Podcast · Sauber kalkuliert · Episode 3
Start with the €15.00 collectively agreed wage (Tariflohn), add roughly 25% in non-wage labor costs, then factor in supplies, equipment, travel, cover for absences, and insurance: the result is an hourly rate of at least €33 net. In episode 3, Ruiz Büroreinigung Hamburg puts that math on the table — and shows you how to spot a lowball offer before it costs your company money and headaches. This episode is in German; the full transcript, translated into English, is below.
The episode
Why are three quotes for the same office so far apart? What actually goes into one hour of office cleaning? And why is a suspiciously cheap offer a risk for the company that accepts it?
In episode 3 of our German-language podcast series Sauber kalkuliert, two hosts work out, step by step, how the generally binding (allgemeinverbindlich) collectively agreed wage turns into an hourly rate. The episode covers how the price is calculated, the three levers of wage dumping, and who in the contracting chain is liable for what. You’ll find the full price table with every monthly rate on our Office cleaning prices in Hamburg page.
Listen
A 25-minute conversation (in German) between two hosts — in the player or on your favorite platform.
The 4 key topics
Two hosts break the price of office cleaning down into its parts — and name the warning signs every client in Hamburg should know.
The collectively agreed wage, social security contributions, and operating costs add up to an hourly rate of at least €33 net. The full breakdown is on our pricing page.
A price below cost doesn’t come from clever negotiating. It comes from cutting corners at one of these three points.
Plenty of marketing copy claims that clients are automatically liable for the wages of their cleaning company’s subcontractors. As a blanket statement, that’s not true. What does affect you is the result on site. This episode is no substitute for legal advice.
A reliable quote lists rooms, frequencies, and tasks one by one — so you can see exactly how the price comes together.
Reality check
The math isn’t just theory. In these four cases, it determines the quality you get, your budget, and what proof your provider can show you.
You have three quotes for 400 m² of office space, and they’re several hundred euros a month apart.
The gap comes from time, not price
Don’t compare the monthly rates — compare the cleaning hours each quote budgets. Three quotes for the same floor almost always differ in how much working time they plan for. A provider that budgets fewer hours isn’t cleaning for less — it’s just cleaning for less time.
A provider emails you a monthly price without ever having seen your office.
Pricing without a basis
Flooring, restroom fixtures, kitchenettes, desk sharing, and special areas determine the workload. Anyone who hasn’t seen them is guessing. You can get a non-binding instant final price in 30 seconds in the live chat with Eliza; the binding fixed price follows the site visit.
A few weeks after you switch providers, the floors are sticky and the restrooms look like they only got a quick wipe.
Cutting corners on time
If a quote allows one hour for 400 m², far less paid working time is left for the same space. The hourly rate looks plausible, but the service behind it has been cut. Ask how many hours are budgeted for each cleaning.
Your provider works with a changing lineup of subcontractors, and you have no paperwork on file.
Proof, not trust
Guarantor liability generally falls on your provider, not on you. What does reach you is the fallout: staff who keep changing, unclear responsibilities, and a provider on the radar of the customs unit that fights undeclared work (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit). So ask for certificates of good standing (Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigungen) from the statutory health insurance fund (Krankenkasse) and from BG BAU (the statutory accident insurance institution for the construction and cleaning trades), proof of collectively agreed pay, and proof of business liability insurance up to €5 million.
The math
Since January 2026, the generally binding collectively agreed wage for wage group 1 has been €15.00 gross per hour. It applies to every cleaning company in Germany, whether or not it belongs to an industry association. Our guide Collectively agreed wages in commercial cleaning 2026 breaks down every wage group from 1 to 9 (group 5 has not existed since 2011).
Statutory non-wage labor costs add roughly 25% to the gross wage: health, pension, unemployment, and long-term care insurance, contributions to BG BAU, paid vacation, public holidays, and sick pay. That adds up to €18.75 in direct labor cost per hour. Labor accounts for 75 to 80% of total costs. The rest is split among cleaning chemicals and equipment, vehicles and travel across Hamburg, cover for vacation and sick leave, site management and quality control, business liability insurance up to €5 million, and administration and profit. All told, that comes to a calculated hourly rate of at least €33 net.
In the end, what matters to you as the client is the monthly rate, not the timesheet. It starts at €361.96 net per month for up to 150 m² with one cleaning a week. The flat rate rises in steps with the floor area; all prices are net, plus 19% VAT, and you can cancel monthly. The flat rates apply up to 1,000 m²; above that, we prepare a custom, non-binding quote. We don’t offer four cleanings a week. The full table with every size and frequency is on our Office cleaning prices in Hamburg page.
Check a quote
These five checks separate a trustworthy quote from a lowball offer — no matter which provider you choose in the end.
Divide the monthly rate by the cleaning hours the quote budgets. If the result is under €25 net, the numbers make it almost impossible to pay the collectively agreed wage.
Ask how many hours are budgeted for each cleaning. If the same space gets half the time, it’s the service that’s being cut, not the price.
A trustworthy quote lists rooms, frequencies, and tasks one by one. Vague descriptions with no scope of work just put off the arguments until the contract is underway.
