5. Occupational safety and health of cleaners
The scope of this report was not to look for data on health outcomes in cleaners from all EU Member
States but to provide an indicative picture of the situation through examples from a few Member
States where some data are available. Systematic and exhaustive data on occupational and workrelated
accidents and diseases in cleaners are currently not always available as monitoring and
collecting such data is a complicated issue. One reason is the fact that cleaning is a job found in
many different sectors. In addition, an important number of cleaners are employed illegally and are
not declared to the authorities, and therefore can not be included in occupational health surveillance
and OSH monitoring systems.
Little quantitative data has been found on absenteeism, for example. In Belgium in 2006, the absence
rate in the cleaning sector22 was 12.88% [93]. The sector ranks as the fourth sector with the
highest absenteeism. The average number of cases of absenteeism due to accident or disease was
1.27 per employee in the same reference period. The average duration of the absence was 25.63
days23. 30 to 40 % of the total absence rate in Belgium is caused by musculoskeletal disorders.
5.1. Occupational accidents
Figures on occupational accidents for cleaners at a sector level are difficult to find. The figures below
are from Belgium, Germany, Portugal and the UK. Although these figures cannot be extrapolated to
the European level, they can provide an indication and insight into the main trends and causes of
accidents in the sector.