Health and safety is important for the protection of employees, visitors to your premises and the cleaning contractor’s staff. Not only should a commercial cleaning company ensure premises are clean and infection risks are minimised, they must also have robust procedures and processes in place to safely deliver their cleaning service.
If you are looking for an office / commercial cleaning service, it is advisable to check the following with any prospective suppliers you meet with:
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- Have they had any reportable incidents with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the last three years?
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- Do they have adequate insurance provisions? Ask for proof of both Employer’s Liability insurance and Public Liability insurance and check that you are satisfied with the level of cover.
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- A contractor should produce risk assessments and method statements for all tasks due to be conducted on site to ensure that these are carried out safely and all identifiable risks are mitigated. Request examples of risk assessments and method statements they have produced for other sites.
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- COSHH (The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) is applicable to the cleaning products used for cleaning your premises. Ask the potential contractor for examples of COSHH data for the products they propose using.
Once you have appointed a contractor, make sure that they include risk assessments, method statements and COSHH data sheets in a site file stored on your premises. This is so that cleaning operatives can regularly refer to them and that they are available to first responders in the event of an incident.
