Housekeeping and cleaning aren’t the same thing. Cleaning is what the contractor does. Housekeeping is the wider job of keeping the workplace orderly, safe and functional, and most of it isn’t in any cleaning contract.
Daily
- Walkways and fire egress routes clear of boxes and equipment
- No trailing cables across floors
- Bins not overflowing between cleans
- Kitchen left usable, dishwasher run, benches clear
- Meeting rooms reset after use
- Deliveries moved from reception to their destination
- Spills dealt with immediately, wet floor signs used
Weekly
- Consumable stock checked (paper, soap, kitchen supplies)
- First aid kit contents checked
- Fridge cleared of anything past its date
- Recycling and waste bins presented for collection
- Stationery and print consumables restocked
- Storage areas kept orderly, nothing stacked above shoulder height
Monthly
- Fire extinguisher and hose reel access clear and unobstructed
- Emergency exits open and unblocked
- Emergency lighting indicator lights checked
- First aid kit fully restocked
- Damaged furniture identified and reported
- Faulty lights logged
- Filing and archive areas tidied
- Personal items cleared from shared areas
Quarterly
- Full walkthrough for trip, slip and fall hazards
- Ergonomic setup check on workstations
- Heating and cooling filters checked or serviced
- Signage reviewed for accuracy and condition
- Storage audited, what can be archived or disposed of
- Cleaning contractor performance reviewed against the specification
Annually
- Fire evacuation drill
- Emergency lighting full-duration test
- Deep clean scheduled (carpets, upholstery, high dusting)
- Furniture and fitting condition assessment
- Cleaning contract reviewed and re-benchmarked
Health and safety overlap
Several housekeeping items are legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, not just good practice:
- Clear egress routes. Blocked fire exits are one of the most common findings in workplace inspections.
- Slip and trip hazards. Wet floors must be signed. Trailing cables must be managed.
- Hazardous substances. Cleaning chemicals need safety data sheets accessible and appropriate storage.
- Contractor coordination. You and your cleaning contractor are both PCBUs with overlapping duties, and the Act requires you to consult, co-operate and co-ordinate.
That last one is worth understanding. If your cleaner is working alone in your building at 9pm, you have a duty around their safety, lone worker arrangements, safe access, lighting.
What to hand to the cleaner vs. keep in-house
The cleaner should handle: all cleaning tasks, consumable restocking in bathrooms, bin emptying, reporting damage they find.
Keep in-house: anything requiring a decision, anything involving personal items, anything safety-critical that needs a record you control, and stock ordering.
The grey area: kitchen tidying, meeting room resets, dishwasher management. Decide explicitly and write it into the specification. This is where most day-to-day friction comes from.
The reporting loop that makes this work
A good cleaner sees your building more regularly than anyone else, usually when it’s empty. They notice the leaking tap, the damaged flooring, the light that’s out.
Give them a way to tell you. Our teams log any issue they find with a photo, and it appears in the client’s portal alongside the service record, so the facility manager finds out from the cleaner rather than from a staff complaint two weeks later.