The number of businesses running commercial cleaning arrangements with nothing more specific than a price per week and a verbal description of what's expected would be surprising if it weren't so common.
When the service is fine, a vague arrangement doesn't matter much. When something goes wrong — standards slip, a visit is missed, a specific task isn't being done — a poorly specified contract means you have almost no leverage. You can't hold someone to standards that were never written down.
Here's what a proper office or commercial cleaning contract in West Yorkshire should actually contain.
A clear scope of work
The contract should specify exactly which areas are to be cleaned, what tasks are to be performed in each area, and at what frequency. Not 'clean the office' — clean the open-plan area, individual offices, meeting rooms, kitchen, reception, corridors and toilets, with specific tasks listed for each.
Tasks should be split between those done at every visit (emptying bins, vacuuming, wiping surfaces, toilet cleaning) and those done at defined intervals (mopping, window cleaning, deep kitchen clean). Every business is different, and a competent contractor will build the spec around your actual premises, not a generic template.
Consumables
The contract should be clear about whether consumables — hand soap, toilet paper, bin bags, hand towels — are included in the price or supplied by you. If they're included, it should specify the products. If they're not, it should say so explicitly.
This is a surprisingly common source of friction. Check yours now.
Access arrangements
How does your cleaning team access the building? Who holds keys or fobs? What's the protocol for out-of-hours access? What happens if there's an access problem?
All of this should be in the contract. When it's not, access failures become your problem to resolve rather than the contractor's responsibility to plan for.
Performance standards and monitoring
A good contract specifies not just what is to be done but to what standard. It should also include a provision for how performance is monitored — whether by supervisor visits, client sign-off, visit logs or a combination.
Critically, it should include a clear complaints procedure: how to raise an issue, what the contractor's response time is, and what happens if the same problem recurs.
Staff vetting and compliance
Your contract should confirm that all cleaning staff have been through the appropriate vetting — at minimum, identity and right-to-work checks, and DBS checks where your premises require them (legal, healthcare, education, and any site with access to sensitive information).
It should also confirm that the contractor holds the appropriate insurance — employers' liability, public liability and, if relevant, professional indemnity.
Health and safety documentation
The contract should reference the contractor's COSHH assessments and method statements for your site, along with their risk assessments. These should be available on request — and a contractor who pushes back on that request is one worth being cautious about.
Notice and termination terms
How much notice does each party need to give to end the contract? What are the provisions if you need to vary the scope — more cleaning, less cleaning, a change of premises? What happens if the contractor fails to deliver and you need to exit?
A contract that's easy to enter but almost impossible to exit is a red flag. You should have reasonable terms on both sides.
One more thing
Read the contract before you sign it. That sounds obvious. Many people don't, or they skim it and miss important clauses. If something isn't in there that should be, get it added before you start. A contractor who refuses to add reasonable terms to a contract is telling you something important.
Benley Cleaning provides fully specified contracts for commercial and office cleaning across West Yorkshire. If you want to see what a professional cleaning agreement looks like, or you're reviewing an existing contract that doesn't feel right, get in touch at benley.uk.