Ask for a certificate of good standing and proof of BG BAU membership, business liability insurance, and collectively agreed pay. Together, they show that contributions and wages are actually being paid.
Ask how many of the cleaners assigned to your office are permanent employees. Subcontracting chains are a common way underpayment creeps in.
What clients say
Genuine reviews from Hamburg businesses — published on Google, linked, and easy to check.
5.0 out of 5 · 28 reviews on Google
Reviews from January 2020 to March 2026
5 out of 5 stars
Reliable, thorough, and always punctual — that’s exactly how I picture professional office cleaning. 😊👍🏻
Translated from GermanRead the original reviews (in German) on Google (opens in a new tab)
5 out of 5 stars
We’re extremely satisfied with Ruiz Gebäudereinigung for our office on Sandtorkai. The cleaning is thorough and reliable. The team works professionally, and they’re flexible and punctual here. The service can only be described as excellent!
Translated from GermanRead the original reviews (in German) on Google (opens in a new tab)
5 out of 5 stars
We’re very satisfied with Ruiz Gebäudeservice. The team is reliable, works thoroughly, and always ensures a clean office. The collaboration runs smoothly.
It’s a great relief not to have to worry about cleanliness everything gets done reliably. If you’re looking for a professional cleaning service, you’ve come to exactly the right place. A clear recommendation!
Translated from GermanRead the original review (in German) on Google (opens in a new tab)
5 out of 5 stars
We’re very satisfied with the cleaning service. The team works reliably and thoroughly. The service is professional and flexible, so even short-notice adjustments can be made without any problems.
Translated from GermanRead the original reviews (in German) on Google (opens in a new tab)
5 out of 5 stars
For some time now, we’ve been relying on Ruiz Gebäudereinigung for the daily cleaning of our offices in HafenCity, which are about 890 m² in size. We’re super satisfied! The quality of the cleaning is top-notch, and the prices are fair.
Translated from GermanRead the original reviews (in German) on Google (opens in a new tab)
5 out of 5 stars
We (KREBS +KIEFER Ingenieure) are more than satisfied with the services of Ruiz Gebäudeservice Hamburg and can wholeheartedly recommend them.
Translated from GermanRead the original reviews (in German) on Google (opens in a new tab)
A selection from our Google reviews. We have matched each review shown here to a client assignment. As of October 4, 2026
Frequently asked questions
The key answers from episode 3 of “Sauber kalkuliert” on hourly rates, warning signs, and liability in the contracting chain.
Call us directly at +49 40 54 814 832 or message us in the live chat with Eliza.
The 25-minute episode shows how the generally binding collectively agreed wage of €15.00 turns into a calculated hourly rate of at least €33 net. It then covers the three levers of wage dumping, who is liable in the contracting chain, and the signs of a trustworthy quote. You can listen to the episode (in German) on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music, or read the full transcript, translated into English, on this page.
Labor is the biggest share: the €15.00 collectively agreed wage plus roughly 25% in non-wage labor costs comes to €18.75 in direct labor cost, and labor makes up 75 to 80% of total costs. Add to that cleaning chemicals and equipment, vehicles and travel, cover for vacation and sick leave, site management and quality control, business liability insurance up to €5 million, and administration and profit. All told, that’s at least €33 net per hour. The full breakdown is on our pricing page.
Work backward from the quote to the hourly rate: divide the monthly rate by the cleaning hours it budgets. If the result is under €25 net, the numbers make it almost impossible to pay the collectively agreed wage. Two more red flags: unrealistic output targets, such as 400 m² in one hour, and a flat price without a site visit. Reputable providers present a documented scope of work and offer month-to-month contracts.
Not as a blanket rule. Guarantor liability under § 14 of the Posted Workers Act (AEntG) and § 13 of the Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG) falls on the company that passes its own contractual obligations on to subcontractors. Under Federal Labor Court case law, a business that only has its own offices cleaned is, as a rule, not affected (ruling of October 16, 2019, 5 AZR 241/18). In the chain, liability rests with your provider. What does affect you is the result on site — and a provider under scrutiny from inspectors. You can protect yourself with certificates of good standing from the health insurance funds, proof of collectively agreed pay, proof of BG BAU membership, and proof of business liability insurance. This episode is no substitute for legal advice.
Because the workload sets the price, not the floor space alone. A law firm with hardwood floors, meeting rooms, and sensitive client files calls for more careful, slower work than an open-plan office. An IT company with desk sharing has more workstation changes and heavier use of the kitchen and restrooms. Then there’s the flooring, the cleaning frequency, and any special areas. That’s why the binding fixed price only comes after a site visit by the owner or a member of our team.
In the live chat with Eliza, you get a non-binding instant final price in 30 seconds — no site visit needed. If you like, the owner or a member of our team will visit your office, and you’ll then receive the binding fixed price. You’ll get a non-binding written quote within 24 hours, and we usually start within 2–7 business days, depending on capacity. All monthly rates are net, plus 19% VAT, and you can cancel monthly.
Transcript in English
The complete transcript of the audio track (25:16 min.), translated from German: a conversation between two hosts, divided into 9 chapters. The speaker labels (Voice 1 / Voice 2) were assigned automatically by pitch; individual assignments may be off.
