A few winters ago we were asked to quote for a ground-floor office in Dublin 8. Black growth along one wall, roughly two metres of it, behind a run of low storage. The office manager had already paid to have that wall cleaned three times. Our supervisor spent about ten minutes inside and then went […]
What to Do When a Cleaning Company Refuses to Provide Insurance Documents
Ask their broker instead of asking them. In Ireland, public liability and employers' liability cover is not compulsory by statute, so a cleaning company that will not provide an insurance certificate is not breaking the law. It is telling you something else. A contractor with current, correctly worded cover can have a regulated broker email a certificate of currency the same day, at no cost and with no drama.
Slow is usually administration. Refusal is usually something else.
The uncomfortable part is that the exposure sits with you, not with them. If an operative is injured in your building, or a cleaner's bucket floods the floor below, the claim arrives at your door first and works backwards. That is why buyers check, and why the check has to go beyond collecting a PDF.
Quick answer: Public liability and employers' liability insurance are not compulsory by law in Ireland, so a cleaning contractor's refusal to provide a certificate usually means there is a problem with the cover rather than with the paperwork. Request a certificate of currency directly from a Central Bank regulated broker and check the described activity, the limit of indemnity and the care, custody and control extension.
What Irish law actually requires
Here is the misconception that trips up most compliance checks. People assume liability insurance is legally mandatory for any business operating in Ireland. It is not.
Motor insurance is compulsory. Public liability and employers' liability are not, for most businesses. Ireland differs from several neighbouring jurisdictions on this point, and it matters, because it means no regulator is doing the checking for you.
So the contractor who shrugs and says "we are not obliged to give you that" is, strictly, correct about the obligation. They are also telling you a great deal about how they run a contract.
What is a statutory duty is the Safety Statement. Under Section 20 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, an employer must prepare a written Safety Statement based on the risk assessment required by Section 19 of the same Act. That document must be available to employees and can be requested by an inspector from the Health and Safety Authority.
Read that asymmetry again, because it changes your approach. A contractor with no public liability certificate is not breaking a law. A contractor with no Safety Statement is failing a statutory duty under the 2005 Act.
We have had tender submissions where the insurance page was immaculate and the Safety Statement was a two-page template with another company's name still in the footer. That combination tells you more than either document alone. Cover can be bought in an afternoon. A Safety Statement built on real site risk assessments cannot.
Practical position for a buyer: treat liability cover as a commercial cleaning requirement you set, not a legal one you enforce, and treat the Safety Statement as the item where a gap is genuinely a compliance failure.
Why a contractor refuses
In almost a decade of Dublin contract work we have seen five honest reasons behind a refusal. Only one of them is filing.
There is no cover at all. Usually a small operation that started domestic and drifted into commercial work. The tell is vagueness about who the insurer even is.
Cover lapsed for non-payment. Premiums are often paid by monthly instalment, and a missed instalment can suspend a policy while the paperwork still looks alive. The tell is a certificate produced instantly, but always the same scanned copy, always from last year.
The described activity does not match the work. A policy written for domestic or residential cleaning will not respond properly to a commercial contract. The tell is a certificate that arrives with the activity line cropped out of the image.
The limit is embarrassingly low. Cover exists but sits well below what your landlord or your own insurer expects. The tell is a contractor who sends a letter confirming "full insurance" rather than the certificate itself.
The work is done by self-employed subcontractors outside the policy. Common in this industry, and not automatically wrong, but the operatives on your floor may sit outside both the employers' liability and the public liability wording. The tell is reluctance to answer a plain question about who employs the person holding your keys.
None of these make the contractor a villain. Several are the result of a business growing faster than its back office. But you are the one carrying the consequence, so you still have to ask.
What your exposure actually is
This is the part buyers underestimate. A cleaning contract puts unsupervised people in your building, at night, with chemicals, water and your keys.
We were asked to price a two-building site at Park West a few years back after the managing agent ran a compliance sweep. The incumbent had current cover. What they did not have was any extension covering the property they were left alone with, and the agent spotted it before anything happened. That is the good version of this story.
