When The Sun wrote about Eden Lee Murray this week, some people will have treated it as a one-off. It isn’t. For several years, UK papers have been writing about the same underlying change: a second income is no longer unusual.
2021: one in four working adults
In October 2021 The Sun, The Mirror, the Daily Star and Wales Online all ran research commissioned by Utility Warehouse. It found that one in four employed adults had a second source of income, bringing in an average of £530 a month. The reasons will sound familiar now — making ends meet, a bit more breathing room, rising bills, a back-up plan, or simply wanting to do something of your own.
Andrew Lindsay, then CEO of Utility Warehouse, was quoted on the growing interest in the Partner opportunity, and on people looking for work that could fit into the “nooks and crannies” of a normal week, outside the nine-to-five. The Mirror also reported his figure that UW Partners earned over £25 million in 2020 by helping friends and family with their household bills, in their own time.
“We’ve seen the rise of the second income first-hand with growing interest in our UW Partner opportunity, as more and more post-pandemic Brits are seeking work that can fit into the nooks and crannies of their lives.”
Andrew Lindsay, then CEO of Utility Warehouse, quoted in The Mirror, 22 October 2021
2023: more than 20 million Multi-Income Individuals
Two years later, a Utility Warehouse and Cebr report put a bigger number on it. Papers including The Scotsman, the Yorkshire Post, the Banbury Guardian and a long list of other regional titles reported that more than 20 million UK adults — over a third of the adult population — had a second income, averaging about £780 a month, often rounded in headlines to almost £10,000 a year.
The coverage also made a point I still agree with: many people keep that second income quiet, as if it were something to be embarrassed about. It shouldn’t be. Building something beside a salary is a sensible, adult thing to do. The report itself looked at all sorts of second incomes, not only UW Partners, from selling goods online to referral work.
What I take from it
The headlines are about national averages, not about what any one person will earn. Partner income depends on effort, on the customers you help, and on the UW plan in force at the time. I never treat a newspaper figure as a promise.
What I do take from this coverage is the direction of travel. More people want another stream beside the job. The Partner role was built for that: no stock, no premises, training provided, and the chance to help households with bills they already pay. If that sounds like the sort of second income you’d actually want to talk about, I’m here.