About this transcript: This is the spoken text of episode 3 of “Sauber kalkuliert,” the podcast by Ruiz Büroreinigung Hamburg, complete and unabridged. The episode is spoken in German; what you read here is an English translation of that wording, line by line. If in doubt, the German wording prevails. The two hosts address their listeners informally (German “du”); names appear as they were spoken. Voice 1 is the lower voice, Voice 2 the higher one. Passages that can’t be made out are marked “(unintelligible).” Where a statement is out of date or factually wrong, we correct it directly below in a “Correction” box. Neither the episode nor this transcript is legal advice.
Voice 2 · Just imagine you’ve got the feeling that you’ve just made the absolute best deal of the year for your company.
Voice 1 · Oh yes, that classic feeling when you’ve really squeezed something out of your fixed costs.
Voice 2 · Exactly. You’ve put the entire office budget under the microscope, negotiated really hard on the cleaning, and now you’re saving, let’s say, a whopping €300 every month.
Voice 1 · And of course you give yourself a big pat on the back.
Voice 2 · Absolutely. You think you’re a business genius. But, well, six months later, customs or the health insurance fund suddenly turns up at your office.
Voice 1 · And then things get really uncomfortable.
Voice 2 · They sure do. They’ll hold you personally liable for thousands of euros in unpaid social security contributions. So your supposed bargain more or less turns into a ticking time bomb.
Correction at to : The conversation says “customs or the health insurance fund suddenly turns up at your office” and “They’ll hold you personally liable for thousands of euros in unpaid social security contributions.” As a blanket statement, that’s not true: if you, as an office client, only have your own premises cleaned, you are generally not liable for unpaid social security contributions or wages owed by your cleaning provider. § 28e(3a) of Book IV of the Social Code (SGB IV) covers construction work, not office cleaning, and guarantor liability under § 14 of the Posted Workers Act (AEntG) falls on the company that passes its own contractual obligation on to subcontractors (Federal Labor Court, BAG, October 16, 2019, 5 AZR 241/18). Details are in the correction note for chapter 7.
Voice 1 · An absolute nightmare for any managing director.
Voice 2 · Before we start: this is a podcast by Ruiz Gebäudeservice Hamburg.
Voice 1 · Exactly. And today it’s an extremely important topic that, well, often simply gets dismissed as a dry side note, completely undeservedly.
Voice 2 · Yes, unfortunately.
Voice 1 · For today, we’ve taken on a huge mountain of data, insider information, and, well, exclusive website data from Ruiz Gebäudeservice. And with that, we want to decode the hard legal and also economic reality behind this industry.
Voice 2 · Right. Because today is all about the number one Google search query in this entire industry. Namely: what does office cleaning cost in Hamburg?
Voice 1 · A question that probably everyone who runs an office has asked themselves at some point.
Voice 2 · Absolutely. And I promise you, this won’t be some tired price list that somehow has your feet falling asleep after two minutes.
Voice 1 · No, quite the opposite.
Voice 2 · Because we’re talking about a pretty fascinating mathematical equation. We’ll look into the dark depths of undeclared work, and we’ll also answer the really curious question of why a tiny startup has to pay more per square meter for cleaning than a gigantic multimillion-euro corporation.
Voice 1 · And that’s exactly the point where it gets really relevant for anyone who runs an office or works in one. You know, with this topic, transparency just isn’t purely a budget question anymore.
Voice 2 · Then what is it?
Voice 1 · This transparency protects you as a client from real legal traps that in practice, yes, that can really threaten livelihoods. So it’s extremely worthwhile to dissect these structures today, quite soberly.
Voice 2 · Okay, then let’s jump straight into the data we have in front of us. If you look at the Hamburg market, we’ve got a gigantic price range there.
Voice 1 · Yes, the differences are massive.
Voice 2 · We’re talking about an average price per square meter of around €2.70 net. But that’s, well, just the average.
Voice 1 · Exactly, the range is what’s interesting.
Voice 2 · Right. According to our sources, this extreme range goes from €1.65 at the very bottom end all the way up to €3.85 per square meter.
Voice 1 · That really is an enormous difference.
Voice 2 · Yes, and when I look at that, one question immediately comes to mind. What exactly happens in a €3.85 office that doesn’t happen in the €1.65 office?
Voice 1 · To really understand that, we need to look at how the sources actually structure Hamburg’s office landscape. There are basically three worlds.
Voice 2 · Okay, fire away. What’s world number one?
Voice 1 · The first world is the small office. Think of the classic startup, the solo law firm, or maybe a small therapy practice.
Correction at : The conversation says “or maybe a small therapy practice.” Ruiz Büroreinigung Hamburg works exclusively for companies with office space, such as law firms, tax advisors, IT companies, and agencies, and does not clean medical or therapy practices.
Voice 2 · Like the typical one or two rooms.
Voice 1 · Exactly. We’re talking about between 80 and 150 square meters here. Cleaning usually happens about two to three times a week. Cost according to the data: roughly €380 to €650 a month.
Voice 2 · Okay, so that’s the baseline. And if we go up a level?
Voice 1 · Then we land in the middle category. There we’re talking about spaces between 150 and 400 square meters.
