Commercial cleaning is the contracted, ongoing cleaning of business premises to a defined specification. Optus Glean UK delivers it nationwide across all four UK nations, using directly-employed, DBS-checked operatives on a fixed monthly fee — with one contract and one standard covering every site you run, however many towns they are in.
What commercial cleaning covers
A commercial cleaning contract covers the routine cleaning tasks a workplace needs to stay presentable, safe, and hygienic: floors, desks and touchpoints, kitchens and breakout areas, washrooms and consumables, waste, and glass. The scope is agreed up front in a written specification — frequency, areas, tasks, and standards — so both sides know exactly what is delivered and what a good clean looks like.
Optus Glean UK groups its work into four divisions: contract and office cleaning, healthcare and specialist cleaning, laundry and facilities support, and deep and exterior cleaning — so a single provider can cover everything from the daily office clean to periodic deep cleans, washrooms, and window cleaning.
How much does commercial cleaning cost?
Commercial cleaning in the UK is priced as a fixed monthly fee against the agreed scope, not by the hour. The biggest single cost driver is labour: the statutory National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour (from April 2026) and the voluntary Real Living Wage — which many corporate and public-sector tenders require — is £13.45 (£14.80 in London). Commercial cleaning is standard-rated for VAT at 20%. As a broad guide:
Why fixed monthly pricing, not hourly
Hourly pricing rewards the wrong thing — hours on site rather than a clean building. A fixed monthly fee against a defined scope means the outcome is what is contracted, the budget is known for the year, and there are no surprise call-out charges. The fee is paid by Direct Debit with a single annual indexed review, and it covers the named cleaner, the named relief, agreed consumables and equipment, and the management of the contract.
The Optus Glean UK difference: directly-employed teams
Most of the market runs on casual or self-employed labour, so the cleaning shift is the first thing dropped when better-paid work appears — and the buyer inherits the missed clean. Every Optus Glean UK operative is PAYE-employed on guaranteed hours, background-checked (DBS in England and Wales, Disclosure Scotland and AccessNI elsewhere), and assigned as a named primary cleaner with a named relief, so cover is built in rather than improvised.
One national contract for multi-site businesses
If you run sites in more than one town, you should not have to find, vet, and manage a different local cleaner in each. Optus Glean UK is the national alternative: one contract, one documented standard, one account manager, and one consolidated invoice across every site — with the same method statements, COSHH data, and reporting everywhere. When you switch to us from an incumbent, staff transfer under TUPE 2006 and we handle the consultation and Employee Liability Information process.
Indicative commercial cleaning costs (UK, guide only)
| Site type | Typical monthly range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small office (up to ~10 staff) | £400 – £900 | A few hours, a few times a week |
| Medium office / mixed premises | £900 – £2,500 | Daily cleaning, washrooms, consumables |
| Large / multi-floor site | £2,500+ | Daily teams, day porter, periodic deep cleans |
| Healthcare / industrial / food | Higher | Driven by frequency, vetting, and compliance |