Work safely and securely in customers' premises as a cleaner

Put these safety and security measures in place before your first job in a customer's home or workplace, and again when you take on anyone to clean with you. They apply to domestic, office, end-of-tenancy and window cleaning.

You owe most of these duties if you employ cleaners. Some also apply if you work alone as a self-employed cleaner, because your work can put customers and other people at risk. The rules apply across the UK, with Northern Ireland differences shown below.

For permissions such as waste carrier registration and Scottish window cleaner licences, read Licences and permissions for a cleaning business. For pay, travel time, employment status and criminal record checks, read Employ cleaners: pay, travel time, status and checks. For the whole path from start-up onwards, see Start a cleaning business.

Control cleaning chemicals

Many cleaning products are hazardous substances. A hazard symbol on the packaging shows a product is hazardous. Before anyone uses a product, you must assess the risk, including how you store it, deal with spills and dispose of it.

Then put controls in place and train anyone who uses the product. Ask your supplier for the safety data sheet on any hazardous product you buy.

Plan windows and high surfaces

Work at height rules apply wherever a fall could injure someone, from window cleaning to high-level lights and atria. No minimum height applies. They cover your employees, anyone who controls other people's work at height, and you as a self-employed cleaner whose work may put others at risk.

Avoid work at height where you reasonably can, for example by cleaning windows from the ground with a water-fed pole. Where you cannot avoid it, plan the job before you start. Plan how you would rescue someone who falls. Do not rely on the emergency services alone.

Make a plan for working alone

Cleaners often work alone, early or late, in buildings the customer controls. The lone working duty falls on employers. If you work alone yourself, the same plan protects you.

Before anyone works alone, decide:

• how they raise the alarm
• who knows where they are and when they check in
• how they leave a customer who becomes aggressive
• what they do if a key or alarm code fails

Train them in the plan and review it after any incident.

Protect keys, alarm codes and customer data

Keys and alarm codes that can be traced to a customer's name or address are personal data. So are your customer lists and access notes. The UK GDPR requires you to keep them secure.

In practice:

• label keys with a code rather than an address
• keep keys and codes locked away
• limit who can see the key list and the codes

If keys or codes are lost or stolen, record the incident. Report it to the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours of finding out, unless it is unlikely to put anyone at risk.

Holding keys only so that you can get in and clean is different from holding them for customers as a paid service. The second needs an SIA licence, and Licences and permissions for a cleaning business explains when.

If something goes wrong on a job

If a product splashes skin or eyes, or fumes cause symptoms, follow the first aid advice on the label and the safety data sheet. Then record the incident and review your assessment.

If a customer becomes aggressive, leave using the route in your lone working plan. Tell the person who knows where you are.

If a customer's ladder or equipment looks unsafe, do not use it unless you are satisfied it is suitable and safe.

If you lose a key or alarm code, record it and tell the customer. Then assess whether you must report it to the Information Commissioner's Office.