Voice 2 · What kind of companies are those?
Voice 1 · Those are typically classic agencies, growing IT companies, or, well, established, larger law firms. Twice a week often just isn’t enough anymore there.
Voice 2 · Because there’s simply more foot traffic?
Voice 1 · Exactly. More people, more movement. The frequency often goes up to three to five times a week. And price-wise, we’re looking at between €650 and €1,400 a month here.
Voice 2 · Okay, got it. And then come the really big ones, right?
Voice 1 · Right. Above that, we have the heavyweights. Corporations, big law firms, so spaces from 400 square meters upward. Often spread over several floors.
Voice 2 · Cleaning just twice probably won’t cut it there anymore either.
Voice 1 · Absolutely not. As a rule, cleaning is done daily there, and costs start at €1,400 and up.
Correction at to : The conversation says “from €1.65 at the very bottom end all the way up to €3.85 per square meter,” “roughly €380 to €650 a month,” “between €650 and €1,400 a month,” and “at €1,400 and up.” The per-square-meter range of €1.65 to €3.85 and the monthly guide figures in chapter 3 come from an older set of prices (published in March 2026). The monthly flat rates of Ruiz Büroreinigung Hamburg start at €361.96 net for up to 150 m² with one cleaning a week; all amounts up to 1,000 m² are in the price table on the pricing page. The sites we look after range from 120 to 3,000 m².
Voice 2 · Okay, I’ve got the orders of magnitude now.
Voice 2 · But I have to put my finger right on the sore spot here. Because one very specific, central number keeps coming up in our documents.
Voice 1 · You mean the hourly rate?
Voice 2 · Exactly. The realistic hourly rate for professional cleaning in Hamburg is around €33 net. Wait a minute. €33? Per hour?
Voice 1 · That sounds like a lot at first. I know.
Voice 2 · I mean, if I think of a typical side job or something like that, then €33 net for one hour of cleaning sounds like a really massive amount of money at first.
Voice 1 · Yes, that’s often the first thought.
Voice 2 · So where does all that money trickle away to? Do the cleaners all drive Porsches, or what’s going on?
Voice 1 · That’s an absolutely fair question. And this is exactly the moment where we simply have to unpick the compelling mathematical reality of this industry.
Voice 2 · Okay, I’m curious.
Voice 1 · What’s so fascinating here is that this price of €33 has absolutely nothing to do with wild greed for profit. It’s simple, unavoidable survival math.
Voice 2 · Okay, then walk me through the math.
Voice 1 · Let’s do it step by step. Basis number one is the statutory, generally binding collectively agreed wage in commercial cleaning. Since January 2026, it’s been exactly €15 gross per hour.
Voice 2 · Generally binding means no company can get around it at all, right? Union or not, this law applies to everyone.
Voice 1 · Correct. That’s the absolute statutory minimum. Now, on top of that €15 come the non-wage labor costs, and there’s no way around them.
Correction at to : The conversation says “the statutory, generally binding collectively agreed wage in commercial cleaning,” “this law applies to everyone,” and “That’s the absolute statutory minimum.” The €15.00 gross is the industry minimum wage for wage group 1 under the collective wage agreement for commercial cleaning (BIV and IG BAU, November 15, 2024). It is not based on a law of its own: an ordinance issued under the Posted Workers Act (Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz, AEntG) extends it to all businesses in the industry (10th Building Cleaning Working Conditions Ordinance, 10. GebäudeArbbV, BGBl. 2025 I No. 22, valid until December 31, 2026), and no business may pay less. The statutory minimum wage under the Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG) is a different, lower figure: €13.90 in 2026. More on this: Collectively agreed wages in commercial cleaning 2026.
Voice 2 · Sure, insurance and all that.
Voice 1 · Exactly. We’re talking about social security, contributions to the statutory accident insurance (Berufsgenossenschaft), vacation pay, and of course continued pay during sick leave.
Voice 2 · What does that come to in numbers?
Voice 1 · In Germany, that’s typically around 25 percent in this industry. If you add those 25 percent to the €15, you land at exactly €18.75.
Voice 2 · So almost €19.
Voice 1 · Right. And that’s the pure, bare labor cost for a single hour of work. Not a single cleaning product has been paid for yet.
Voice 2 · Okay, €18.75, I totally get that. But from €18.75 to the €33 the customer is ultimately presented with on the invoice, that’s still a huge jump. There’s still €14 missing.
Voice 1 · Yes, but now the industry’s iron rule comes into play. In commercial cleaning, pure labor costs usually make up 75 to 80 percent of total costs.
Voice 2 · Oh, I see, okay.
Voice 1 · It’s just an extremely labor-intensive business. You don’t only have the person swinging the mop.
Voice 2 · You need supplies too, right?
Voice 1 · Exactly. On top of that come the cleaning products, the high-quality microfiber cloths, the wear and tear on the machines and vacuum cleaners.
Voice 2 · True, those cost money too.
Voice 1 · And you have to pay for the vehicles that get the teams to the site, and the liability insurance in case something in the office gets broken, an expensive monitor, for example.
Voice 2 · Ah, that wasn’t even on my radar.
