Office cleaning: key facts
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, regulation 9, require every workplace and its furniture, furnishings and fittings to be kept sufficiently clean.
- HSE's Approved Code of Practice says the frequency and standard of cleaning depend on the nature of the business. There's no fixed legal number of cleans a week for an office.
- Toilets, washrooms and the rooms they're in must be kept clean and orderly, with soap and a means of drying hands (regulations 20 and 21).
- HSE says slips and trips are the most common cause of injury at work, and most slips happen when floors are wet or contaminated. Smooth floors should be left dry or kept clear until dry.
- Cleaning chemicals can fall under COSHH, which requires employers to plan, manage and monitor the use of hazardous substances.
- In a shared building, the landlord is responsible for common parts such as the lobby, stairs and shared toilets; tenants handle their own space and should co-operate.
- Set frequency from headcount and use: kitchens and toilets drive the workload far more than open desk space.
What does a good office clean cover, room by room?
A good office clean covers every area people use, but not equally: toilets, kitchens and tea points need the most attention because they carry the most hygiene risk; desks, meeting rooms and reception need regular tidy-ups and wipe-downs; and floors need a routine plus a periodic deep clean.
Most complaints about office cleaners aren't about the open-plan floor. They're about a sticky tea point, an empty soap dispenser or a meeting room still holding yesterday's cups. A good specification takes each area in turn and says what "clean" means there.
- Desks. Empty bins and wipe clear desk surfaces. Agree a clear-desk rule or say "clear areas only", so cleaners aren't moving papers.
- Kitchens and tea points. Worktops, sinks, taps, appliance handles, microwave and floor. Decide who empties the dishwasher and who clears the fridge, or nobody will.
- Toilets and washrooms. Toilets, urinals, basins, taps, mirrors, handles and floors, with soap, paper and towels refilled. People judge the whole clean by this area.
- Meeting rooms. Clear cups and food, wipe tables, straighten chairs. Client rooms may need a daytime check too.
- Reception. Glass doors, desk, seating and entrance matting, which traps most of the dirt walked in from outside.
- Floors. Vacuum, sweep and mop routinely; periodic carpet and hard floor care sits on top.
- Touch points and waste. Door handles, switches, lift buttons, handrails and printer panels; general waste and recycling. Confidential waste usually has its own secure route, so say what not to touch.
What should an office cleaning checklist include: daily, weekly and periodic tasks?
Split the office cleaning checklist into daily tasks (bins, toilets, kitchens, touch points, spot cleaning floors), weekly tasks (full vacuum and mop, desk and furniture dusting, deeper kitchen and washroom cleans) and periodic tasks (carpets, hard floor care, high-level dusting, internal glass, windows). Adjust the frequencies to how busy each area is.
Treat this as a starting point, not a standard. A small office used three days a week will move some daily tasks to weekly; a busy one may need some done twice a day.
| Area | Daily (each clean) | Weekly | Periodic (monthly, quarterly or yearly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toilets and washrooms | Clean and disinfect toilets, urinals, basins, taps and handles; refill soap, paper and towels; mop floor; empty bins | Descale taps and basins; clean partitions, tiles and doors; dust vents | Deep clean of grout and floor; high-level dusting; check sanitary and nappy bin services |
| Kitchen and tea points | Wipe worktops, sinks, taps, appliance handles and exteriors; clean microwave; mop floor; empty bins | Wipe cupboard fronts; clean inside microwave thoroughly; clear out fridge to an agreed rule | Clean inside fridges and cupboards; descale kettles and taps; deep clean floor |
| Desks and open-plan areas | Empty bins and recycling; wipe clear desk surfaces; spot-clean spills | Dust furniture, partitions and sills; wipe phones and shared equipment; full vacuum | Clean chairs; high-level dusting (light fittings, tops of cupboards); clean internal glass |
| Meeting rooms | Clear cups and waste; wipe tables; straighten chairs; check floor | Dust and polish furniture; wipe whiteboards and AV remotes | Clean upholstered chairs; wash internal glass |
| Reception and entrance | Clean glass doors and finger marks; wipe desk and seating; vacuum or mop entrance; shake or vacuum matting | Dust displays and plants (if asked); clean skirting | Deep clean entrance matting; clean signage |
| Touch points | Door handles, push plates, switches, lift buttons, handrails, printer panels | Door frames and kick plates | Washable wall areas near doors |
| Floors | Vacuum high-traffic routes; sweep and mop hard floors; leave them dry | Vacuum all carpeted areas, including edges and under desks where clear | Carpet deep clean; hard floor scrub, strip or polish to suit the floor type |
Say whether external windows and periodic work such as carpet cleaning are in the price or quoted separately.
