How to change your cleaning contractor without disruption

Most clients don't leave a cleaning provider because of one disaster. They leave because standards drifted, nobody answered the phone, and after three conversations nothing changed. By the time they call someone new, they've usually put up with it for a year.

Switching is straightforward if you sequence it properly. Here's how.

Step one: read your contract

Before you speak to anyone, find out three things: your notice period, your renewal date, and whether the contract auto-renews. Auto-renewal clauses catch people out constantly — miss the window by a week and you're locked in for another year.

Step two: rewrite the specification

This is the step most people skip, and it's the one that determines whether the new contract is actually better. Don't simply hand your old specification to new bidders. Ask instead:

• Which areas generate the most complaints?
• Has occupancy changed since the last contract?
• Are there tasks being paid for that nobody needs?
• Are periodic works (floors, glass, deep cleans) included or forgotten?
• Do access hours still suit the business?

A refreshed specification often costs the same but redistributes hours to where they matter.

Step three: understand TUPE

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations frequently apply when a cleaning contract moves from one provider to another, because the staff performing the work transfer with it. In practice this means:

1. Employee information must be sharedThe outgoing provider must supply employee liability information to the incoming one, normally at least 28 days before transfer.
2. Terms are protectedTransferring staff keep their existing terms, pay and continuity of service.
3. Consultation is requiredAffected employees must be informed and, where measures are envisaged, consulted.
4. Timing mattersRushing a transfer is the most common cause of problems. Allow a clear month between award and start date.

TUPE isn't a reason to avoid switching. It's often a positive: the people who know your building stay, under management that supervises them properly. Take your own legal advice on your specific situation — the regulations are fact-sensitive.

Step four: plan the handover

• Confirm the exact final date with the outgoing provider in writing
• Agree the first working day of the new contract with no gap
• Arrange key or fob handover and update the access list
• Confirm alarm codes and out-of-hours procedures
• Agree who removes and who supplies equipment and consumables
• Check the cleaning store is emptied and left usable
• Notify reception, security and building management of the change
• Book a site induction for the incoming team

Step five: manage the first 90 days

Cleaning contracts are won or lost in the first three months. Agree a review at week two, week six and month three. Raise small issues early and in writing — a provider who fixes small things quickly will fix big things quickly. One who is defensive about a missed bin will be worse when it matters.

Frequently asked questions