Price of modern home help

The Upstairs, Downstairs lifestyle of live-in servants may be long gone, but Britons still spend more than £9billion a year on home help, a new study claims today. More than 2.7 million households regularly employ some sort of domestic workers, according to the report, 21st Century Housekeeping.

The study shows that each household employing domestic help spends an average of £3,493 a year, equivalent to £73 a week, on everything from part-time gardeners to nannies.

The rate of pay for a cleaner is about £4.85 an hour, while a gardener earns £6.46. Yet nannies and child carers, who have a bigger responsibility, earn much less - they are paid just £3.64 an hour.

The report says: "Times have changed since the days when live-in servants were only for the aristocracy and leisured classes. Taking on hired help in the home is commonplace for ordinary working families up and down the country and, in many cases, is becoming essential rather than a luxury."

In London and the South, half of all homeowners in the survey employed a cleaner, who works for an average three hours a week. Southerners fork out more for their domestic help, paying an average of £5.50 an hour compared with the national average of £4.85.

The research shows that 90 per cent of people who work as hired helps are paid cash in hand, while 66 per cent of "domestic bosses" have never discussed a pay review with their employees.

The report says the demand for helpers is explained by the number of working women and mothers, today's workaholic culture and the desire for more leisure time.

It says that 2.75 million British households employ domestic help for, on average, 13.14 hours a week at an average of £5.54 an hour.

"Based on a 48-week working year, that means as a nation we are spending £9billion on hired help," the report claims. The research - among 1,000 households across Britain, as well as 500 employers and 500 employees - was commissioned by Norwich Union.

Cleaners and gardeners remain the most popular domestic helpers. On average, Britons employ cleaners for four hours a week. Gardeners work an average 20 hours a week.

Third on the list of the most popular hired helps are ironers, followed by handymen, child carers/nannies and general home-helps.

The report says: "Time is a premium for many busy households, so paying someone to help around the home is often the best solution. Long gone are the days of Upstairs, Downstairs. Today, only one in 10 employees firmly believes domestic help is only for the middle and upper classes."

However, the report confirms what millions of homeowners who hire cleaners suspect - one in three admits to tidying up before their hired help arrives.

Three quarters of employers find their hired help through word of mouth and only three per cent through an agency.

Sixty per cent of employers say it is difficult to get good domestic staff. And once people find someone who is good at their job they like to keep them. A third of all people employing domestic help have had the same person for more than three years.

Norwich Union has produced a free guide called Domestic Bliss to help both those employing domestic help and employees to get the most out of the relationship.

It gives tips about the things to look for when recruiting or seeking work, how to form a good working relationship and information about insurance and security issues - 90 per cent of employers say they have not considered the insurance ramifications of hiring help.

The guide also contains a service promise that can be filled in and signed by the homeowner and the employee.

James Duffell, of Norwich Union, said: "Many homeowners have a haphazard attitude to employing in the home, even though as a nation we are spending billions of pounds a year on cleaners, gardeners and nannies.

"Our guide not only offers practical advice about selecting the right people, but will help employers plan the job and work better with their employee so it's a positive and safer working relationship."

Stuart Neill, of Adecco, the world's largest recruitment company, said: "It's amazing that people appear to give so little time and attention to recruiting in their home, yet view recruitment for business as a priority decision. Basic recruitment and employment practice should never be ignored, particularly when domestic staff are entrusted with your home or even your children."

Copies of Norwich Union's Domestic Bliss guide can be obtained by telephoning 0800 0930303.