Voice 1 · On top of that, you need dispatchers in the office and site managers who do quality control on site. And yes, at the end of the day, the business of course also needs a small margin to be able to survive economically at all.
Voice 2 · Ah, okay. So office cleaning isn’t like a Netflix subscription with one fixed price for everyone, where you just flip a switch. It’s more like tailoring a made-to-measure suit.
Voice 1 · A very good comparison, yes.
Voice 2 · That means if I take this €18.75 and add all these unavoidable fixed costs and this risk buffer on top, then this amount more or less inflates automatically.
Voice 1 · Exactly.
Voice 2 · And then I inevitably end up at this billing rate of around €33.
Voice 1 · That’s how it is. The math simply doesn’t lie. Any offer that’s significantly below this hourly rate is, plain and simple, economically impossible. At least if you strictly follow German law.
Voice 2 · The perspective as a customer, of course, totally.
Voice 1 · In what way?
Voice 2 · Well, if I, as the boss of a company, start negotiating really hard and push someone down from €33 to, let’s say, €25 an hour.
Voice 1 · Yes?
Voice 2 · Then I’m not a clever negotiator at all. I’m de facto cutting straight into a person’s statutory minimum wage. Or I’m forcing the company to cut massive corners on quality.
Correction at to : The conversation says “Any offer that’s significantly below this hourly rate is, plain and simple, economically impossible” and “I’m de facto cutting straight into a person’s statutory minimum wage.” At least €33 net per hour is the hourly rate Ruiz Büroreinigung Hamburg uses in its own calculations, not a legal price floor for other providers. According to the math on this page, it is only below €25 net per hour that the numbers make it almost impossible to pay the collectively agreed wage. The industry’s wage floor is the industry minimum wage of €15.00 gross (wage group 1), not the statutory minimum wage of €13.90.
Voice 1 · Exactly. That’s the harsh reality. In that moment, you’re not saving on an inflated profit margin of the cleaning company; you’re cutting away the very substance of the service.
Voice 2 · Wow. Okay, so we’ve now understood that the time math in the background is actually always the same. An honest hour of work costs around €33.
Voice 1 · Right.
Voice 2 · But, um, that brings me back to my very first question. If time always costs the same, then why do prices per square meter vary so wildly, from €1.56 to €3.85?
Correction at : The conversation says “from €1.56 to €3.85.” A slip of the tongue: what is meant is the range of €1.65 to €3.85 per square meter mentioned in chapter 2. That range also comes from an older set of prices; current prices are on the pricing page.
Voice 1 · Good question.
Voice 2 · Why does the small startup pay more per square meter than the gigantic corporation? That somehow feels backward to me. Volume discount, all well and good, but the person doesn’t clean any faster.
Voice 1 · The best comparison is a moving company.
Voice 2 · Okay, what do you mean?
Voice 1 · Imagine you book movers. Whether they’re clearing out a small one-room apartment on the ground floor or a huge villa. The truck has to drive over, the guys have to get out, unpack the tools, size up the situation, and coordinate.
Voice 2 · True, the preparation is the same.
Voice 1 · Exactly. This setup time, this fixed effort, is almost identical in both cases.
Voice 2 · Ah, and in the small 80-square-meter office, these fixed costs for travel, changing clothes, key handover, and preparing the cleaning cart are then spread over a totally tiny area?
Voice 1 · Exactly. The 30 minutes around the actual job count in full there.
Voice 2 · I see. That’s why the price per square meter logically shoots up for small offices.
Voice 1 · Right. With a large 400-square-meter space, on the other hand, economies of scale kick in. The fixed costs are simply spread over much more space.
Voice 2 · And you probably get into a flow faster, too, right?
Voice 1 · Absolutely. On a large, connected floor, you have a completely different work rhythm. The distances from room to room are shorter, you don’t constantly have to switch buildings, the whole process becomes more efficient.
Voice 2 · That makes total sense. But it’s not just the size alone, is it? Our sources go into incredible detail here on industry-specific differences. Apparently, not every office is the same.
Voice 1 · Not at all. The company’s profile changes absolutely everything about the price.
Voice 2 · Give me an example.
Voice 1 · Let’s say we have three offices of exactly the same size, exactly 200 square meters, but in different industries. Let’s take a law firm first.
Voice 2 · Okay, the lawyers.
Voice 1 · Exactly. Those are often prestigious period buildings, maybe on Neuer Wall, with extremely high ceilings. There are delicate parquet floors and lots of foot traffic. And the biggest cost factor there? Extreme demands for discretion.
Voice 2 · Aha, you mean NDAs, so nondisclosure agreements, and sensitive client files lying out in the open on the desks.
Voice 1 · Exactly. The cleaners can’t just shove everything into a box and give the desk a damp wipe.
Voice 2 · That would probably be a disaster.
Voice 1 · Oh yes. They have to navigate extremely meticulously and carefully around highly sensitive documents without moving even the slightest thing. That takes an enormous amount of time and highly attuned, absolutely trustworthy teams with really complex key management.
Voice 2 · I see. And compared to that, a modern IT company?
Voice 1 · A completely different ball game. In an IT company, you typically have huge open-plan spaces. And the absolute magic word here is desk sharing.
