The cleaning industry employs very large numbers of people in all sectors of the economy, from offices to factories, schools to hospitals, shops to aircraft. The range of work covers all cleaning activities from dusting and vacuuming to cleaning windows, factory roofs and industrial equipment.

This website provides occupational health and safety advice for those people working in the cleaning industry. It also provides links to the Cleaning Industry Liaison Forum, which is an HSE chaired committee comprising of industry trade associations, training bodies and trade unions.

Accidents to cleaners

In 2005/06p there were approximately 3500 work related accidents to cleaners reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Local Authorities. Over 700 of these accidents will be classified as major injuries for example dislocations or broken bones

The most common types of accidents reported were:

• Slips and trips
• Manual handling
• Falls from height

The main health risks affecting the industry are:

• Injury to backs and upper limbs
• Occupational dermatitis

Example risk assessments

We have produced some example risk assessments to help you see what a risk assessment might look like. They hopefully make clear that a risk assessment should be about identifying practical actions that protect people from harm and injury, not a bureaucratic experience. We believe that for the great majority of risk assessments, short bullet points work well.

• General office cleaning
• Cleaning large retail premises
• Cleaning contractor