Cleaner Job Description in the Philippines: Duties, Skills, and Safe Work Boundaries

TL;DR: A cleaner job description in the Philippines should name the actual work site, cleaning scope, schedule, pay arrangement, equipment, safety rules, and privacy boundaries. Whether you are applying for work or hiring, clear limits protect both sides from unsafe tasks, unpaid extras, and misunderstandings about what the role includes.

A cleaner is a worker hired to keep agreed spaces clean, orderly, and safe using an agreed routine and suitable equipment. The role can be in a private home, condominium, office, shop, clinic, or other site, so a useful cleaner job description must describe the setting rather than relying on a vague title.

This guide is for Filipino cleaners and the people hiring them. It is not legal advice or a substitute for current government guidance. The practical goal is simpler: make a normal workday clear enough that neither side has to guess what “clean everything” means.

What a cleaner role covers—and what it does not

Cleaning work is more than sweeping and mopping. It usually includes preparing supplies, cleaning assigned rooms or zones, using equipment as instructed, handling waste safely, restocking agreed items, and reporting a hazard or damaged fixture. The workload depends on the size of the site, the number of people using it, the cleaning frequency, and whether the work is residential or commercial.

The title should not hide separate roles. Childcare, elder care, cooking, driving, gardening, moving heavy furniture, handling cash, construction clean-up, pest treatment, and working at height all need a separate conversation about skill, time, risk, and pay. A cleaner should not be expected to supervise a child while using chemicals or to work alone through an emergency simply because they are already in the home.

For a private-household role, check whether the arrangement falls within the Domestic Workers Act, commonly called Batas Kasambahay. Its full statutory text is a better starting point than social-media summaries when a family is preparing an ongoing household-work agreement.

A ready-to-adapt cleaner job description

Use the structure below, but replace every placeholder with facts about the actual job. A good description sets a realistic scope; it does not promise “all-around” work and settle the details later.

| Job-description field | What to specify | | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Role and setting | Cleaner for a condominium unit in Pasig, an office in Makati, or another named work site; state whether the job is residential or commercial. | | Work schedule | Start and finish time, days or visits per week, meal or rest breaks, and how a change is requested. | | Assigned areas | For example: kitchen, bathrooms, floors, workstations, lobby, or common areas. Name spaces that are excluded. | | Core routine | Sweep, vacuum, mop, dust, clean and sanitize agreed surfaces, remove waste, and report low supplies or hazards. | | Equipment and products | State who supplies tools, gloves, masks, ladders, cleaning products, and instructions for using them. | | Pay and review | State the agreed pay, pay date and method, trial terms if any, and how extra work or a changed scope is approved. | | Privacy and access | Explain key, ID, camera, photo, visitor, document, and access-code rules without asking for unnecessary personal data. |

Here is a plain-language starting paragraph:

Cleaner: We are looking for a reliable cleaner to maintain the agreed areas of our [home/office/site] in a clean, safe, and orderly condition. The role includes the listed routine cleaning tasks, safe use of supplied equipment, waste handling, and prompt reporting of hazards or low supplies. It does not include childcare, driving, personal errands, cash handling, heavy lifting, or extra services unless agreed in writing before the task starts.

The strongest version also names the workload. “Clean a three-bedroom unit once a week, including two bathrooms and agreed laundry” is far more useful than “general cleaning.” It lets an applicant estimate the time, ask sensible questions, and decide whether the pay and schedule are fair.

Duties by frequency make the workload visible

Group tasks by how often they happen. This prevents a weekly deep-cleaning task from quietly becoming a daily expectation and gives both sides a practical way to review the role after the first few weeks.

Daily or each-visit tasks

• Sweep, vacuum, or mop the assigned floor areas using the provided equipment.
• Clean agreed bathrooms, kitchen surfaces, workstations, or common areas.
• Empty and sort waste according to the building or household process.
• Wipe frequently touched surfaces only where the site’s instructions and products make that appropriate.
• Report spills, exposed wires, leaks, broken equipment, pests, or missing supplies promptly.
• Return tools and chemicals to their designated storage area after use.

Weekly or occasional tasks

• Change agreed linens, clean selected appliances, dust high shelves when safe, or organize a supply cabinet.
• Prepare a room before a scheduled visit or event when the extra time is agreed beforehand.
• Do post-renovation, move-in, or deep-cleaning work only when the scope, protective equipment, and rate have been discussed separately.

If a family needs ongoing laundry, organization, and broader household upkeep, compare the role with this housekeeper job description. The labels can overlap, but the written scope should not. A cleaner can also point a family to cleaner profiles on Helpers when a different schedule or specialist fit is needed.

Skills that matter in a cleaner job description

A cleaner does not need to claim every skill to be employable. The job description should ask for the practical abilities the site actually needs: following a routine, recognizing when supplies are unsafe or insufficient, communicating a problem early, protecting private information, and using familiar equipment correctly.

Useful questions in an interview or first-day orientation include: Which surfaces need special care? Which products must never be mixed? Where are the electrical shutoffs or building contacts? What should be reported immediately? Which rooms are private? Asking the same work-focused questions of every applicant is fairer than collecting an oversized amount of personal history.

