TL;DR
A task assigned to nobody gets done by nobody, and in most buildings the same six or seven tasks fall into that gap: dishes, the refrigerator, desk surfaces, whiteboards, personal clutter, and equipment interiors. The reliable division puts anything tied to a personal item or a specialized piece of equipment with staff, and anything tied to the building itself with the contractor. Everything else needs a written decision.
Why this line is fuzzy in the first place
Cleaning contracts describe the building. Staff behavior describes the day-to-day. Between them sits a category of task that touches both -- objects that belong to people, sitting on surfaces that belong to the building.
A contractor cannot responsibly wash a mug that might belong to someone, throw out food that might not be spoiled, erase a whiteboard that might hold a working diagram, or move papers that might be confidential. Each of those is a small judgment call, and the safe default for any contractor is to leave it alone.
Staff, meanwhile, reasonably assume that anything cleaning-shaped belongs to the cleaners. So both parties act sensibly and the microwave stays dirty for a year.
Where does the line usually fall?
The general rule is that contractors handle the building and staff handle their own things. Contractors take floors, restrooms, trash removal, dusting, glass, break room surfaces, and touch points. Staff take personal dishes, personal food, desk contents, whiteboards, and the interiors of specialized equipment. The gray zone between them needs an explicit decision.
The clear cases
Contractor side, almost universally: floors and floor care, restroom cleaning and restocking, trash and recycling collection, dusting of general surfaces, interior glass at reach height, break room counters and sinks, high-touch surfaces in shared areas, and periodic work like vents and baseboards.
Staff side, almost universally: personal dishes, personal food in the refrigerator, contents of desks and drawers, whiteboard content, personal decorations, and anything inside a machine that requires specific training to open safely.
Neither list generates disputes. The trouble is entirely in the middle.
The gray zone, item by item
Dishes. Rarely in a janitorial scope, frequently assumed to be. The workable arrangements are a staff rota, a policy that the dishwasher is loaded and run by whoever uses it, or an explicit line item adding it to the contract. Assuming it away does not work.
Refrigerator interiors and purges. Almost never a contractor task by default, because deciding whose lunch is garbage is not something an outside vendor can do. Most buildings run a scheduled purge day with advance notice, then have the contractor clean the empty shelves. That combination works well and is covered in break room policies that stick.
Microwave interiors. Sometimes in scope, sometimes not, and worth naming either way. Where it is in scope, it is usually a weekly rather than daily item.
Desk surfaces. Contractors typically wipe clear desks and dust around occupied ones. Whether desks get wiped at all depends on whether people clear them, which is a policy question rather than a cleaning question -- see desk policies that let a crew work.
Whiteboards. Usually excluded by default, because erasing something someone needed is a costly mistake and impossible to undo. Buildings that want them cleaned typically mark boards that may be erased.
Personal clutter and paperwork. Contractors work around it. Nothing gets moved, stacked, or thrown out. This is not laziness; it is the only defensible policy.
Equipment interiors. Coffee machines, ice makers, and specialized gear often need specific procedures and sometimes specific training. These generally stay with staff or with the equipment's own service provider.
Source: Facility services scope definition practice
Building the line into a document
The resolution is not complicated, it is just tedious enough that people skip it. Take every task in the gray zone, put it in a table, and give each one an owner and a frequency.
| Task | Owner | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Personal dishes | Staff | Same day |
| Dishwasher run and unload | Staff rota | Daily |
| Refrigerator purge | Staff, announced | Monthly |
| Refrigerator shelves after purge | Contractor | Monthly |
| Microwave interior | Decide explicitly | Weekly |
| Desk surfaces, cleared only | Contractor | Weekly |
| Whiteboards | Staff | As needed |
| Coffee equipment cleaning | Staff or service provider | Per equipment guidance |
That table is a reader tool and a starting point, not a specification. The point is the shape: one row per contested task, an owner, and a frequency. The same discipline applied to the whole contract is described in what a scope of work should list.
The exclusions worth stating out loud
A scope that only lists inclusions leaves the reader guessing. Stating exclusions explicitly prevents the "I assumed that was included" conversation.
Common exclusions worth naming: personal items and paperwork, dishes, refrigerator contents, whiteboards, computer screens and keyboards, plant care, exterior windows above ground level, biohazard cleanup beyond routine restroom work, and bulk removal of furniture or equipment.
Two deserve a note. Screens and keyboards are excluded because coated displays are damaged by ammonia and alcohol, and keyboards belong to individuals. And anything involving significant bodily fluids, mold growth, or pest activity is a different trade -- those route to remediation and pest control specialists.
Communicating the split to staff
Writing the split down and never telling anyone produces the same outcome as not writing it down.
What staff need to know is short: what to leave for the crew, what stays with them, and how to report a problem. A single-page summary posted in the break room does more good than the full scope document filed somewhere. It also helps to explain the why -- people are far more willing to wash their own mug when they understand the alternative is nobody touching it at all.
The line also moves as occupancy changes, so a short annual review of the gray-zone table catches the drift. That fits naturally alongside daily versus periodic task splits.
FAQ
What cleaning duties should employees handle?
Employees typically handle personal dishes, personal food in shared refrigerators, the contents of their own desks, whiteboard content, and anything requiring specific training to open safely. The organizing principle is that people handle their own items and the contractor handles the building.
Do commercial cleaners wash dishes?
Usually not. Dish washing is rarely included in a standard janitorial scope, though it can be added explicitly. Most buildings handle it with a staff rota or a policy that whoever uses a dish washes it, since a vendor cannot judge whose items are still in use.
Will a cleaning crew clean out the refrigerator?
Cleaners generally will not decide whose food to throw away. The common arrangement is a scheduled purge day with advance notice to staff, after which the contractor cleans the empty shelves. That splits the judgment call from the cleaning work.
Why do cleaners not wipe my desk?
Most crews wipe cleared desks and dust around occupied ones, because moving papers and personal items risks losing something or exposing confidential material. Whether desks get wiped at all usually depends on a clear-surface policy rather than on the cleaning contract.
What is normally excluded from a janitorial contract?
Personal items and paperwork, dishes, refrigerator contents, whiteboards, computer screens and keyboards, plant care, high exterior windows, and bulk furniture removal. Significant biohazard, mold, and pest issues are separate trades and should route to specialists rather than a routine crew.
How do we stop tasks falling between staff and the cleaners?
List every contested task in a single table with an owner and a frequency, then post a short summary where staff will see it. Tasks that both parties could plausibly own are the ones that end up done by neither, and naming them is the entire fix.
Where the line falls depends on your building, your staff, and what you actually want covered, so it is worth talking through rather than assuming. Get a quote and we will go task by task, or read more about commercial cleaning services.