Press releases

Forget the stereotype of one’s grandparents being those most likely to get help around the home. Research from community insurer Combined Insurance shows it is hard working young Brits that are hiring in help to free up some much needed quality time.

With reports that the British working week is the longest in Europe, there has been widespread concern over the health implications of long working hours and the ability of UK workers to strike the right work-life balance.
As an insurer that invests in the communities in which it does business, Combined Insurance is probing the public’s attitudes to community values. Combined Insurance asked a GB representative sample of 2,000 people which type of outside help they had to assist with the running of the home.

• Set against fears of the impact the credit crunch will have on the average monthly disposable income, more than one in five Britons are still paying for regular help around the home (22%). More than a third (36%) of those hiring home help employ two or more people.

• Cleaning, gardening and decorating top the list for people having help at home in the UK - more than one in five Britons (21%) choosing to have either of the three.

• Young workers are the people most likely to get help at home, (27%). Of those paying for home help, a cleaner is the top choice for the under 25s (37%), followed by employing a gardener (30%) and regularly using a baby sitter (19%).

• Southerners and Londoners are the most likely to employ help around the home – almost one in three people (30% and 28%) admitting so, with the canny Scots living up to their name - only one in ten (12%) getting help around the home.

• Time bound Londoners favour having help cleaning their home (14%), gardening (9%), and odd jobs around the home (6%).

Nigel Brittle, Director at Combined Insurance commented: “The long working hours culture that many Britons follow makes people put a premium on work life balance and in order to make the best of their free time many are hiring in home help to allow them to  juggle increasing demands on their time.

The community spirit research from Combined Insurance indicates that significant numbers of people are willing to invest in their local community by employing local home help and that a local service delivered face to face is increasingly valued.”
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For more information or to arrange interviews please contact:
Lindsay Wienand / Guy Bellamy                 
FD Consumer Dynamics
020 7269 7265 / 7177
lindsay.wienand@fd.com

Notes to Editors:

• Since 1919, Combined Insurance (www.combinedinsurance.co.uk) has specialised in bringing affordable, quality insurance products to individuals and families - and currently provides supplemental disability, accident, health and life cover to over 3.5 million policyholders. Combined Insurance has never forgotten its roots and today operates face-to-face in local communities – just as it has done for the last 90 years