Research Report: Attractiveness and Skills in the Domestic & Home Care Sector

The Personal and Household Services Sector: A Pillar of the European Economy to Strengthen

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed numerous vulnerabilities within European healthcare systems while highlighting the essential role of workers in the Personal and Household Services (PHS) sector. These often-overlooked professionals have proven indispensable in supporting the most vulnerable populations by providing critical home-care, especially during strict lockdowns. However, despite their importance, PHS workers still struggle to receive the recognition and rights they deserve.

The PHS Sector: Definition and Importance

The PHS sector includes a wide range of activities, from personal assistance (such as care for the elderly and children) to everyday household services (such as cleaning and gardening). These services are essential not only for the well-being of families and individuals but also for the European economy as a whole. Employing over 10 million workers, of whom 66% are formally declared, the sector represents a significant share of employment within the European Union, comparable to sectors such as construction and hospitality.

Challenges and Issues

The PHS sector faces several major challenges. First, a large portion of jobs in this sector remain undeclared, with estimates suggesting that 70-80% of jobs may not be formally declared, increasing job insecurity for workers. Second, labor shortages, compounded by a lack of sector attractiveness, represent another threat. This paradoxical situation is even more concerning as the demand for PHS is expected to grow in the coming decades, due to an aging population and social changes that lead to increased home care service needs.

Professionalization: An Imperative for the Future

To address these challenges, the report emphasizes the crucial importance of professionalizing the PHS sector. This involves not only improving job recognition but also enhancing working conditions and establishing skills validation mechanisms. Professionalization is also seen as a pathway to empowerment, especially for migrant workers who make up a substantial part of the sector but face barriers to training and employment opportunities.

Conclusion

The PHS sector holds enormous potential for job creation, but this potential can only be fully realized with strong political commitment. Strengthening the sector’s legal framework and increasing funding are essential to attract and retain the necessary workforce. In line with the 2023 European Year of Skills, and with the European Commission emphasizing skills recognition as a major priority for the next mandate, it is more relevant than ever to underscore the central role of skills in the professionalization of PHS to meet future challenges.

Recommendations and Policy Proposals for the Personal and Household Services Sector (PHS)

1. Strengthen Professionalization of PHS Workers
   • Implement sector-specific training programs, including modules on social and emotional skills.
   • Create pathways for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to formally acknowledge the skills of PHS workers, especially vulnerable workers.
2. Improve Working Conditions
   • Harmonize social rights for PHS workers across Europe, ensuring access to social security, paid leave, and decent working hours.
   • Encourage Member States to ratify international conventions on decent work for domestic workers (such as ILO Convention No. 189).
3. Reduce Undeclared Work
   • Develop incentive policies to encourage formal employment in the sector, such as tax relief for employers and bonuses for declared workers.
   • Strengthen enforcement and counter undeclared work in collaboration with national and local authorities.
4. Support Recruitment and Retention of Workers
   • Launch awareness campaigns to promote sector careers and attract new workers, highlighting social benefits and career opportunities.
   • Increase wages and enhance benefits to make careers in the sector more attractive.
   • Develop sustainable, inclusive, and accessible work permits to meet labor needs in shortage sectors, including PHS.
   • Improve sector appeal for migrant workers around three pillars: status, housing, and language support.
5. Promote Lifelong Learning Access
   • Ensure all workers, including those in PHS, have the right to lifelong learning through accessible training and education options, with a focus on vulnerable groups like migrant workers or those distanced from employment.
   • Support personalized training pathways to meet specific needs through diverse learning and certification methods (e.g., blended learning, micro-credentials, RPL).
   • Enhance sector attractiveness by defining career profiles that reflect labor market trends, boosting the employability of PHS workers through green and digital skills acquisition.
6. Encourage Collaboration and Exchange of Best Practices
   • Support the exchange of best practices through a European platform cataloging various EU-led projects.
   • Foster social dialogue by supporting local initiatives and recognizing households as non-professional employers, promoting sector structuring and enabling the creation of adapted sector-wide collective agreements.

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