Access Control Systems for Contractors, Cleaners and Temporary

Many buildings need to give access to people who are not permanent employees. Cleaners, tradespeople, maintenance teams, delivery staff, agency workers and temporary staff may all need to enter at different times, often without direct supervision.

Access control systems make this easier to manage than handing out spare keys. With the right setup, business owners, facilities managers, landlords and property managers can control who enters, which doors they can use, and when access should be removed.

For small sites, access control kits can also provide a practical starting point for managing access to one door, room or restricted area.

Why Temporary Access Is a Security Challenge

Temporary access is often harder to manage than permanent staff access. A full-time employee may have a clear role, set working hours and a known access requirement. Contractors, cleaners and temporary workers are different. They may only need entry for a short period, outside normal hours or to one specific part of the building.

This creates several common risks.

Spare Keys Get Lost

Handing out spare keys can seem simple, but it can quickly become difficult to manage. Keys may be lost, forgotten, kept by mistake or passed between team members without a clear record.

For landlords and property managers, this can become a regular issue when cleaners, maintenance contractors or letting agents need access to shared areas, plant rooms or vacant units.

With access control systems, physical keys are not always needed. A fob, card or PIN can provide controlled access without creating the same long-term key risk.

Keys Can Be Copied

A standard key can often be copied without the building owner knowing. This can create a security problem if contractors change, a cleaning company stops working on site, or a temporary worker leaves.

Electronic access helps reduce this issue. If a fob is lost or not returned, it can usually be removed from the system. If a PIN code has been shared, it can be changed.

This gives managers more control than a key-based setup, especially in buildings with regular staff changes or multiple external service providers.

Contractors May Only Need Short-Term Access

A contractor may only need access for one day, one week or the length of a project. Giving them a permanent key can create risk after the job ends.

Examples include:

• Electricians working in a plant room
• Plumbers accessing a maintenance cupboard
• Decorators working in an office
• Engineers attending a server room
• Fire safety contractors checking equipment
• Builders working in a vacant unit

Access control systems can support a more controlled process. Access can be issued when needed and removed when the work is complete.

Cleaners May Need Access Outside Normal Hours

Cleaning teams often work early in the morning, late in the evening or at weekends. This can make key handovers difficult, especially if no site manager is present.

A keypad, fob reader or card reader can make out-of-hours access easier to manage. Cleaners can enter through the correct door without needing to collect or return keys each time.

For higher-risk areas, access can be limited to certain doors, such as a staff entrance, cleaner’s cupboard or waste area, rather than the whole building.

Access Should Be Limited to Relevant Doors

Not every person needs access to every area. A cleaner may need the main entrance and cleaning store, but not the server room. A delivery driver may need a rear entrance, but not offices. A maintenance contractor may need a plant room, but not stock areas.

Good access control planning helps reduce unnecessary access. This is useful for:

• Protecting stock
• Securing private offices
• Restricting plant rooms
• Managing shared buildings
• Controlling contractor movement
• Reducing risk from lost or misused credentials

The aim is not to make access difficult. It is to make it controlled, practical and suitable for the site.

Who Needs Temporary or Restricted Access?

Many types of users may need short-term, occasional or limited access. The best setup depends on the building, the user group and the level of control needed.

Common users include:

• Cleaning teams
• Maintenance contractors
• Delivery staff
• Temporary staff
• Agency workers
• External engineers
• Property agents

Cleaning Teams

Cleaning teams often need regular access, but not always during standard business hours. In offices, retail units, residential blocks and managed properties, cleaners may need entry before staff arrive or after everyone has left.

A keypad may work for a small site, but fobs or cards can provide better control if there are several cleaners or if cleaning contractors change regularly.

Maintenance Contractors

Maintenance contractors may need access to specific areas only. These may include plant rooms, service cupboards, roof access doors, electrical rooms, bin stores or shared service areas.

For facilities managers, access control systems can make it easier to avoid issuing building-wide keys. Instead, access can be limited to the correct door or area.

