Health and Safety Executive lists the common risks in cleaning as slips and trips, skin disease, back pain, work at height and window cleaning. Under the COSHH regulations, employers must plan, manage and monitor substances hazardous to health.

An employer with 5 or more employees must write down the significant findings of its risk assessment.

The HSE says ladders can be a sensible option for low-risk, short tasks. As a guide, it suggests other equipment if you would be on a ladder for more than 30 minutes at a time.

Useful links