FAQ Before You Apply

What’s HomeWork?

HomeWork is in home cleaning – alongside Hemfrid and HomeMaid – one of Sweden’s largest cleaning companies, with clients in Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, and Lund. We have focused exclusively on home cleaning since 2007, that is, for more than 17 years. Our trademark HomeWork® is registered in the European Union, and in the United States.

What does work as a home cleaner with HomeWork mean?

As a professional home cleaner with HomeWork, your work consists of cleaning our clients’ homes – houses and apartments – weekly, biweekly and four-weekly. Normally you have two clients per day, sometimes three, but never more. The clients remain the same and so become ’your’ clients.

When is the work done?

The work is done during regular business hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Which skills do you require?

To work as a professional home cleaner with HomeWork, you should be motivated, and skilled in home cleaning, and, preferably, have professional experience as a cleaner. This means you should have good knowledge about cleaning materials and cleaning methods, be able to work meticulously and efficiently, be organized, and have an eye for details.

In addition to cleaning skills, we look at your skills in communication, customer service, administration, and security.

What do you offer in return?

If you have the skills we’re looking for, we can offer you a very stable job, friendly clients, and an accessible and well-organized administration. We can also offer better employment terms than many other cleaning companies, including:

• Higher salary than in collective agreements
• Full-time work if you want to work full-time
• Compensation for travel by car or public transportation
• Business phone with free calls and free internet
• Bonus program for recommendations to new clients and cleaners
• Healthcare/fitness subsidy
• Up to six weeks of vacation per year

How much do you pay?

We pay between 164,64 and 174,64 SEK/h (147 and 155,93 SEK/h + 12% vacation pay), depending primarily on your clients’ ratings. Our minimum salary is higher than in collective agreements, and more than many other cleaning companies pay.

For those who aren’t familiar with the salary system in Sweden, it's worth to add that we, like all employers in Sweden, also pay social fees of 31.42% of your salary, which include a fee for your retirement. The retirement fee is 10.21% of your salary, and is paid to you by the Swedish government when you retire, irrespective of whether you still live in Sweden or not.

Do you deduct income tax from the salary?

Yes, we deduct income tax from your salary. Currently, the tax for the above salary, if you work full-time, is about 23%. To find out exactly which tax rate you pay, we recommend you to visit jobbskatteavdrag.se.

What does full-time work mean?

Full-time work means that we create a full-time schedule for you, so that you’re booked approximately 40 hours per week. Full-time work is not, however, the same as full-time employment, where you receive a fixed monthly salary irrespective of how much you work. In full-time work, your salary remains hourly based, and varies from month to month, partly because your hourly salary depends on your clients’ ratings, and partly because the number of working days varies from month to month. Compared to other cleaning companies, who rarely are able to offer more than part-time work, full-time work is, however, a considerable advantage.

I don’t want to work full-time, but part-time. Is that possible?

Yes, it’s also possible to work part-time. Because we only employ personnel who want to work with cleaning as a real profession, we request, however, that you work a minimum of 25% of full-time work (that is, at least about 10 hours per week). If you want to work less than 25%, we unfortunately cannot offer you employment.

What are the pros and cons of working as a home cleaner with HomeWork?

Besides that it’s a very stable and comparatively well-paid employment, the advantages are that you decide which days and how much you want to work, and that you are responsible for your work and your clients. In this way, it’s as free and independent as being a self-employed cleaner. As an employee at HomeWork, however, you avoid the instability, the administrative problems, and having to think about work when the working day is over. Many of our employees also appreciate that it’s not sedentary office work, but a physically active work, which, according to scientific research, is better for a person’s mental and physical health.

The disadvantages are that the opportunities to develop professionally, and to make a career are limited. At HomeWork, we strive to make the job as instructive and varied as possible for you, but ultimately the work is about delivering an excellent cleaning service in our clients’ homes, and this we cannot change.