Delivery Staff

Some sites need to control delivery access through a rear entrance, loading bay door or goods-in area. This is common in retail units, offices, warehouses, leisure facilities and mixed-use buildings.

A controlled delivery entrance can help reduce the risk of doors being left unsecured. It also helps keep delivery movement separate from staff and visitor areas.

Temporary Staff

Temporary staff may be hired for seasonal work, events, cover shifts or short-term projects. They may need quick access to staff entrances, offices, stores or work areas.

Fobs or cards can be a practical option because they can be issued at the start of the placement and removed when the contract ends.

Agency Workers

Agency workers can change often, especially in warehouses, care environments, hospitality, cleaning and facilities roles. Using physical keys for this type of access can be hard to control.

A managed fob, card or PIN process gives the site team a clearer way to issue, update and remove access.

External Engineers

External engineers may attend for alarms, lifts, HVAC, electrical systems, telecoms, IT, access control or building services. They may need access to high-risk or technical areas.

For these users, access should be limited to the area needed for the task. This helps protect the rest of the building while still allowing work to be completed efficiently.

Property Agents

Letting agents, managing agents and property inspectors may need access to communal areas, vacant units, meter cupboards or maintenance spaces.

For landlords and property managers, access control systems can reduce the need for multiple spare keys and make access easier to update when agents or contractors change.

Access Methods for Non-Permanent Users

Different sites need different access methods. A small office may only need a keypad on one door. A larger managed building may need fobs, cards or PC-managed permissions.

The table below gives a practical comparison.

PIN Codes

PIN code access is simple and cost-effective. It can work well for small sites, single internal doors and areas where access changes are not too frequent.

A keypad may be suitable for:

• Cleaner’s cupboards
• Staff entrances
• Small offices
• Internal store rooms
• Plant rooms with low user numbers
• Shared areas in smaller buildings

The main weakness is code sharing. Once a PIN is known, it can be passed to others. This does not mean keypads are unsuitable, but it does mean codes need to be managed.

Good practice includes:

• Changing codes when contractors leave
• Avoiding one permanent shared code
• Using different codes for different user groups where possible
• Limiting keypad use on higher-risk areas
• Keeping a record of who has been given the code

For simple doors, keypads can be a practical part of access control systems, especially when combined with the right lock, exit device and power supply.

Fobs and Cards

Fobs and proximity cards are often better where several people need access or where users change regularly.

They are useful for cleaners, contractors and temporary staff because each person can have their own credential. If that person leaves, loses the fob or no longer needs access, the credential can usually be removed.

Fobs and cards are commonly used for:

• Cleaning teams
• Temporary staff
• Agency workers
• Maintenance contractors
• Property agents
• Shared building users
• Managed commercial sites

Compared with keys, fobs and cards are easier to control. A lost key may require a lock change. A lost fob can usually be deleted from the system.

For landlords and facilities teams, this can reduce the cost and disruption linked to lost or unreturned keys.

Separate Staff and Contractor Credentials

Where a building has both permanent staff and temporary users, separate credentials can make access easier to manage.

For example:

• Staff may have access to the main entrance, office and staff room
• Cleaners may have access to the main entrance and cleaning cupboard
• Contractors may have access to the plant room only
• Delivery staff may have access to a rear entrance
• Property agents may have access to communal areas

This keeps access more organised and reduces the chance of giving someone more access than they need.

For small sites, this may be managed with different fobs, cards or PINs. For larger sites, a more advanced system may be needed to manage users, doors and permissions in a structured way.

PC-Managed Access

PC-managed access can be useful where more detailed control is required. This may apply to larger commercial buildings, managed residential blocks, warehouses, schools, leisure sites or multi-door premises.

A PC-managed setup may help with:

• Managing larger user numbers
• Assigning different access levels
• Updating permissions more efficiently
• Supporting multi-door control
• Reviewing access activity where supported
• Managing staff and contractor access separately

This type of setup is often more involved than a single-door kit. It may need more planning, more wiring and a clearer access management process.

For straightforward single-door access try our access control systems available at Door Entry Online