We are delighted that Clean for Good has been chosen as one of the Top 100 Social Businesses in the UK.
We are now officially part of the NatWest SE100 Index, an annual national competition run by the NatWest Bank and Pioneers Post. Joining the Index is a recognition of our achievements as a social business since launching two years ago:
“The NatWest SE100 celebrates the growth, impact and resilience of social ventures in the UK – by naming the most impressive 100 social enterprises of the year in the Index”
Clean for Good’s approach is to combine a social purpose – ensuring dignity and fairness for cleaners in their work – with a robust business model which can deliver a professional service and is sustainable for the long term.
And the need for what we do is still so relevant today.
Low pay remains a key driver of poverty today
Just this week, DWP released statistics confirming that poverty in the UK has been rising in recent years, and that the number of families who live in poverty - but who are also working – has hit a new high.
Some 70% of the children living in poverty in the UK are in working households. These 2.9 million children have parents who are working but still living in poverty.
A key challenge today is low pay.
Too many people are working hard but earning wages which are too low to live on. The Government’s Minimum Wage, even after it rises to £8.21 per hour in April 2019, remains nearly 30% lower than the real Living Wage of £10.55 in London. It is too low to live on. It is a poverty wage.
Low pay is endemic in the cleaning sector
The problem is particularly acute in the Cleaning Sector where wage levels remain low. In fact, according to a new Research Report from the British Cleaning Council (March 2019), average wage levels in the cleaning sector actually fell by nearly 5% from 2017 to 2018.
The same research also reported that “a lack of dignity and respect is an underlying theme” in the cleaning sector.
Things are not getting better for many people.
We have only just begun
We’re always delighted to receive recognition for our work. But our work is only just beginning.
Our mission is not only to keep growing this business, improving our services and giving more cleaners the chance for fairly paid and dignified jobs.
Our mission is to keep pushing until every cleaner in the UK is paid a real Living Wage, benefits from decent working conditions and is respected for their work.
We want every CEO, every MD, every Facilities Manager to become part of this movement for change. Do you know the name of your cleaner? Are they treated fairly? Let’s fix that.
Clean for Good is an ethical cleaning company for London, cleaning offices and workspaces across the city. It is a Living Wage Employer, it directly employs its cleaners and it trains and manage its cleaners professionally. Founded in a church in the City of London, it launched in 2017 and continues to grow.
For more information check out the rest of this website. To get a free quote for your offices, click here.
Follow us at @clean4good.
Tim Thorlby is the Managing Director of Clean for Good. You can find him at @TimThorlby.