An hourly rate of DKK 150 is rarely the full bill: that price normally assumes no tax, no pension and no insurance is being paid — and you as the customer are liable if the work turns out to be undeclared. Here is what actually sits behind the cheapest adverts, and what the difference to a legal price pays for.
Because it is not the same. The cleaning industry itself has sounded the alarm: companies with collective agreements are being undercut by operators with far lower standards for pay, quality and working conditions. Here is what the cheap price hides — and what it can end up costing you.
Work backwards from the hourly rate
A legal hourly rate has to cover wages at least at collective-agreement level, pension, holiday pay, insurance, administration — and 25% VAT on top of it all. The wages and the VAT alone eat up more than the DKK 150 the cheap ad charges for the whole package.
The conclusion writes itself: a very low hourly rate can only add up if something has been cut out. Either the wages, the taxes, the insurance — or all of it at once.
What the cheap hour can cost you
As long as everything goes well, you notice no difference. But the cheap option shows its true face the day something goes wrong:
- No insurance: if the bookcase topples or the floor gets scratched, there is no cover — and the dispute is yours.
- No servicefradrag: without an invoice and digital payment, you miss out on the Danish servicefradrag tax deduction worth several thousand kroner a year.
- No continuity: low prices mean high turnover — you start over with new people again and again.
- Risk of shared liability: if you systematically pay under the table, you can end up in trouble with the tax authorities yourself.
- And for the person cleaning: no pension, no holiday pay, no rights, no help after a workplace injury.
Quality follows conditions
It is often framed as a choice between price and conscience. But there is a third factor that is easy to overlook: quality. Good cleaning takes experience, routine and familiarity with the home — and you only get that with people who stay in the job.
Decent conditions are the most underrated quality guarantee in the industry: a cleaner who can live off their work can afford to stay with the same customer — and that is where the quality comes from. 313 of our customers have had the same cleaner for more than a year; 132 for more than two.
Compare properly: price after the deduction, with everything included
When you compare prices, compare the whole package: are insurance, pension, VAT and documentation included? And have you remembered to subtract the servicefradrag from the legal price? With the tax value of the deduction, the gap between the undeclared and the legal hour shrinks considerably.
What remains is the difference in what you get: security, continuity, a tax deduction and a clear conscience — or a low hourly rate that holds up right until the day it does not.
Still have questions? Find answers on our FAQ page — or see whether Hilfr covers your area.