Training and experience can be relevant, especially for a clinic, food-service area, or large commercial site. But a certificate is not a substitute for site-specific instruction. A new cleaner still needs to know which rooms are assigned, where supplies are stored, who can approve extra work, and how to report a safety concern.

Safety is part of the job, not an optional extra

The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Law is a useful reminder that workplace safety needs planning, not a last-minute warning. The job description should identify hazards the person is likely to meet: slippery floors, cleaning chemicals, electrical equipment, sharp waste, stairs, ladders, lifting, heat, or a locked-in-alone worksite.

Before the first shift, agree on this safety checklist:

• Use the manufacturer’s directions and never mix cleaning chemicals unless a product’s instructions explicitly allow it.
• Ask for gloves, masks, ventilation, and equipment that fit the task; do not improvise protection with unknown materials.
• Stop and report a task involving an exposed wire, strong fumes, unstable ladder, unsafe load, or bodily-fluid clean-up without the right equipment and instruction.
• Keep children and pets away from active cleaning chemicals and wet floors.
• Know who to call for a building emergency, illness, injury, or a situation where the cleaner cannot safely continue alone.

Being careful is not refusing to work. It is the professional way to avoid harming yourself, another person, or the property. Employers should supply the time, equipment, and information the job requires; cleaners should raise a concern early instead of trying to solve a risky problem silently.

Pay, hours, and changes to the role

Pay should match the real scope: the site, hours, travel, frequency, equipment, physical demands, and any added responsibilities. Do not use an unverified online salary figure as a promise. Put the pay rate, pay date, payment method, rest arrangements, and agreed trial terms in writing before the work begins.

For household employment, check the current legal requirements that apply to the location and arrangement. For questions about contributions or employer processes, use the official pages for SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG rather than a copied checklist. Government rules and procedures can change, and an article cannot determine an individual arrangement.

If the work changes, pause before it becomes routine. A new baby, a move from a studio to a house, extra bathrooms, care work, a different location, or a request for overtime changes the time and risk of the role. Write down the new task, schedule, pay effect, and start date. A cleaner should be able to say, “I can discuss that as an additional duty,” without being pressured to accept it on the spot.

Privacy, respectful hiring, and scam boundaries

Cleaners can see family schedules, keys, addresses, documents, photos, and workplace information. Both sides should treat that access seriously. The National Privacy Commission’s Data Privacy Act guidance supports a simple principle: collect only information needed for a legitimate purpose, protect it, and do not share it casually.

An employer should not request bank passwords, keep original IDs, demand access to a personal phone, or post an applicant’s details in a group chat. A cleaner should be cautious if a supposed job requires an upfront payment, original documents, a meeting in an isolated place, or a task that is materially different from the advertisement. Verify the location, contact person, pay arrangement, and scope before travelling; tell someone you trust where you are going for a first meeting or trial.

A paid trial can be reasonable when its length, tasks, supervision, payment, transport expectations, and decision date are agreed first. A “free trial” is not a fair way to test a worker. Keep the same boundaries during a trial: no unsafe chemicals, unannounced care work, or unexplained access to personal documents.

How cleaners can use this description when applying

Bring the written scope into the conversation. You do not need a perfect script; five questions are enough:

1. Which rooms or areas am I responsible for, and which are excluded?
2. What are the days, hours, pay, pay date, and travel expectations?
3. Who provides tools, cleaning products, protective equipment, and instructions?
4. Are there additional duties such as laundry, childcare, pets, cash handling, or deep cleaning?
5. Who do I contact if I find a safety issue or the work changes?

Clear answers are a good signal. Evasive answers such as “we will see later” are a reason to slow down and ask for the terms in writing. When you are ready to present your experience to families or employers, create a Helpers profile with the cleaning tasks, locations, schedule, and work boundaries you can genuinely offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a cleaner do in the Philippines?

A cleaner completes the agreed cleaning routine for a home, office, or other site: preparing tools, cleaning assigned areas, handling waste safely, reporting hazards, and protecting the client’s privacy. The exact scope, schedule, and setting should be written before work starts.

Is a cleaner the same as a housekeeper?

Not always. A cleaner is often hired for defined cleaning work or visits, while a housekeeper may have an ongoing household-upkeep role that includes laundry, linen care, and organization. The written job description should say which role is being offered.

Should a cleaner job description include pay and work hours?

Yes. State the work location, start and finish time, frequency, pay, pay date, breaks, rest arrangements, equipment, and how extra work is approved. These details prevent a short cleaning assignment from becoming an unlimited role.

Can an employer ask a cleaner to do childcare or personal errands?

Only with clear prior agreement, the right experience, safe staffing, and fair pay. Childcare, driving, cash handling, care work, and personal errands are separate responsibilities that should never be silently added to a cleaning role.

What should a cleaner do if a task feels unsafe?

Stop the unsafe task, move away from immediate danger where possible, and report the hazard promptly. Ask for suitable equipment, instructions, or a revised task before continuing; do not improvise with chemicals, electrical equipment, heights, or heavy loads.

Build a role both sides can trust

The best cleaner job description is specific enough to guide an ordinary workday. It names the site, duties, equipment, pay, safety process, and privacy boundaries before either person feels rushed to agree. That clarity makes a role easier to fill, safer to do, and more respectful to keep. If you are ready to show families the work you can do, create your cleaner profile on Helpers.