If you’re not so interested in making a career, or if you want a stable and comparatively well-paid job for a few years, and then study further or seek other professions, this is, however, not a major disadvantage. For you who have a highly competitive and unstable profession, for example in a creative field, part-time job as a home cleaner can also be suitable, since the stability it offers brings a good balance to such occupations.

In which locations do you offer work?

HomeWork in Sweden is currently located in and around Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, and Lund, and we offer work in all of these locations. If you live in another location, in Sweden or abroad, but are prepared to move to any of these locations, you’re, of course, also welcome to apply.

Do I have to speak Swedish?

No, we do not require that you speak Swedish, and several of our best home cleaners don’t speak Swedish at all. If you don’t speak good Swedish, you must, however, speak good English. Otherwise, we unfortunately cannot offer you a job.

Do I need a driver's license or a car?

No, we do not require that you have a driver’s license or a car. If you don’t have a driver’s license or a car, we simply book you with clients in areas you can easily reach without a car.

I don’t live in Sweden. Can you offer me a place to live if I’m employed?

If you currently live outside Sweden, and we offer you work as a home cleaner with HomeWork in Sweden, we can normally also offer you a place to live for a limited period (usually no more than two months) until you have found your own residence.

How long can I work with HomeWork?

You may work as long as you want. The longer you work, the better it is for our clients and for HomeWork. Some of our employees have been working with us successfully for more than ten years.

How short can I work with HomeWork?

The minimum period you should plan to work with HomeWork is one year. We agree with our clients that they will have one and the same cleaner, and if you leave after a short period, it will result in dissatisfaction for our clients and problems for us. If you’re not sure that you want to work for at least one year, we request that you don’t apply for work with HomeWork.

I’m employed as a cleaner with a different company, but consider switching to HomeWork. How do I apply without my current employer finding out about it?

If you’re already employed as a cleaner with a different company, you’re especially welcome to apply for a job at HomeWork. You will then mark this in your application, and we will arrange to make all interviews and tests at times that suit your schedule. We also guarantee not to contact your current employer unless you explicitly mark in your application that we may do so.

I’m self-employed or have my own ’private’ clients in cleaning. Can I keep my clients if I’m offered employment with HomeWork?

In Sweden, there are more than 20,000 cleaning companies, and a large part of these are self-employed. If you’re one of these, or if you have your own ’private’ clients, you’re particularly welcome to apply for work with HomeWork. Our aim is that our employment terms not only should be better than those at most other cleaning companies, but that our work conditions – as a whole – should be better also for you who are a self-employed cleaner.

Compared to being self-employed, you will, as a home cleaner with HomeWork, for example, never need to handle complicated administration, worry about finding new clients when current clients terminate, or search for replacements when you become ill. If you include all the time spent on unpaid work (such as marketing, invoicing, and book-keeping), and then compare with HomeWork’s hourly rates, you’ll probably find that the rates at HomeWork are about the same as, or higher than, the one you get as a self-employed cleaner. And compared to having your own ’private’ clients, you will, as an employee with HomeWork, be free from all the risks and worries in working ’black’ and illegally.

If you already have your own clients, you’re also welcome to continue to work for those through HomeWork, if both you and your clients want so. We will offer you a bonus for every new client you bring to HomeWork.

I’m studying, but want to work extra on weekends, evenings, and holidays. Is that possible?

No, unfortunately we cannot offer employment if you just want some extra work outside regular business hours. We recruit only professional cleaners who want to work with professional cleaning during regular business hours.

I’ve now read your FAQ Before You Apply, and I’m still interested. How do I apply?

You apply online in our Basic Application. make it easy for you, we have simplified the application and divided it into two parts, the first part taking less than three minutes to fill out. If the first part is interesting for us, we’ll ask you to complete a second, full application. Please note that we always read and reply to all applications, both with a message that we have received your application, and with a final decision.

Can I call you or visit your office about my application?

No, unfortunately not. We receive so many applications, that we’re unable to take calls or receive visits from applicants. All information about the positions and the application you can find online, or is emailed to you during the application process.

We again thank you for your interest, and hope you’ll become one of our skilled home cleaners!