FAQ: our staffing model
Frequently asked questions about office cleaning without subcontractors
What office managers, law firm partners, and managing directors in Hamburg most often want to know before switching providers.
StaffDoes Ruiz really work without any subcontractors?
Yes. Since our founding in 2019, every job has been done by our own permanent employees — currently more than 20 people from 11 countries, with no temp agency workers and no outside companies. This isn’t an add-on option; it has been our business model since day one. One figure shows how stable the team is: in seven years, exactly one cleaner has left the company, and more than 90% of our original employees are still on the team today.
CheckingHow can I tell whether my current cleaning company uses subcontractors?
Often you can’t tell from the outside, but there are four reliable checks. First, ask in writing for the in-house share — the portion of the cleaning done by the company’s own employees. Second, ask to see the certificates of good standing from the health insurance fund and the statutory accident insurer. Third, request the time records for your site; they show whether the hours in the quote are actually being worked. Fourth, watch for frequent staff changes — in this industry, they’re the clearest warning sign. A contract clause that rules out subcontractors or makes them subject to your approval is more effective than any certificate after the fact.
LegalAm I liable as the client if my provider uses subcontractors?
As a rule, no. Guarantor liability for minimum wages under § 14 of the Posted Workers Act and § 13 of the Minimum Wage Act applies to companies that pass their own contractual obligations on to subcontractors. According to case law from the Federal Labor Court, a business that only has its own office space cleaned doesn’t fall into that category (ruling of October 16, 2019, 5 AZR 241/18). What does affect you are the practical consequences: the customs unit that polices undeclared work makes commercial cleaning a priority for inspections — and it inspects where the work is done, on your premises, where you’re required to cooperate. This is general information, not legal advice.
DocumentsWhich documents do you provide?
On request, we provide the certificate of good standing from our health insurance fund, which collects our social security contributions, the certificate of good standing from BG BAU, our statutory accident insurer, the tax compliance certificate from the tax office, proof of our business liability insurance up to €5 million, and our listing with the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts (Handwerkskammer Hamburg) in its register of trades that require no master craftsman license. For your site, we add the time records under § 17 of the Minimum Wage Act. A certificate of good standing is only ever a snapshot of the day it’s issued. What tells you more is a current certificate combined with the fact that we have no subcontractor chain whose paperwork you’d have to chase.
SecurityDo your cleaners have a police clearance certificate?
Yes. Every cleaner is a permanent employee and, before their first shift, submits a police clearance certificate, which we check and keep on file. For data protection reasons, we can’t hand you the document itself — it contains our employees’ personal data. But we’ll confirm in writing that we have checked a police clearance certificate for every person assigned to your site. On top of that, every team member signs a confidentiality agreement, and we’ll also sign your own NDA on request. We accept keys and access fobs only against a signed handover record.
ProcessWho covers during vacations or sick leave — an outside company after all?
No. Cover usually comes from the same team that already knows your site. That’s exactly why we keep more than 20 permanent employees instead of staffing every site to the bare minimum. Whoever covers has been briefed on your site, knows the special areas and arrangements, and gets the key through the same handover procedure. So you don’t have to explain all over again which room needs to be ready when.
PricingAre in-house staff more expensive than a subcontractor chain?
In our calculations, yes; on your invoice, usually not. Permanent employees in wage group 1 at €15.00 gross per hour, with social security contributions, paid vacation, and sick pay, cost more than a chain that cuts costs at the last link. On the other hand, we don’t have the layers of middlemen that each take a cut in a chain. The bottom line: prices start at €361.96 net per month for up to 150 m² cleaned once a week, based on a calculated hourly rate of at least €33 net per hour. In the live chat, Eliza gives you your non-binding final price in under 30 seconds.
SwitchingHow quickly can I switch to Ruiz without a gap in cleaning?
We usually start 2–7 business days after you give us the go-ahead, depending on capacity. We plan the process around the notice period of your current contract so there’s no gap: the site visit, scope of work, key handover against a signed record, and briefing of your dedicated team all happen during the remaining contract term. For a step-by-step guide to a smooth switch, see our page on switching cleaning companies in Hamburg. After that, you can cancel our contract monthly — there’s no minimum term.