Do cleaning companies need a method statement?

Not by law, but clients ask for one alongside the risk assessment and COSHH assessments, and it is the easiest way to tell staff the order of work. Keep it to the steps that matter: arrival, the order floors are cleaned, chemicals, waste, lone working checks and lock up.

Cleaning method statement

Cleaning contracts get asked for a method statement by facilities managers and by tenants who want to know what happens in their building after hours. This example covers a two person evening clean of a three floor office.

Last reviewed 17 September 2026

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Sequence of work · Evening office clean

1Arrive and set upElectrical equipment
2Toilets and kitchensCleaning chemicals
3Bins and surfacesManual handling of bins and equipment
4VacuumSlips and trips from leads; electrical equipment
and 2 more

Next review17 September 2027

OutputPDF, numbered and dated

Controls

across 5 hazards, ticked into the steps where they apply

The completed method statement

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Edit it for your job

Method statement

Safe system of work: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2

Document numberMS-004

Revision1

Date17 September 2026

Last reviewed17 September 2026

Next review17 September 2027

Job	Evening office clean
Contractor	Brightside Cleaning Services Ltd
Client or principal contractor	Riverside House facilities manager
Location	Riverside House, all three floors and the ground floor entrance
Dates and duration	Three hours each evening
Prepared by	Karen Doyle
Reviewed by	Karen Doyle
Approved by	—

1. Scope of work

Evening clean of a three floor office building: vacuuming, mopping hard floors, cleaning toilets and kitchens, emptying bins, dusting and wiping surfaces. Monday to Friday, 6 pm to 9 pm.

2. People, plant and materials

Who does the work	Two cleaners, trained on the products in use and on the site fire procedure. Each works one floor at a time, alone for most of the shift.
Supervision	Karen Doyle, cleaning supervisor, by phone; visits weekly
Plant and equipment	Vacuum cleaners, flat mop system with colour coded buckets, wheeled waste trolley, step stool, wet floor signs, colour coded cloths
Materials	Thick bleach, multi surface sanitiser, descaler, floor cleaner, glass cleaner, bin liners
PPE	Flat closed shoes with a good grip, nitrile gloves for chemicals and toilets, goggles when decanting bleach
Permits and access	None. Alarm code and keys signed out from the client's security office

3. Hazards and controls

1. Slips on wet floors

Each floor mopped last, working back to the stairs
Wet floor signs at both ends of a mopped corridor

2. Cleaning chemicals

COSHH assessment for each product, data sheets in the cleaning store
Bleach and descaler never used in the same session or the same room
Gloves for every chemical task, goggles when decanting

3. Lone working

Each cleaner carries a charged phone
Text to the supervisor on leaving; a missed text by 9.30 pm is followed up by phone

4. Manual handling of bins and equipment

Bins emptied into the wheeled trolley, bags half filled
Vacuum carried between floors by the strap, not the hose

5. Electrical equipment

Leads and plugs checked before use, damaged equipment taken out of use
Nothing used with wet hands

4. Sequence of work

1. Arrive and set up
Collect keys and the alarm code from security. Sign in. Check the cleaning store for stock and that the data sheets are in the folder. Check the vacuum leads and plugs. Agree who takes which floor.
HazardsElectrical equipment
Controls
- Leads and plugs checked before use, damaged equipment taken out of use
2. Toilets and kitchens
Gloves on. Toilets first with the red cloths and bleach; kitchens with the green cloths and sanitiser. Never bleach and descaler together. Restock consumables. Doors propped open while working.
HazardsCleaning chemicals
Controls
- Bleach and descaler never used in the same session or the same room
- Gloves for every chemical task, goggles when decanting
3. Bins and surfaces
Empty bins into the wheeled trolley, replace liners, wipe desks and surfaces with the blue cloths. Take the trolley to the bin store on the ground floor at the end of each floor.
HazardsManual handling of bins and equipment
Controls
- Bins emptied into the wheeled trolley, bags half filled
4. Vacuum
Vacuum carpets working towards the door. Keep the lead behind you and off the corridor when others are about.
HazardsSlips and trips from leads; electrical equipment
Controls
- Nothing used with wet hands
- Lead kept behind the cleaner and clear of walkways
5. Mop hard floors last
Put wet floor signs at both ends. Mop from the far end back to the stairs so no one crosses the wet floor. Leave the signs up until dry.
HazardsSlips on wet floors
Controls
- Each floor mopped last, working back to the stairs
- Wet floor signs at both ends of a mopped corridor
6. Check out and lock up
Return equipment to the store, rinse buckets, check windows and lights, set the alarm and return keys to security. Text the supervisor on leaving.
HazardsLone working
Controls
- Text to the supervisor on leaving; a missed text by 9.30 pm is followed up by phone

5. Emergency arrangements

Fire: leave by the nearest exit and go to the assembly point in the car park; call 999. Chemical splash: rinse at the nearest sink or the eyewash in the cleaning store for 15 minutes and call 111 or 999. First aid kit in the cleaning store. Accident or feeling unwell while alone: phone the supervisor first, then 999 if needed. Report every accident and near miss on the day.

6. Notes and attachments

Risk assessment RA-004 and the COSHH assessments for the five products in use are in the cleaning store folder and form part of this method statement.

A method statement is a safe system of work: how the job will be done, in order, with the controls from the risk assessment built into each step. It is a starting point; the contractor must check it against the actual site and the actual job before work starts, and stop and revise it if the work changes.

Why it is written this way

The order of work is the control that matters most for slips: each floor is mopped last, working back to the stairs, so nobody walks on a wet floor. Writing the order down is how it survives a change of staff.

The chemicals have COSHH assessments and the method statement points at them. It also says which products are never used together and where the data sheets are kept.

Lone working gets its own step because the two cleaners split up. The check in at the end of the shift, and what the supervisor does if it does not come, is the difference between a policy and a control.

Controls follow HSE guidance: HSE, Slips and trips; HSE, Lone working; HSE INDG163, Risk assessment: a brief guide to controlling risks in the workplace. Checked 17 September 2026.

This document is a starting point. The employer must check it against the actual workplace, the product safety data sheet and current HSE guidance before relying on it. It is not an HSE approved document.

Common questions

Do cleaning companies need a method statement?: Not by law, but clients ask for one alongside the risk assessment and COSHH assessments, and it is the easiest way to tell staff the order of work. Keep it to the steps that matter: arrival, the order floors are cleaned, chemicals, waste, lone working checks and lock up.

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