Someone has to ask what goes on your floors
When you hire a cleaning company, you are letting a team bring chemicals into your building, often after everyone has gone home. A simple COSHH cleaning contractor check is the sensible way to find out what those chemicals are and how they are controlled. COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, and cleaning products sit squarely inside it.
The Health and Safety Executive explains the rules in its guide to carrying out a COSHH risk assessment. If a business uses substances that might cause harm to health, the law requires it to control the risks to workers. The regulations cover most harmful substances. Lead and asbestos have their own separate rules.
This guide is for the office manager, practice manager, shop owner or facilities lead in Greater Manchester who has to sign off a cleaning contract. It explains what a COSHH assessment looks at, what a good one looks like, and which questions are worth asking before the first visit.
Why cleaning products need an assessment
Cleaning products are made to do hard jobs. They cut through grease, dissolve scale and kill germs. That is useful on a floor or a worktop. It is a problem on skin, in eyes or in the lungs if the product is used badly.
The HSE makes a point that is easy to miss. Health hazards are not limited to products with a warning label. Some harmful substances are produced by the process itself, such as the dust from sanding wood. The same idea applies to a cleaning visit. Dry sweeping throws fine dust into the air, and a spray bottle can put a mist where people breathe.
The HSE lists the ways a person can be exposed. A substance can be breathed in. It can get onto or through the skin. It can even be swallowed. An assessment looks at each of those routes and asks how likely they are in the job being done.
Who is responsible when the cleaners are contractors
The cleaning company employs the cleaners, so it must assess the risks to its own people. It chooses the products, trains the staff and decides how the work is done. You cannot hand that job back to the client.
That does not leave you with nothing to do. The HSE says contractors in your workplace need to know what the risks are and how you are controlling them. It also says you need to know if they are bringing hazardous substances onto your premises, and how they will prevent harm to your workers. Both sides have a part to play.
In plain terms, the contractor assesses the risk for its team. You make sure you know what is coming onto your site and how it will be kept away from your own staff and visitors. A good cleaning contractor in Manchester will expect that conversation and will not be put off by it.
What a COSHH assessment actually looks at
The HSE breaks the process into a few clear steps. The first is to identify the hazards. That means reading the product labels and the safety data sheets, and asking the supplier if anything is unclear.
The second step is to assess the risks. The HSE asks you to think about several things.
- Who might be harmed, and how.
- How workers might be exposed, whether by breathing, skin contact or swallowing.
- How often people work with the substance, and for how long.
- Anyone else who could be affected, including maintenance workers, contractors, visitors and members of the public.
- What is already being done to control the risk.
- What further action is needed, who will do it and by when.
Put that into a cleaning setting and it becomes concrete. The night cleaner using a descaler in a washroom is one person to consider. The receptionist who arrives early is another. A visitor waiting in a lobby that was cleaned an hour ago is a third. The assessment is not a grand document. It is a short, honest look at who could be affected.
The safety data sheet is the starting point
Every hazardous product comes with a safety data sheet from its supplier. It sets out the hazards, how to handle and store the product, what to do after a spill and what first aid applies. The HSE tells assessors to read these sheets alongside the label.
For you, this gives a very simple request. Ask the contractor for a list of every product they will use on your site, with the data sheet for each. A well run company has these to hand and can send them within a day. If the answer is vague, or the sheets are missing, treat that as useful information about how the rest of the contract will run.
Controls come in a set order
The HSE does not start with protective equipment. It sets out a sequence, and each step comes before the next. Applied to cleaning, the sequence looks like this.
Use the mildest product that does the job
The HSE asks whether you really need a particular substance, or whether a safer alternative is available. A neutral floor cleaner on a sealed vinyl corridor does not need a strong degreaser. Choosing the milder product removes the hazard before anyone has to manage it.
Change the way the work is done
The HSE also asks whether the process can change to reduce exposure. In cleaning, the best known example is dust. The HSE advice is to clean regularly with a dust free method, which means vacuum and do not sweep. Measured dosing instead of pouring concentrate by eye is another good habit, because it cuts splashes and waste.
Set up the work properly
The HSE lists several simple systems of work. Restrict access to people who need to be there. Use appropriate containers and check that they are labelled. Keep incompatible materials apart, and the HSE gives acids and caustics as its example. Plan how waste will be stored and disposed of.
There is a practical reason behind the rule on incompatible products. Some give off harmful gas if they are mixed. Products are used one at a time, and they are never topped up into the wrong bottle.
Protective equipment comes last
Gloves and eye protection have a place. The HSE is clear that they should not be the automatic choice, because they are less reliable than other measures. Where the assessment says gloves or goggles are needed, the cleaner should know why and should wear them.
Storage on your premises
If the contractor leaves anything on site, such as a cupboard of products, check the basics. The cupboard should lock. Every container should be labelled. Products that react with each other should be stored apart. Nothing should sit near food, and nothing should be where the public can reach it.
It also helps to name a key holder. If an alarm goes off, a pipe leaks or a bottle splits, someone should know where the keys are and who to call. This is small detail, but it is what a good assessment turns into on the ground.
Spills, accidents and emergencies
The HSE says you should have the right equipment and procedures to clear up spillages quickly and safely. It also says workers should know what to do if there is an accident or emergency, for example a spillage.
A fair question for any contractor is simple. What happens if a bottle splits in the corridor at seven in the morning? The answer should include who deals with it, what they use, who is told and how the area is kept clear in the meantime. A confident, specific answer is a good sign.
Training, records and review
The HSE says workers need to understand the outcome of the risk assessment and what it means for them. They should be trained to use controls and protective equipment correctly. This is not a one off talk. It is part of how a new cleaner starts on your site.
On records, the HSE says a business with five or more employees must record its assessment. Even a smaller firm is encouraged to write down the steps it has taken. Most contractors will be above that line, so ask to see the assessment, or a summary for your site, along with a note of who has been trained.
Reviews matter too. The HSE says to review the assessment regularly, and again if the staff, the process, the substances or the equipment change. A review is also sensible after an accident or a near miss. In practice, if your contractor switches to a new supplier or a new product, the assessment should be updated and you should be told.
Questions to ask before the first visit
A short list keeps the conversation focused. Most contractors can answer these on a first call or in the proposal.
- Which products will be used on our site, and can we see the safety data sheet for each?
- Do you have a written COSHH assessment, and can we see the part that covers our premises?
- Where will products be stored, and who holds the keys?
- Are any areas affected by a product, and does anyone need to stay out while it is used?
- How do you deal with a spill, and who do we call?
- What protective equipment do your cleaners wear, and why?
- How are new cleaners trained before they start on our site?
- How will you tell us if you change a product?
It is also worth telling the contractor about your own people. If a member of staff has asthma, a skin condition or a strong sensitivity to fragrance, say so. The assessment can only cover risks that the contractor knows about.
How this works on one of our contracts
On a contract, we supply our own equipment and cleaning products. We begin with a site assessment and write a cleaning specification for the premises. That is the natural point to agree which products are used, where they are kept and which areas need extra care. Your account manager is your single point of contact, and you are welcome to ask for the safety data sheets for any product used on your site.
The same approach applies whether the job is a weekly office cleaning visit or a one off deep clean, where stronger products are more likely to be needed and the care taken matters more.
Getting started
If you are comparing cleaning companies, add the COSHH questions to your list. They take ten minutes and tell you more than a price alone. Tell us the type of premises, the floor surfaces, the hours you are open and anyone on site with a health concern. We will come back with a plan that covers the products as well as the schedule.