Cleaning advice during Covid-19, who’s responsible?

[beautygirl5767]

Hi,

I am self employed and rent a room at a salon in the UK. I recently found out that the salon owner is having a clean done of the salon prior to opening. My room or the other private rooms rented out (still part of the salon) has never been professionally cleaned like the rest of the joint-used spaces eg. the makeup room/hair dressers. i have always done it myself before and after using it using the appropriate cleaning materials. Obviously as i’m renting the room this is my responsibility and i am more than happy to do it myself as i am quite anal about cleanliness- but i assumed that prior to opening, the salon owner would get a specialised ‘covid deep clean’ done of the salon as a whole...

When i asked her if my room would be included in the covid deep clean she said no, as it’s my responsibility to do it and i am welcome to pay the cleaners extra if i want them to do it for me? She also mentioned she was only getting the clean done due to work that has gone on in the shared areas (makeup stations and hair dressers/reception) whilst we have been out of work.

Can anyone advise me on if this is correct? i know we’ve not received guidance yet but i would expect the whole salon would need to be deeply cleaned with the same standards across the board. Anyone else?

 

[AcidPerm]

That’s 2 separate questions.

1. Will the guidance recommend how premises are to be cleaned and maintained and advise on minimum hygiene standards on re-opening?
2. Who is responsible for paying for the additional cleaning.

my thoughts...

1. I imagine the HSE will issue some guidance regarding safe working practices, PPE and about cleaning and disinfecting between clients.

2. Do you have a written contract that states who is responsible for cleaning your room?
If not, does the salon owner normally employ someone to clean the entire salon inc. the rooms rented out to third parties as part of the services covered by your room rent?

If the responsibility for keeping your room clean (washing floors/hoovering/dusting etc.) is normally down to you then I’d expect you to be responsible for paying a third party to do a one-off deep clean, if the guidance recommends it or you feel it will be beneficial to your business. Presumably, if the salon owner has engaged a company to do a deep clean, it probably makes sense to negotiate with the salon owner for the company to include your room and to either pay the company or the salon owner separately for this one-off service.

More importantly, I think it would be a good idea to discuss with the salon owner how they intend to keep communal areas such as toilets and break rooms properly cleaned during the working day, especially if clients are allowed to use the facilities.