How often should an office be cleaned?
There's no legal number. HSE's guidance says the frequency and standard of cleaning depend on the nature of the business. In practice, set frequency from how many people use the office each day and how heavily the toilets and kitchen are used, not from the floor area alone.
HSE's Approved Code of Practice puts it simply: clean regularly enough that dirt and refuse don't accumulate, and clean up spills as soon as possible. Floor area is a poor guide on its own: a small office with a full team in every day needs more cleaning than a bigger one that's half empty. Work from these instead:
- Headcount per day. Count people actually in, not on the payroll. With hybrid working, clean to match the busy days.
- Toilet use. Washrooms get dirty fastest; a busy office may need a daytime check as well as the main clean.
- Kitchen use. A kitchen used for lunch every day needs daily cleaning even if desks don't.
- Visitors. If clients come in, reception, meeting rooms and the visitor toilet need to be right every day.
- Entrances and weather. Entrances and winter carpets pick up more dirt than the rest of the floor.
Daytime vs evening office cleaning: which is better?
Out-of-hours cleaning keeps disruption low but means issuing keys or alarm codes and managing lone working. Daytime cleaning deals with problems as they happen and avoids out-of-hours access, but needs quieter methods and care with wet floors.
| Daytime cleaning | Evening or early-morning cleaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Disruption | Cleaners work around staff; vacuuming and toilet closures need planning | Little or none; the office is empty |
| Responsiveness | Spills, toilet problems and meeting-room turnarounds dealt with straight away | Problems found in the morning wait until the next clean |
| Security and access | No out-of-hours keys or alarm codes needed | Keys, fobs and alarm codes must be issued, recorded and controlled |
| Lone working | Other people are around | Cleaners are often alone; lone working risks must be managed |
| Confidentiality | Desks occupied; screens may be visible | Desks empty; papers left out are exposed unless a clear-desk rule applies |
Keys and alarm codes. Agree in writing who holds keys and fobs, how alarm codes are issued (individual codes show who set and unset), and what happens when a cleaner leaves.
Lone working. HSE lists cleaners as an example of lone workers and says risks must be managed before people work alone, including people contracted to work for you. The contractor employs the cleaners, but you control the building: tell them about out-of-bounds areas, fire alarm tests and anyone else likely to be on site.
Many offices mix the two: a main clean out of hours plus a short daytime check of toilets and kitchen.
Who cleans what in a shared office building?
In a multi-occupied building, the owner or landlord is responsible for the common parts such as the lobby, stairs and shared toilets, and each tenant is responsible for its own space. HSE's code of practice says tenants should co-operate with each other and the landlord, and that responsibility for cleaning shared washrooms should be clearly established.
Check your lease and service charge before writing a specification, so you don't pay twice or leave an area nobody cleans.
- Common parts. HSE's code says an owner responsible for common parts (for example the lobby, stairs and shared toilets) should make sure they comply with the Workplace Regulations.
- Your own space. Cleaning inside your floor or suite, including its toilets and kitchen, is normally down to you.
- Toilets shared between tenants. The owner isn't responsible for day-to-day cleaning that's the tenants' job, and HSE says responsibility should be clearly established where facilities are shared. Write down who does what.
