School cleaner jobs

School cleaners usually work short shifts before the school day starts or after it ends, often only a few hours at a time. Some are employed directly by the school or council and paid on the NJC pay spine with a local government pension. Others work for a cleaning contractor, which normally pays close to the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour. The job needs no qualifications, but you will usually need a DBS check and to be reliable about early or late hours.

The shifts

Cleaning has to fit around pupils. The most common pattern is an evening shift starting as pupils leave, and some schools also run an early-morning shift to open up toilets and communal areas. A small primary might have one or two cleaners. A large secondary has a team led by a cleaning supervisor or the site manager.

Many posts are part-time, which suits people with caring responsibilities or another job. School holidays bring deep cleans, floor stripping and preparation for the new term, so some contracts include extra hours then and others are term-time only.

The work itself

A typical shift covers classrooms, corridors, toilets, the hall and offices: emptying bins, vacuuming and mopping, wiping surfaces and touch points, cleaning and restocking toilets, and reporting damage or hazards. Cleaners use chemicals, so training in safe handling (COSHH) and in using machines such as floor scrubbers is normal. The job is physical, with a lot of standing, bending and lifting.

Directly employed or contractor

This is the biggest difference between school cleaning jobs.

If a maintained school or the council employs you, you are usually on the NJC pay spine, graded at the bottom few points. The 2026/27 award added 3.3% from 1 April 2026, and the lowest point, SCP 3, is £25,614 full-time, which works out at about £13.28 an hour. You also get council-style leave (at least 23 days’ basic plus 8 public holidays and 2 extra-statutory days for a full-timer, pro rata for part-time) and access to the Local Government Pension Scheme. Academies set their own terms, though many follow the same structure.

If the school uses a cleaning contractor, the contractor employs you and sets your pay and terms. Many pay at or near the legal minimum:

Rate	Hourly from April 2026
National Living Wage (21 and over)	£12.71
Age 18 to 20	£10.85
Real Living Wage, UK (voluntary, announced 15 October 2026)	£14.10
Real Living Wage, London	£15.45

Contractors accredited with the Living Wage Foundation should move to the new Real Living Wage rates as soon as possible and within six months of the announcement. Some councils require contractors to pay it as a contract condition. Our guides to the National Living Wage and the Real Living Wage explain the difference.

When the contract changes hands

Schools retender cleaning contracts, and sometimes bring cleaning back in-house or contract it out. When that happens, TUPE rules usually apply. Staff who work mainly on the school contract transfer to the new employer with their existing terms and continuous service, and the new employer cannot change your terms just because of the transfer. You should be told if a change of contractor is coming, and there should be consultation through your union or elected representatives. See TUPE: when your employer changes, and talk to a union or ACAS if something looks wrong.

Holiday, hours and pay rights

All cleaners, however few hours they work, are entitled to at least 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday, pro rata. For part-year or irregular-hours workers, holiday builds up at 12.07% of hours worked, and rolled-up holiday pay is allowed for them. Where pay varies with time worked, you are entitled to an itemised payslip showing your hours.

Some contractors use zero-hours contracts. Exclusivity clauses in them cannot be enforced, so you can work for someone else too. Our guide to zero-hours contracts covers your rights.

Applying

Councils, academy trusts, individual schools and contractors all advertise cleaning jobs, and many are listed under facilities jobs and school support jobs. You fill in an application form, provide references, and usually have an enhanced DBS check, which in England and Wales costs £41.00 from 5 October 2026. A short informal interview and a tour of the site are common. Use the take-home pay calculator to compare offers, especially if you are weighing a contractor job against a directly employed one.