The bad version is a set of master keys that went missing from a Sandyford unit we later took over. Re-suiting the locks and re-issuing access fobs across the building cost a multiple of the annual cleaning fee, and the argument about who paid ran for months. Getting keyholding cover right in advance would have ended that argument before it started.
| Incident | Which policy should respond | The exclusion or gap that can stop it |
| Operative injured on your premises | Contractor's employers' liability | Operative is self-employed and outside the policy, so the claim looks for your cover instead |
| Cleaner's sink left running overnight, water reaches the floor below | Contractor's public liability | Care, custody and control exclusion, because the premises were in their charge |
| Chemical strips a floor finish or marks a marble reception desk | Contractor's public liability | Care, custody and control, plus treatment risk wording on the surface being worked on |
| Master keys or access fobs lost, building needs re-suiting | Keyholding and loss of keys extension | No extension in place, or a sub-limit far below the true re-suiting cost |
| Slip on a wet floor during trading hours | Contractor's public liability, with your own cover in the frame | No indemnity to principals, so the claim against your entity is not picked up |
Note the pattern. In four of those five, the certificate could look perfectly respectable and still leave you carrying the loss.
Keep this factual rather than frightening. Most cleaning contracts run for years without a claim. The point is that the cost of checking is one email, and the cost of not checking is uncapped.
How to read the certificate
Collecting the document is not the check. Reading it is. Here is the eight-point pass we run on our own cover before it goes out with a quote, and the same one you can run on anyone else's.
- Insurer and broker. Who underwrites it, and is the broker regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland? You can confirm that on the Central Bank register of regulated firms.
- Policy number and period of cover. Is it in force today, not last March. Diary the expiry date on the day you accept the certificate.
- Limit of indemnity. Per claim and in the aggregate. These are not the same number and the difference matters.
- Described business activity. The words "contract cleaning" or "commercial cleaning" should appear. A domestic cleaning policy will not respond to your office.
- Care, custody and control. Whether damage to property in the contractor's care is covered, and to what limit.
- Keyholding and loss of keys. Including the cost of re-suiting locks and re-keying an access system.
- Working at height and specialist activities. Window cleaning above ground floor, gutter cleaning, water-fed pole work, any access equipment.
- Subcontractors. Whether cover extends to them, since many cleaning firms use self-employed operatives.
| Check point | What good looks like | Red flag |
| Insurer and broker | Named Irish insurer, broker on the Central Bank register | Broker cannot be found on the register |
| Period of cover | Current dates, expiry clearly stated | Certificate more than twelve months old |
| Limit of indemnity | Stated per claim and in aggregate | Only one figure, no aggregate shown |
| Described activity | "Contract cleaning" or "commercial cleaning" | "Domestic cleaning" or activity line missing |
| Care, custody and control | Extension noted with a stated limit | Silent, or listed under exclusions |
| Keyholding and loss of keys | Extension present, limit realistic for your building | Absent, or a token sub-limit |
| Height and specialist work | Named where those services are in scope | Excluded while the quote includes window or gutter cleaning |
| Subcontractors | Cover extends to labour-only subcontractors | No mention, and no clear answer when asked |
Care, custody and control, in plain English
Standard public liability covers damage to third-party property. It usually excludes property that is in your care, custody or control at the time.
Now picture your cleaner at eleven at night, alone, with your alarm code. For those four hours your entire premises and contents are in their care. Without an extension, the very thing that could realistically go wrong is the thing the policy steps around.
Worked example. A floor machine catches the corner of a glazed partition in a Ballsbridge reception. The glass is third-party property, but at that moment the building was under the contractor's control. With the extension, the claim proceeds. Without it, the contractor's insurer is entitled to decline, and the conversation moves to your policy and your excess.
We learned this the way most operators do. Early on, one of our own team knocked a stack of framed prints off a wall in a D18 showroom. The claim was paid because the extension was there. If it had not been, we would have been writing the cheque ourselves, and so would the client have been if we could not.
Indemnity to principals, and aggregate versus per claim
Ask for your own entity to be noted for indemnity to principals. That way the policy can respond to a claim brought against you arising from the contractor's work. It is a routine request in Irish commercial contracts, and a contractor who does not recognise the phrase is a warning sign in itself.
On limits, per claim is the ceiling for a single incident. Aggregate is the ceiling for the whole policy year. A policy that has already absorbed two large claims may have far less left than the headline figure suggests.
