The person at Mum's door today is the one you checked.
Get your parent's gardener, cleaner or handyman ID-checked. Give the front door a password. Hear how every visit went, from wherever you are.
Free to start. Helpers never pay. No personal care, ever: practical help around and outside the house.
Gardening · ID checked · Basic DBS · Insured
You live two hours away. She won't have "carers". The gutters are full.
Sound familiar? It's the same story every week on every parenting forum. Here's what we do about each bit.
She won't accept "care"
Good, because this isn't care. It's a gardener, a cleaner, someone to sort the telly. Most parents who say no to carers say yes to someone who does the hedge.
You can't see who turns up
Every helper's checks are named and dated. A doorstep password and a fridge card with their face on it mean a cold-caller with a ladder gets nowhere.
You hear about things too late
After each visit the helper can leave a quick note. "Lawn done, bins out, she was on good form." It comes straight to you, and to your brother if you want.
How it works
- Bring the helper you already trustInvite them by email or a link you text them. No helper yet? Search for checked helpers nearby.
- They get checked, freePhoto ID against a live selfie, a criminal record certificate and insurance. Each one shows as its own dated badge.
- Give the door a passwordSet it with your parent. Only the booked helper sees it, and only around their visit. Print the fridge card.
- Keep the house ticking overArrange visits, get notes afterwards, and let the yearly house plan remind you when the gutters, alarms and boiler are due.
Badges that say what they mean
We never say "vetted". You see exactly which check, where, and when it was done. If it runs out, the badge goes.
Example badges. A helper's real badges appear on their profile once we have seen the evidence.
Attendance Allowance can cover a lot of this
If your parent is over State Pension age and needs help looking after themselves, they may get £76.70 or £114.60 a week (2026/27). It isn't means-tested, isn't taxed, and can be spent on anything, including help around the house.
Policy in Practice estimates up to £5bn a year goes unclaimed by more than a million older households.
Read the guideWhat it adds up to
£5,959
a year at the higher rate. That is roughly 3 to 4 hours of practical help a week at typical local rates of £25 to £32 an hour.
Rates: DWP benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027. Hourly rates: 2026 trade price guides.
What helpers do, and what they never do
Around and outside the house
- Gardening. Lawns, weeding, hedges, leaves and keeping paths clear.
- Small jobs and repairs. Shelves, curtain rails, bulbs, smoke alarm batteries, sticking doors. No gas work.
- Gutters and windows. Clearing gutters and downpipes, window cleaning.
- Cleaning and housework. Hoovering, dusting, kitchens, bathrooms, changing beds, ironing.
- Dog walking and pet care. Walks, feeding and a bit of fuss for the dog or cat.
- Tech help. Phones, tablets, the TV, video calls and online shopping set up.
- Company and conversation. A cuppa, a chat, a game of cards, a walk to the shops together.
- Shopping and errands. Doing the shop, collecting prescriptions, posting parcels.
Company and shopping are available in England and Wales. Shopping needs an enhanced check because it means handling someone's errands for them.
Never
- Washing, bathing or showering someone
- Helping someone dress or undress
- Help with the toilet or continence
- Help with eating or drinking
- Giving, prompting or handling medication
- Reminding someone to eat, drink, wash or take medicine
- Cutting nails or other personal grooming
- Handling cash, bank cards, PINs or online banking
- Accepting gifts, loans or being named in a will or power of attorney
- Driving anyone anywhere
- Gas work of any kind
That is personal care or money handling, and it belongs with registered providers. Why we draw the line here.
Simple pricing
Free: add a home, invite helpers, see their badges, arrange visits, read their notes, print the fridge card.
Membership, £15 a month: adds the doorstep text on the morning of each visit, sharing with the rest of the family, and the yearly house plan with monthly reminders.
Cancel in one click. No contract.
See pricingFor helpers: free, always
Join, list and get your ID checked without paying a penny. Set your own prices. Families pay you directly and we never take a cut.
Helper informationQuestions
Is this a care agency?
No. Wellknown helpers do practical jobs around and outside the house: gardening, cleaning, small repairs, gutters, tech help, dog walking and, in England and Wales, company and shopping. They never wash, dress, feed or give medication to anyone. If your parent needs that kind of help, they need a registered care provider, and we will tell you so.
What does "checked" actually mean?
We never use the word "vetted". Each helper shows exactly which checks they have, and when: a photo ID matched to a live selfie, a criminal record certificate (in the UK, a Basic DBS), and proof of public liability insurance. A badge only appears once we have seen the evidence, and it disappears when it runs out.
My mum already has a gardener. Do we have to use someone new?
No, and most families don't. Invite the person who already comes round. They join free, get their checks done, and you can see them. Nothing changes for them except that you now know who they are.
How does the doorstep password work?
You choose a password with your parent. On the day, the booked helper can see it in their Wellknown account, and only around the time of the visit. Anyone who knocks without it does not get in. A printed fridge card shows the faces of the people who are allowed, and your number to ring if anything feels wrong.
Does the helper pay anything?
Never. Helpers join, list and get their ID checked free. They set their own prices and are paid directly by the family. We do not take a cut of their work.
Does it work outside the UK?
Helpers can join anywhere. In England and Wales every service is on. Elsewhere we start with trades (gardening, small jobs, gutters and windows, dog walking, tech help) and add more once we have checked the local rules.
Start with the helper who already comes round
It takes five minutes, it's free, and they don't pay anything either.