Spouses and partners work on average two days a week and 31 percent are unpaid.

More than half (51 per cent) of small trade business owners and managers rely on spouses and partners to help run their company, new research released today finds.

The research by Direct Line for Business (DL4B) showed that 46 per cent of small trade business owners and key decision makers rely on their partners to carry out general business administration while 19 per cent employ their partner as a receptionist.

More than one in seven (14 per cent) trust their partners to look after legal and accounting services. And a further 8 per cent of small trade business owners and key decision makers look to their partners to carry out sales, marketing and new business generation responsibilities.

However, despite small trade business owners and key decision makers suggesting their partners work on average two days a week (with one in four working three or more days a week), nearly a third (31 per cent) do not pay their partner any money at all.

This selfless contribution is particularly apparent as the research showed that on average, partners have been helping each other for over four and a half years.

In addition, 65 per cent of people who help out in their partner’s small trade businesses have other employment elsewhere. Of these, one in four (26 per cent) work full time and two in five (39 per cent) work part time at another business.