Voice 2 · Oh yes, I know that. Nobody has their own fixed desk anymore. In the morning, you just sit wherever there’s space.
Voice 1 · And that’s exactly the huge problem for cleaning.
Voice 2 · Why?
Voice 1 · If the spot doesn’t really belong to anyone, nobody feels responsible for the coffee rings or the bread roll crumbs either.
Voice 2 · Ah, okay, people don’t clear away their own trash.
Voice 1 · Exactly. With desk sharing, the everyday dirt builds up twice as fast as in a classic office where everyone has their own fixed spot.
Voice 2 · Wow, I wouldn’t have thought that.
Voice 1 · And it goes even further. In a tech kitchen like that, you also have elaborate portafilter espresso machines that need intensive cleaning. You have gaming areas, sometimes highly sensitive server rooms where not a single drop of water can get in under any circumstances. The shared spaces just get used extremely heavily there.
Voice 2 · Okay, we’ve got IT. And what about the classic creative agency? Let me guess. The agency with the foosball table, the three office dogs, and the empty pizza boxes from the night shift is a lot more work again than the law firm, where everyone just dutifully looks at their screen.
Voice 1 · Definitely. In agencies, you often have creative rooms or pitch rooms that sometimes still have to be made ready for the next morning at 11 p.m., after an extra shift.
Voice 2 · Because the important client is coming the next day.
Voice 1 · Right. And there are unpublished campaigns hanging on the walls everywhere that must not be damaged under any circumstances. Then there’s the creative chaos on the desks and, as you rightly say, the dog hair.
Voice 2 · Oh yes, dog hair is nasty.
Voice 1 · It clings extremely stubbornly to the carpets. A quick once-over with the vacuum isn’t enough. In the end, the actual workload dictates the price. Never the bare number of square meters.
Voice 2 · Incredible. So once you understand the mechanisms behind it, it’s all extremely logical.
Voice 1 · Yes, it’s pure calculation.
Voice 2 · But that brings me to a really dark topic. We’ve now learned in black and white that honest cleaning in Hamburg requires this €33 per hour.
Voice 1 · At least.
Voice 2 · And we know that every industry has its very own time-consuming hurdles. So how on earth can some companies out there come along with such aggressive offers of €22 or €25 an hour? What’s their trick?
Voice 1 · There’s no magic trick. According to the data in our sources, there are only three levers for this wage dumping. And all three are highly dangerous for you as a customer.
Voice 2 · Okay, let’s go through them. How do they pull it off?
Voice 1 · The first method. They save directly on wages. If €18.75 is the pure labor cost at statutory minimum wages, then a price of €22 simply means paying below the collectively agreed wage.
Voice 2 · How do they do that in practice?
Voice 1 · Hours worked simply go unreported, or they’re paid cash in hand, off the books. In plain language, we’re quite simply talking about undeclared work.
Correction at to : The conversation says “If €18.75 is the pure labor cost at statutory minimum wages, then a price of €22 simply means paying below the collectively agreed wage” and “In plain language, we’re quite simply talking about undeclared work”; even before that, offers “of €22 or €25 an hour” are attributed to “wage dumping.” The €18.75 is based on the industry minimum wage of €15.00 gross (wage group 1), not on the statutory minimum wage of €13.90. According to the math on this page, the numbers make it almost impossible to pay the collectively agreed wage below €25 net per hour; an offer of €22 is therefore a warning sign. But the price alone does not prove that a particular provider is paying less than the collectively agreed wage or using undeclared work.
Voice 2 · Phew, okay, that’s harsh. What’s the second method, if they’re not cheating directly on wages?
Voice 1 · Then they save on time. The providers set completely unrealistic area targets.
Voice 2 · How should I picture that?
Voice 1 · It’s as if you told a hobby runner they now have to run a marathon in one hour. The cleaner isn’t told, you have one hour for 250 square meters; instead, they suddenly have to get through 400 square meters in exactly the same time.
Voice 2 · But that’s physically impossible.
Voice 1 · Exactly, it’s simply physically impossible.
Voice 2 · And what does the person do then? They start cutting corners, right?
Voice 1 · They have to cut corners to keep their job. They have no other choice at all.
Voice 2 · And I notice that as a customer?
Voice 1 · Yes, you see the result in your office after two or three weeks. The floors are sticky, dust bunnies collect in the corners, the restrooms are unhygienic. They literally just wipe superficially around the dirt.
Voice 2 · Okay, understood. And the third method?
Voice 1 · They save on the staff themselves. Constantly changing, cheap subcontractors or temp workers are brought in.
Voice 2 · So you have a completely different face walking around your office every week?
Voice 1 · Exactly. There’s no proper onboarding, absolutely no knowledge of the site, and as for security or trust in a sensitive environment like a law firm. Well, we don’t even need to get started on that.
Voice 2 · Okay, I understand that quality suffers massively at a dumping price like that. But, and this may be a somewhat cynical question from a fictional managing director who’s watching the money, as long as my office still looks more or less okay. Why should I as a customer care if the cleaning company exploits its people internally or is somehow pulling tricks? As a company, I’ve simply saved money.