If common parts aren't clean enough, raise it with the landlord or managing agent rather than having your cleaner do it informally.
What does the law say about office cleanliness?
In Great Britain, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require workplaces and their furniture, furnishings and fittings to be kept sufficiently clean, waste not to build up except in suitable containers, and toilets and washing facilities to be kept clean and orderly. COSHH covers hazardous cleaning chemicals, and HSE guidance covers slips from wet floors.
The law sets the outcome, not a checklist. This describes Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own version, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993.
Workplace Regulations, regulation 9. Every workplace and the furniture, furnishings and fittings in it must be kept sufficiently clean. Floors, walls and ceilings inside buildings must be capable of being kept sufficiently clean, and, so far as reasonably practicable, waste must not be allowed to build up except in suitable receptacles. HSE guidance adds that cleaning methods themselves shouldn't create health or safety risks, such as heavy dust or exposure to cleaning agents.
Toilets and washing facilities (regulations 20 and 21). Toilets and the rooms containing them must be kept in a clean and orderly condition. Washing facilities must include hot and cold, or warm, running water, soap or another suitable means of cleaning, and towels or another suitable means of drying,. An empty soap dispenser isn't just an annoyance.
Eating areas. HSE's guidance says they should be kept clean to a suitable hygiene standard, with clear responsibility for cleaning allocated: worth quoting when the tea point has become nobody's job.
COSHH. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 require employers to plan, manage and monitor the use of hazardous substances, which include substances classed as corrosive or irritant. Your contractor should have safety data sheets and COSHH assessments for products used on your site, and store them securely.
Slips. HSE's guidance includes effective arrangements for routine cleaning and spills, and leaving smooth floors dry after cleaning or keeping people off them until dry. Think carefully about mopping during the day.
Who supplies consumables and washroom services?
Agree it in the contract. Some office cleaning companies supply toilet paper, hand towels, soap and bin liners and charge for them; others only refill what you buy. Sanitary disposal and similar washroom hygiene services are often a separate contract with a specialist provider.
- Who buys toilet paper, towels, soap and bin liners: the contractor (recharged) or you.
- Who refills, and what happens on days with no clean.
- Dispensers: some only take specific refills, so check before changing supplier.
- Stock: where it's kept, who orders it, and when someone is told it's low. Don't forget kitchen supplies.
Sanitary and nappy bins are usually serviced on a set cycle by a washroom hygiene provider, and your cleaner may not be allowed to empty them. Make sure the two contracts leave no gaps.
What should an office cleaning specification say?
An office cleaning specification should list each area, the tasks in it and how often, the days and times of cleaning, access and security arrangements, who supplies consumables, what periodic work is included, and how quality will be checked. Quotes based on the same specification can be compared fairly.
Ask three office cleaners to "quote for the office" and you'll get quotes for three different jobs. A short written specification fixes that.
Office cleaning specification: what to include
- Site address, floor area and floor plan if you have one, with rooms and floor types marked
- Normal headcount, busiest days and opening hours
- Number of toilets, washrooms, kitchens and tea points
- Area-by-area tasks with frequencies (adapt the checklist table above)
- Cleaning days and time windows (daytime, evening or early morning)
- Keys, fobs, alarm codes, sign-in and out-of-bounds areas
- Consumables: who supplies, who refills, dispenser types
- Periodic work included in the price, and work to be quoted separately
- Quality checks, sign-off and how problems are reported and fixed
- Contract length, notice period and start date
Where you can, write outcomes ("toilets clean, dry and stocked at the start of the day") as well as actions. Outcomes are easier to check.
How do you check the quality of office cleaning?
Check against the written specification, not a general impression: sign-off records, regular joint audits, one route for staff to report problems, and a few simple measures reviewed at contract meetings.
Commercial office cleaning standards slip quietly, one dropped task at a time. These checks keep it on track without a facilities team.