There is no legal minimum. What exists are market norms: public liability of €6.5 million is common in Irish commercial cleaning, with €13 million required by many larger clients and most public-sector or multi-tenant landlords, and employers' liability commonly at €13 million. Motor cover applies where vehicles attend site. Always ask your own insurer or landlord for their stated requirement, because it frequently exceeds the norm. General background on how these covers work is available from Insurance Ireland.
Get it from the broker
One procedural change resolves most of these disputes. Ask for a certificate of currency issued directly by the broker, sent from the broker to you.
A broker-issued certificate cannot be edited, backdated, or quietly reused after a policy has been cancelled. It is issued by a firm regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland with its own reputation attached, and it confirms the position on the day it is written.
A legitimate contractor's reaction to this request is a shrug and an email introduction. Ours takes about an hour. If the reaction is irritation or delay, you have your answer without needing an argument.
Sample wording you can send: "Could you ask your broker to issue a certificate of currency directly to me for your public liability and employers' liability cover? Please ask them to confirm the described business activity, the limit of indemnity per claim and in the aggregate, the care, custody and control position, and the keyholding extension. We also need our entity, [full legal entity name], noted for indemnity to principals. Please copy me on the request."
Send it once, in writing, with a date. Most of the time the certificate lands within two working days.
The full compliance pack
A commercial cleaning contractor working in Dublin should be able to produce all of this within two working days. Not eventually. Two days.
| Document | What it proves | What to check | Red flag |
| Public liability certificate | Cover for injury or damage to third parties | Activity, limits, care custody and control, keyholding | Issued by the contractor rather than the broker |
| Employers' liability certificate | Cover for injury to their own staff on your site | Limit, and whether subcontractors are included | Silent on subcontractors |
| Safety Statement (Section 20) | A statutory duty under the 2005 Act is being met | Dated, signed, names a responsible person | Generic template, another company in the footer |
| Site risk assessment | They have looked at your building specifically | Mentions your actual hazards and areas | Written before they ever visited |
| Method statements | Safe systems for higher-risk tasks | Height work, machine use, chemical handling | None supplied for window or gutter work |
| Chemical safety data sheets | Every product on site is identified and controlled | Current sheets, matching what is in the caddy | Products on site that are not on the list |
| Training records | Staff are trained for the equipment they use | Named individuals, dated, relevant to your site | Undated certificates with no names |
| Revenue tax clearance certificate | The business is tax compliant | Verify it yourself using the tax reference and clearance access number on Revenue's online verification facility | Refusal to supply the access number |
| Right-to-work evidence | Staff on your premises are entitled to work here | Confirmation the checks are held and kept current | Vague assurances only |
Printable supplier onboarding checklist
Reuse this compliance checklist for any contractor working in your building, not only cleaning.
- [ ] Certificate of currency requested from the broker, not the contractor
- [ ] Broker confirmed on the Central Bank register
- [ ] Policy period current, expiry date diaried
- [ ] Described activity matches the work you are buying
- [ ] Limit of indemnity meets your insurer's or landlord's stated requirement
- [ ] Care, custody and control extension confirmed in writing
- [ ] Keyholding and loss of keys extension confirmed, with limit
- [ ] Height and specialist activities named where in scope
- [ ] Subcontractor position confirmed in writing
- [ ] Your legal entity noted for indemnity to principals
- [ ] Safety Statement received, dated and signed
- [ ] Site-specific risk assessment received
- [ ] Method statements received for higher-risk tasks
- [ ] Chemical safety data sheets received and matched to products on site
- [ ] Training records received
- [ ] Tax clearance verified on Revenue's online facility
- [ ] Right-to-work checks confirmed
- [ ] Renewal reminder set 30 days before policy expiry
That last line is the one everybody skips. Most compliance failures we see are not refusals at all. They are certificates that quietly expired eight months ago while everyone assumed the file was in order.
If the cleaning company still will not provide the insurance certificate
Escalate in proportion, and keep it in writing. There is no need for a solicitor's letter in week one.
Set a written deadline. One email, one date, one named contact. Five working days is reasonable and reasonable-looking if this ever gets read back.
Suspend out-of-hours access pending production. This is the step that actually works. Daytime cleaning under supervision continues, alarm codes and key access pause until the certificate arrives. It is a legitimate risk-management decision and it moves faster than any letter, because it changes how the contract is delivered tomorrow morning.