Voice 1 · If we hold that attitude up against legal reality, that supposedly saved money will get stuck in your throat very quickly.
Voice 2 · Oh, okay.
Voice 1 · Because this is where the concept of subcontractor liability comes into play. That’s Section 28e of Book IV of the Social Code.
Voice 2 · Okay, legal sections always sound dangerous. What exactly does that mean for me as the client?
Voice 1 · This is the moment when a lot of managing directors really go pale. The law says the following. Imagine your cheap cleaning company goes bust or gets audited. And it comes out that it’s dodging the social security contributions for its employees.
Voice 2 · So it’s not correctly paying the contributions for pension, health, or unemployment insurance?
Voice 1 · Exactly. Then the health insurance fund or customs can come to you, completely legally.
Voice 2 · To me?
Voice 1 · Yes. You as the client, as the office that placed the order, can be held legally liable and made to pay in full. You then pay your service provider’s evaded social security contributions out of your own pocket.
Voice 2 · Wait, hold on, stop. Are you seriously telling me that if my cleaning company doesn’t pay its taxes and contributions, the state goes after my company account? How is that even possible?
Voice 1 · It’s the legal lever to stop exactly this kind of exploitation at the bottom of the food chain. The legislator says very clearly: you can’t just turn a blind eye when the offer is unnaturally cheap.
Voice 2 · Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Voice 1 · Exactly. To some extent, you’re jointly liable for your service provider’s criminal energy. That’s the massive legal risk of bargain hunting in this industry.
Voice 2 · Wow, that’s really heavy. So this supposed €22 bargain is actually a ticking financial and legal time bomb for my own company?
Voice 1 · Absolutely.
Correction at to : The conversation says “That’s Section 28e of Book IV of the Social Code,” “Then the health insurance fund or customs can come to you, completely legally,” and “You then pay your service provider’s evaded social security contributions out of your own pocket.” As a blanket statement, that’s not true: § 28e(3a) of Book IV of the Social Code (SGB IV), the liability for social security contributions in a chain of subcontractors, covers construction work, not office cleaning. Guarantor liability under § 14 of the Posted Workers Act (AEntG) and § 13 of the Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG) covers only net wages and falls on the company that passes its own contractual obligation on to subcontractors. Under the case law of the Federal Labor Court (BAG), a business that only has its own offices cleaned is, as a rule, not affected (ruling of October 16, 2019, 5 AZR 241/18). What can affect you as a client: inspections on your premises by the customs unit that fights undeclared work (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit), with a duty to cooperate; short-notice staff changes; and declining quality. Under § 23(2) AEntG and § 21(2) MiLoG respectively, an administrative offense is committed only by a business that has services performed on a substantial scale and knows, or negligently does not know, that the contracted provider is not paying the minimum wage in doing so or is using a subcontractor that does not pay it. These notes are not legal advice. More on this: Office cleaning without subcontractors in Hamburg.
Voice 2 · Okay, given these massive risks, what on earth does the reputable way look like, then? If I run a company and I’m looking for a service provider, how do I protect myself from these traps? The sources present the so-called Ruiz approach here in a lot of detail.
Voice 1 · Exactly. And the absolute core of this approach is total transparency from minute one.
Voice 2 · What does that look like in concrete terms?
Voice 1 · The very first step that reputable providers like Ruiz take. There are never flat-rate quotes, just sent by email, flying blind. Anyone who sends you a price for 200 square meters without ever having seen the inside of your office belongs straight in the trash.
Voice 2 · Ah, because, as we learned earlier with desk sharing and the dog hair, 200 square meters just aren’t the same as 200 square meters.
Voice 1 · Right. That’s why the process with real professionals looks like this. First, there’s a completely free site visit on location. Someone really takes a close look. How many kitchenettes are there?
Correction at to : The conversation says “There are never flat-rate quotes, just sent by email, flying blind,” “belongs straight in the trash,” and “First, there’s a completely free site visit on location.” Ruiz Büroreinigung Hamburg works differently from what is described here: in the live chat, Eliza gives you a non-binding instant final price in 30 seconds without a site visit, and all monthly flat rates up to 1,000 m² are published openly in the price table. The free site visit by the owner or a member of our team is available on request; after it, you receive a binding fixed price with a documented scope of work.
Voice 2 · What kind of flooring is there?
Voice 1 · Exactly. Is there carpet or parquet? How do people work there? Based on that, a documented scope of work is then drawn up. That’s not just a scrap of paper that says “cleaning.” It’s an extremely detailed catalog.
Voice 2 · So really in black and white?
Voice 1 · Yes. It states the exact frequency and, above all, the exact tasks. For example, it doesn’t just say “clean floors,” but explicitly “mist-damp mopping.”
Voice 2 · That’s a difference.
Voice 1 · A big one. Or not just “wipe desks,” but “disinfect touch surfaces.”
Voice 2 · That naturally creates commitment on both sides. And how fast does something like that happen?
Voice 1 · At Ruiz, you then usually have a concrete, watertight quote on the table within 24 hours of the site visit. And now comes the most important safety net for you as a customer.
