When sourcing a new cleaning contractor, meet your dedicated contract manager before signing, verify sector-specific references, and confirm the quality management system goes beyond a certificate.
Check how staff are recruited and trained, scrutinise the mobilisation plan, clarify your TUPE obligations early, and assess ESG credentials before award.
These eight checks address the most common failure points when changing provider.
Switching cleaning contractors carries real risk.
A poor handover can mean disrupted operations, unhappy staff, and compliance gaps that surface at the worst possible moment.
Get TUPE wrong and you may face tribunal exposure. Choose a contractor without checking their environmental credentials and you may find yourself out of step with your own organisation’s ESG commitments.
The good news is that most of these risks are avoidable with the right questions asked at the right time. After 28 years working with facilities managers across the UK, Alliance Cleaning has seen where the process goes well, and where it falls apart.
These eight checks will help you source a cleaning contractor with confidence.
1. Meet Your Contract Manager Before You Sign
The person who sells you the contract is rarely the person who runs it.
Before you commit, ask to meet the individual who will be directly responsible for your account day to day, not just a senior face brought in to reassure you.
When you meet them, ask how many sites they currently manage.
Contract managers at many providers carry high site loads; a contractor who assigns managers to fewer sites can offer more attention, faster responses, and a deeper understanding of your specific requirements.
At Alliance Cleaning, you meet your dedicated contract manager from the very first conversation, because the relationship starts before the contract is signed, not after.
2. What References Should You Ask a Cleaning Contractor For?
References are only useful if they are relevant.
A contractor who cleans offices well may struggle in a healthcare or logistics environment where compliance requirements and operational pressures are fundamentally different.
Ask for references from organisations in your sector, or with a similar site profile.
Insist on named contacts rather than anonymous testimonials; a genuine reference holder will be happy to speak to you directly. Treat testimonials on a contractor’s own website with appropriate caution: they are marketing material, not references.
When you call, ask specific questions:
- How did the contractor handle a problem?
- Was the contract manager genuinely accessible?
- Did quality hold up after the initial months?
How To Create A Commercial Cleaning Plan
3. What Quality Management System Should a Cleaning Contractor Have?
A cleaning contract is only as reliable as the system behind it. Most cleans happen without a manager present, so the contractor must have clear processes to maintain standards without direct supervision.
Ask to see a sample audit report rather than just a certificate.
ISO 9001 certification confirms that a quality management framework is in place, but you want to understand what that looks like in practice.
Modern quality management in commercial cleaning increasingly involves digital audit trails, app-based inspection scoring, and real-time KPI dashboards that clients can access directly.
According to the British Cleaning Council annual industry research, 74% of UK facilities managers use or plan to use sensor-based monitoring as part of their quality assurance.
If a contractor cannot demonstrate how they measure and report performance, that is worth questioning. Alliance Cleaning is certified to ISO 9001 and operates structured quality audits with clear documentation, complaint procedures, and measurable KPIs on every contract.
4. How Are Cleaning Staff Recruited, Trained and Retained?
The quality of any clean ultimately depends on the people doing it. Staff turnover is one of the most telling indicators of how well a cleaning contractor looks after its workforce.
Ask for a figure, not a general assurance.
Ask how new staff are inducted, how product training is delivered, and whether on-site briefings cover your specific requirements: security protocols, confidentiality, access restrictions, and specialist needs.
Find out whether training is a one-off event or ongoing.
If your organisation holds Living Wage accreditation, or is working towards it, your cleaning contractor must be a Recognised Service Provider under the Living Wage Foundation’s scheme. For organisations that hold or are working towards Living Wage Foundation accreditation, this is a procurement requirement, not an optional consideration.
Alliance Cleaning’s Alliance Pathway training programme covers induction, chemical and equipment handling, health and safety, and six-monthly refresher courses for every cleaner on every contract.
5. How Should a Cleaning Schedule Be Built for Your Site?
A credible contractor will work with you to build a clear time and task plan that allocates realistic time to each element of the clean.
Vague or optimistic time estimates are a reliable sign that a contractor has not fully understood your site.
How Does Hybrid Working Affect Your Cleaning Schedule?
The way schedules are built has changed significantly.
Hybrid working has altered occupancy patterns in most commercial buildings, and a contractor still relying entirely on fixed-time schedules without occupancy data may be over-cleaning empty areas or under-resourcing busy ones.
Ask whether they offer usage-based or sensor-integrated scheduling; research by Haltian found that IoT-based demand-led cleaning reduced facility maintenance costs by up to 23%.
The schedule should be documented in your contract and subject to regular review, not treated as a permanent fixture.
6. What Should a Cleaning Contract Mobilisation Plan Include?
A signed contract is only the starting point. A well-structured mobilisation plan is a governance document, not a simple to-do list.
It should cover the handover from your existing contractor, a site assessment, COSHH documentation, risk assessments, security protocol updates, staff inductions, and the reporting lines and escalation procedures that will govern the relationship from day one.
Ask whether the contractor conducts a physical site assessment before mobilisation begins, and check that health and safety documentation is completed before cleaning starts rather than during the first week.
