14/08/2026
How do you build a successful business where employees share ownership and play a direct role in decision-making?
Belfast Cleaning Workers' Co-operative has been doing just that since 2012. Operating as a worker-owned co-operative, the business provides commercial cleaning services across Belfast, with employees sharing ownership and having an equal say in how the business is run.
In this case study, founding member Alice McLarnon shares insights from more than a decade of running a co-operative business, including:
• Establishing a worker-owned business model
• Involving employees in decision-making
• Growing and adapting while protecting co-operative values
• Developing skills and shared responsibility across the team
Read Belfast Cleaning Workers' Co-operative's story and Alice's advice for anyone considering starting a co-operative business.
Link in the first comment.
Belfast Cleaning Society | Co-operative Alternatives | Department for the Economy NI