Correction at : The conversation says “a concrete, watertight quote on the table within 24 hours of the site visit.” You receive your written quote from Ruiz Büroreinigung Hamburg within 24 hours of your inquiry; it is non-binding. The fixed price becomes binding after the free site visit, which you can arrange on request.
Voice 2 · Okay, what’s that?
Voice 1 · You get a fixed monthly price, and the contract can be canceled monthly. No endlessly long contract terms that tie you down for years.
Voice 2 · Hold on, I have to play devil’s advocate here.
Voice 1 · Go ahead.
Voice 2 · For me as a customer, being able to cancel monthly of course sounds fantastic. I stay totally flexible. But isn’t that an incredible, almost ruinous risk for the cleaning company, so for Ruiz in this case? I mean, if I have a bad month, as a customer I can just walk away after four weeks.
Voice 1 · At first glance, it looks like a massive risk for the company, yes. But if you look at the logic of the industry, it’s actually the ultimate guarantee of quality.
Voice 2 · What do you mean?
Voice 1 · Think about it. Anyone who really does consistently good work, who pays their people fairly, who has a stable team and delivers top quality every day, simply doesn’t need to hold their customers hostage with one- or two-year contracts.
Voice 2 · Ah.
Voice 1 · Customers stay completely voluntarily because everything runs smoothly. Only companies that know deep down that their quality will completely collapse after two months at the latest need these long notice periods to keep you trapped as a paying customer.
Correction at : The conversation says “Only companies that know deep down that their quality will completely collapse after two months at the latest need these long notice periods.” Long contract terms, taken on their own, say nothing about the quality of a provider. Ruiz Büroreinigung Hamburg works without a minimum term: you can cancel by the 15th of any month, effective at month-end, and an email is enough. More on this: Month-to-month office cleaning in Hamburg.
Voice 2 · Wow. That really is a genuine statement. Basically: we’re so good, we know you won’t leave. If you deliver quality, you don’t need lock-in contracts. That makes a lot of sense to me.
Voice 1 · That’s exactly how it is.
Voice 1 · If we sum up all these facts today, the picture becomes extremely clear. Cleaning prices in Hamburg aren’t a coincidence; they’re compelling math.
Voice 2 · The numbers just don’t lie.
Voice 1 · Right. A statutory collectively agreed wage of €15 plus the unavoidable statutory non-wage costs inevitably lead to a clean hourly base of around €33. We’ve seen that 75 to 80 percent of cleaning costs are pure labor costs. There’s simply no reputable room for magical discounts.
Voice 2 · So any company that just blindly looks at the cheapest price at the bottom of the quote and doesn’t have the exact, detailed scopes of work explained to it is literally buying a pig in a poke.
Voice 1 · Absolutely.
Voice 2 · And what I found really striking today: through this subcontractor liability, they ultimately even risk their own company.
Correction at : The conversation says “through this subcontractor liability, they ultimately even risk their own company.” See the correction note for chapter 7: if you, as an office client, only have your own premises cleaned, you are generally not liable for unpaid social security contributions owed by your cleaning provider. § 28e(3a) SGB IV covers construction work, not office cleaning; guarantor liability under § 14 AEntG covers only net wages and falls on the company that passes its own contractual obligation on to subcontractors.
Voice 1 · Right. Anyone who, after all these insights, says they’d like to have the whole thing calculated cleanly, transparently, and fairly for their own office in Hamburg will find all the ways to get in touch in our sources.
Voice 2 · Exactly, I wanted to mention that too.
Voice 1 · You can get your own picture of this process on the website of Ruiz Gebäudeservice Hamburg, or you simply call them directly for exactly this kind of free, non-binding site visit. The number from the documents is +49 40 54 814 832.
Voice 2 · Perfect! I think today we’ve really looked at the topic of costs, and above all the legal risks, from every angle. Do you have one last thought for us before we wrap up?
Voice 1 · Yes, I do. And it raises an important question that you have to answer for yourself the next time you think about your office costs.
Voice 2 · I’m all ears.
Voice 1 · We’ve talked a lot now about laws, risks, and hard math. But when you consider that the cleanliness of your office directly and massively affects the cognitive performance, the daily well-being, and demonstrably even the sick days of your entire team.
Voice 2 · That’s a good point.
Voice 1 · Then isn’t fairly paid, highly professional cleaning ultimately the cheapest and most effective health and productivity insurance a company can take out?
Voice 2 · An extremely strong thought to end on. Is it purely a cost factor, or is it actually a direct investment in my team? We hope this in-depth analysis has given you a completely new, unvarnished look behind the scenes of this industry.
Voice 1 · I hope so too.
Voice 2 · In any case, we wish you every success in looking at future quotes for your office with completely different, much sharper eyes. Thanks for listening, and see you next time.
Further reading
From the non-binding instant final price to the full price table and the other episodes in the series.
Transparent pricing
In the live chat, Eliza gives you a non-binding instant final price — no site visit needed. Request your non-binding written quote through our contact form, and you’ll have it within 24 hours — with 100% our own permanent staff, month-to-month terms, and all prices net, plus 19% VAT.
Carl-Petersen-Straße 92b, 20535 Hamburg · Mon–Sat, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. · Non-binding quote within 24 hours · Cancel monthly
