No he’s not rolling in cash.. the last few months he’s loosing clients by the day, he hasn’t got many left. He’s forgetting things, not keeping appointments - breaking agreements. Not getting back to people or not communicating messages. He takes cleaners on a self employed basis so they declare all - he pays no tax on them. It’s all legal - he charges a “management / finders fee” interviews them DBS checks and provides cover if they are sick etc. That’s where I come in, I’m the “cover”. They get £10 an hour he gets the £2 by direct debit from the client in advance quarterly.

I am a full time carer for my two disabled daughters do I can’t declare self employed earnings over a certain amount. Hence some cash in hand work being useful and obvs child maintenance isn't counted as earnings. If I had any!!

So doing the work I asked for the full amount as I feel as I’m not just another “cleaner” I’m the mother of his children and I have been up until we separated - a business partner in every way apart from on paper! I did the tax returns every year, the paperwork, admin and he did the meeting clients and taking telephone calls.

I wouldn’t set up a business on that scale for myself again because it’s too much to fit around my caring but I would take on some cleaning jobs for myself at £12-£15 an hour. I think that’s what I’m going to do. I have a couple of other things I do as little enterprises that don’t earn me much but make me happy and I don’t want to give those up.