It has been reported that trade professionals are expected to carry out extra unpaid work in the home every day, according to new research conducted by CORGI HomePlan.
The research revealed over half of UK homeowners didn’t expect to pay the usual hourly rate for the extra tasks carried out, preferring instead to pay in cups of tea, (10%) or not paying all together (10%).
Britain’s skilled professionals are estimated at missing out on £2.7m in potential earnings each year.
When asked why they sought extra work from a trades professional, on top of what had been agreed, 62% cited the convenience of having a professional in the home. A further 40% of those surveyed revealed it was because the professionals are experts and 23% admitted they are not very good at DIY themselves.
It was also noted that men (52%) were more likely to ask for extra work compared to women (47%), however it was women who were most likely to expect the work to be done for free, with half expecting it to be carried out for less than the usual fee.
Younger householders are more likely (73%) to want the work done for a discounted rate, compared to 52% of those aged 55 and above who would happily offer the agreed hourly charge.
However, it has been reported that this did not apply to any other regular professional visitors to the home. When asked if they would make similar requests to delivery people (3%), meter readers (3%) or window cleaners (9%), the numbers who said they would ask for extra work on top fell dramatically.
Peter Southcott, Chief Executive of CORGI HomePlan, commented: “Trades professionals are the nicest you can meet and we regularly hear about how our network of more than 5,000 fully-qualified gas safe engineers, plumbers, electricians and drainage experts are always willing to go the extra mile for our customers. However, that doesn’t mean they are volunteers!
“We should all remember that the next time we say ‘while you’re here, can you take a look at…?’ A trades professional’s expertise and time are to be valued and not taken for granted in this way.”