- Sign-off. A record of each clean (sheet or app): who, when and what was done.
- Joint audits. Walk the office with the contractor's supervisor, scoring each area against the specification. Agree what pass and fail mean first.
- Problem reporting. One route for staff to report issues, with an agreed response time for urgent ones.
- A few KPIs. Audit scores, complaints, time to fix, and periodic tasks done on schedule. Review them at a short regular meeting.
- Cover and handover. Ask how holidays and sickness are covered and how new cleaners are briefed; a change of cleaner is when standards often drop.
What should you ask an office cleaning company before signing?
Ask how they'd staff, supervise and quality-check your site, what insurance and health and safety arrangements they have, how they handle keys and lone working, and the contract and notice terms.
When comparing office cleaning services, these questions separate a considered quote from a guess:
- Did you visit, and how many hours have you allowed per visit?
- Who will clean here, how are they trained and supervised, and how is absence covered?
- Can we see your insurance certificates (employers' and public liability)?
- Can we see your health and safety policy, site risk assessment and COSHH assessments?
- How do you manage lone working and control keys and alarm codes?
- Do you pay at least the National Living Wage, or the voluntary real Living Wage?
- How do you check quality, and what reports will we get?
- Which periodic jobs are included, and what do extras cost?
- Do you hold accreditations such as ISO 9001 or a health and safety pre-qualification scheme? None is a legal requirement, but they show how a company runs.
- What are the contract length, notice period and price review terms?
Replacing a contractor? The cleaners on your site may transfer to the new company under TUPE, so ask how they'd handle that.
How much does office cleaning cost?
It depends mainly on the number of cleaning hours a week, the hourly wage the contractor pays, employment on-costs, consumables, supervision and margin. There's no official typical rate, so compare quotes built on the same specification.
The price is mostly labour: the hours your specification needs, times a rate covering wages, employer costs, supervision, consumables and margin. Getting the frequency and specification right matters more than haggling over the rate. Our office cleaning cost guide shows how a quote is built, with worked examples using the official wage floors.
Related guides
Office cleaning: frequently asked questions
How often should an office be cleaned?
There's no legal minimum. HSE guidance says clean regularly enough that dirt and refuse don't build up, with frequency depending on the nature of the business. Set it from headcount and how much the toilets and kitchen are used.
What should an office cleaning checklist include?
It should cover toilets and washrooms, kitchens and tea points, desks, meeting rooms, reception, touch points such as door handles and switches, waste, and floors. Split tasks into daily, weekly and periodic, and adjust them to how busy each area is.
Is daytime or evening office cleaning better?
Evening cleaning avoids disruption but means managing keys, alarm codes and lone working. Daytime cleaning deals with problems as they happen but needs care with noise and wet floors. Many offices combine the two.
Is there a legal requirement to keep an office clean?
Yes. In Great Britain, regulation 9 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires workplaces and their furniture, furnishings and fittings to be kept sufficiently clean, and other regulations require toilets and washing facilities to be kept clean and orderly. The law sets the outcome rather than a list of tasks.
Who cleans shared toilets in an office building?
The landlord is responsible for common parts such as the lobby, stairs and shared toilets. Where tenants clean shared facilities themselves, HSE says responsibility should be clearly established, so put it in writing.
What is an office cleaning specification?
A written description of the cleaning you want: areas, tasks, frequencies, times, access, consumables, periodic work and quality checks. It lets you compare quotes fairly.
How do I check my office cleaners are doing a good job?
Use a sign-off record, audit the office with the contractor's supervisor against the specification, give staff one route to report problems, and review a few simple measures.
What happens to the existing cleaners if I change office cleaning company?
If the cleaners are clearly assigned to your contract, they may transfer to the new contractor under TUPE, with their terms and conditions. GOV.UK gives contracted-out cleaning as an example of a service provision change.
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources on 12 November 2026: