Undercover as a hotel cleaner in Ireland: ‘Lifting the heavy mattress, I cry tears of rage’

We struggle to secure payslips or a schedule – and in an 11-hour shift I barely have time for a bathroom break

'There’s a lot of ambiguity about payslips, and colleagues say if I leave the job early I won’t get paid at all. No one here seems to keep a record of the actual hours worked.' 

There is no one at reception when I arrive at the hotel in a small town about 50km from Dublin, so I go to the bar and, as instructed, ask for the duty manager. 

“Miša, do you know where James is?” the young waiter calls to a passing colleague – in Slovak.