Notify your own insurer. They will want to know that a contractor is on site with unconfirmed cover, and their stated requirement gives you a neutral position to quote. This is not an escalation against the contractor, it is you protecting your own policy.
Tell the landlord or managing agent. In a leased or multi-tenant building, the lease and the building rules very often set contractor insurance requirements. The agent has leverage you do not.
Then terminate if you must. Check your notice period and read the clause before you act. Our guide on how to exit a cleaning contract early in Ireland walks through the practical sequence, and it is worth reading before you send anything final.
Handled this way, most cases close in a fortnight. Either the certificate appears, or the contractor withdraws, which is its own form of answer.
Frequently asked questions
Is public liability insurance compulsory for cleaning companies in Ireland? No. There is no general statutory requirement in Ireland for a business to hold public liability insurance. Motor insurance is compulsory, this is not. That is precisely why buyers must set their own requirement and check it, because no regulator is doing that check on your behalf. Confirm your own position with your broker.
How much public liability cover should a commercial cleaning contractor have? There is no legal minimum, only market norms. In Irish commercial cleaning, €6.5 million public liability is common, and €13 million is required by many larger clients, public-sector buyers and multi-tenant landlords. Employers' liability is commonly €13 million. Ask your own insurer or landlord for their stated figure first, then match the contractor to it.
What is a certificate of currency and how do I get one? It is a certificate issued by the insurance broker confirming that a policy is in force on the date of issue. You get it by asking the contractor to instruct their broker to send it directly to you. It cannot be edited or backdated the way a forwarded PDF can, which is why it has become the standard request in Irish supplier compliance.
Does a cleaner's insurance cover damage to my building and contents? Not automatically. Standard public liability typically excludes property in the contractor's care, custody or control, and an overnight cleaner has your premises and contents in their care. The cover only responds if a care, custody and control extension is in place, with a limit that reflects your building. Check that line specifically.
What is a Safety Statement and is it a legal requirement in Ireland? A Safety Statement is a written document setting out how an employer manages safety, based on a risk assessment. Under Section 20 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 it is a statutory requirement, and Section 19 requires the risk assessment behind it. A contractor who cannot produce one is failing a real duty, not just a paperwork request.
What documents should I ask a cleaning contractor for before they start? Public liability and employers' liability certificates from the broker, the Safety Statement, a site-specific risk assessment, method statements for higher-risk tasks, chemical safety data sheets, training records, a Revenue tax clearance certificate and confirmation that right-to-work checks are held. A working commercial contractor should produce all of it inside two working days.
Working with a contractor who sends the pack before you ask
We send the full compliance pack with every quote: liability certificates issued by our broker, our Safety Statement, the site risk assessment written after we have actually walked your building, chemical safety data sheets, training records and tax clearance. Nobody has to ask for it, and nobody has to chase it.
That habit came from the buyer side of the table. We have sat in enough Dublin tender meetings, from the IFSC to Blanchardstown to Dún Laoghaire, to know that the facilities manager reviewing us has a folder to fill and a deadline from their own insurer.
If you are rebuilding a cleaning contract from scratch, it is worth reading what a proper office cleaning specification should cover and what commercial cleaning services actually include before you go back out to market. Supervision matters just as much as paperwork, so how cleaning staff are supervised is the other half of the picture, along with why the same cleaner should turn up each week, which is where vetting and continuity meet.
Premier Contract Cleaning is family run, based at Mount Argus Mill in Dublin 6W, and works on daily, weekly and monthly contracts across Dublin city and county. A free site survey comes with a written, room-by-room scope and the compliance pack attached, so you can compare like with like. If you would rather just talk it through, Catalin is on 086 083 6141 or enquiries@premiercontractcleaning.ie. You can see how we work at best office cleaning company in Dublin.
Catalin Fatul is the founder and expert behind Premier Contract Cleaning, dedicated to providing top-notch cleaning solutions and tips. With a passion for cleanliness and a commitment to quality, Catalin brings years of experience in the cleaning industry to help readers maintain pristine spaces. Whether it's offering the latest cleaning hacks or recommending the best products, Catalin's mission is to make cleaning efficient, effective, and enjoyable.
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