Hospital domestic and housekeeping jobs

Hospital domestics clean wards, clinics, theatres and public areas to the standards needed to stop infections spreading. In NHS England, domestic assistant posts are usually band 2 of Agenda for Change, which is £25,272 from 1 April 2026 for full-time hours, and you can apply with no qualifications. Housekeepers and domestic supervisors are often on band 3. Many of these jobs are part-time, and some are run by contractors outside the NHS.

Cleaning to infection control standards

Hospital cleaning is closer to clinical work than office cleaning. Patients are vulnerable to infections such as C. difficile, MRSA and norovirus, and how a room is cleaned affects whether those spread. In England, cleaning is measured against the National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness, which set out how often different areas must be cleaned according to risk, how cleanliness is audited and how the results are displayed to the public.

In practice that means:

• using colour-coded cloths, mops and buckets so equipment for toilets never touches kitchens or bed areas
• following the right method and chemical for each area and each type of contamination
• deep cleaning bed spaces and side rooms after a patient with an infection goes home (“terminal cleans”)
• wearing the right personal protective equipment and handling waste and sharps safely
• signing cleaning schedules and taking part in audits

You are trained on all this when you start, and refresher training on infection prevention comes every year as part of mandatory training.

Domestic, housekeeper or supervisor

Role	Usual band	Pay from 1 April 2026 (England, full-time)
Domestic assistant	2	£25,272
Ward housekeeper, domestic supervisor	3	£25,760 to £27,476
Domestic services manager	4 or above	from £28,392

Housekeepers often manage ward stock, oversee meal service and check that cleaning has been done properly. Supervisors allocate staff and run audits. The bands vary between trusts, so check the advert.

Band 2 is a single pay point. Part-time pay is worked out pro rata from the full-time figure; what pro rata salary means shows how. Weekend, evening and bank holiday shifts carry unsocial hours enhancements.

Agenda for Change band 2 in England sits above the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour for people aged 21 and over. Scotland’s band 2 runs from £26,658 to £28,947. Negotiations on reforming the lowest bands started in April 2026, and any deal would be backdated to 1 April 2026.

Outsourced employers

Some NHS trusts contract cleaning out to facilities management companies or move staff into a wholly owned subsidiary. A contractor sets its own pay, which may be closer to the legal minimum than to Agenda for Change, and pension, sick pay and holiday terms may be less generous too. Check the contract before accepting. If you are already employed and the service changes hands, TUPE usually protects your terms at the point of transfer.

Hours and working conditions

Cleaning teams work across the day and night. Early morning, evening and weekend shifts are common, and many posts are part-time, which suits people fitting work around family or study. The work is physical, with lots of bending, mopping, lifting and pushing trolleys, and you will be in areas with unwell patients.

Full-time NHS staff get 27 days’ annual leave plus eight public holidays when they start, rising with service; part-timers get it pro rata. NHS sick pay in the first year is one month’s full pay and, after four months’ service, two months’ half pay. Contractor terms may only match the statutory minimum.

At £25,272 full-time, your NHS Pension Scheme contribution is 6.5%. Part-time pay is lower, so you may fall into a lower tier. The take-home pay calculator shows what you would take home on your actual hours.

Health and safety

Cleaning chemicals, sharps, body fluids and infectious patients all carry risks. Your employer has to assess those risks, give you training and protective equipment, and offer vaccinations where they are relevant, such as hepatitis B for staff handling clinical waste. Report any needlestick injury straight away, as it needs prompt assessment. If you work alone in some areas at night, there should be a lone working procedure. The guide to health and safety rights covers what you can ask for and who to talk to if something is unsafe.

Applying

Jobs are advertised on NHS Jobs, trust websites and contractor careers pages. Applications are usually short. Show that you are reliable, careful, happy to follow procedures exactly and comfortable working around patients. Expect right to work checks, references and usually a DBS check. Facilities openings are listed under facilities jobs.

Some domestics move on into housekeeper and supervisor roles, and others use their knowledge of the hospital to move into catering, portering or healthcare assistant posts.