The most successful contract starts are built on preparation, not goodwill.
7. What Are Your TUPE Obligations When Changing Cleaning Contractor?
If your existing cleaning staff are employed directly by your current contractor, TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)) will almost certainly apply when you change provider.
Under TUPE, those employees transfer to your new contractor on the same terms and conditions, and both parties have legal obligations in managing that process.
The outgoing contractor must provide employee liability information to the incoming provider at least 28 days before the transfer date.
Affected staff must be informed and, where relevant, consulted.
Failure to comply can result in employment tribunal claims and fines of up to £10,000 per employee, according to ACAS guidance on TUPE.
Do not leave this entirely to the contractors.
As the client, you have a role in facilitating a clean handover. Check your termination terms early, allow adequate notice, and confirm the incoming contractor has a clear plan for receiving and onboarding transferred staff.
8. How Do You Assess a Cleaning Contractor’s ESG and Sustainability Credentials?
ESG considerations now sit at the centre of many procurement decisions, and commercial cleaning is no exception.
Your cleaning contractor contributes to your Scope 3 emissions through chemical supply, consumables, transport, and waste disposal, and increasingly, those contributions are subject to audit.
What to Check Beyond the Headline Claim
When evaluating sustainability credentials, go beyond the certificate.
If a contractor holds ISO 14001 certification, check that the scope covers operational cleaning services, not just administrative functions.
Ask for sample waste reporting data and confirm their approach to the UK’s Simpler Recycling legislation, which requires businesses with ten or more full-time employees to separate recyclable materials for collection (in force from March 2025; micro-businesses have until March 2027).
Ask for a transparent cost breakdown that includes consumables, waste disposal, and any sustainability-related costs.
A reputable contractor will provide this as standard; undisclosed add-ons after contract award are a signal worth noting. Alliance Cleaning holds ISO 14001 certification, has won the Hertfordshire Green Awards, and treats environmental responsibility as an operational standard rather than a separate commitment.
Ready to Talk Through Your Requirements?
Sourcing a new cleaning contractor involves more moving parts than most procurement exercises, but the risks are manageable when you know what to look for.
To discuss your requirements with Alliance Cleaning, call 01992 700073 or email [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TUPE and does it apply when I change my cleaning contractor?
TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)) protects employees when the business or service they work for transfers to a new provider. It almost always applies when you change cleaning contractors. Staff who work on your site transfer to the new contractor on the same pay, hours, and terms. Both contractors, including you as the client, have legal obligations in managing the process. ACAS provides full guidance on TUPE at acas.org.uk/tupe.
How much notice should I give when changing cleaning contractors?
Check your termination clause carefully; most commercial cleaning contracts require 30 to 90 days’ notice. You should also allow the incoming contractor sufficient time to prepare staff, equipment, and training before they start, ideally four to six weeks beyond the legal notice period.
What certifications should I look for in a cleaning contractor?
ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 45001 (health and safety) are the core benchmarks. ISO 14001 (environmental management) is increasingly important for organisations with ESG commitments. For specialist services, look for IPAF certification (high-level and at-height cleaning) and TR19 certification (kitchen extract and duct cleaning). BICSc qualifications indicate professional cleaning standards.
What should a commercial cleaning contract include?
Your contract should cover: the full scope of services and frequency, the time and task plan, KPIs and audit arrangements, a complaints procedure, TUPE provisions where relevant, a mobilisation plan, notice periods, and a transparent cost breakdown including consumables and any additional services. Anything not in the contract should not be assumed.
What is a mobilisation plan in a cleaning contract?
A mobilisation plan sets out everything that needs to happen between signing the contract and the first day of service. This includes site assessment, staff induction and training, COSHH documentation, risk assessments, handover from the previous contractor, security protocol updates, and agreed reporting lines. A good mobilisation plan is detailed and documented, not a verbal walkthrough.
What are KPIs in a cleaning contract?
Key Performance Indicators in a cleaning contract are agreed, measurable standards used to assess service quality. Common KPIs include audit scores, response times to requests or complaints, consumable stock levels, and staff attendance rates. KPIs should be tracked regularly and shared with the client in a format they can act on.
How do I check a cleaning contractor’s ESG credentials?
Ask for their ISO 14001 certificate and check that the scope covers operational cleaning, not just administration. Ask for sample waste reporting data and their approach to the UK’s Simpler Recycling legislation (March 2025). Ask whether they are a Living Wage Recognised Service Provider, and check how their transport and supply chain emissions are measured, particularly if you report under the SECR framework.
What questions should I ask a cleaning contractor’s references?
Ask how the contractor handled a problem or complaint. Ask whether the contract manager was accessible and responsive. Ask whether quality was consistent, not just strong at the start. Ask whether the contractor proactively flagged issues or waited to be told. And ask whether the referee would use them again.
How do I make sure cleaning fits around hybrid working?
Ask whether the contractor offers usage-based or demand-led scheduling, and whether they can integrate with occupancy data from your building management system. Hybrid working means footfall is uneven across the week; a fixed cleaning schedule based on pre-pandemic occupancy may not reflect how your building actually operates today.
