The PHS social partners – EFFAT, EFFE, EFSI and UNI Europa – have published the 2026 edition of the PHS Employment Monitor. Produced under the EU-funded SCALE UP project, it builds on the first edition released in 2024 and offers a detailed picture of Personal and Household Services across Europe.
The Monitor collected more than 8,000 responses from 36 countries. Participants included 5,610 workers, almost 1,855 user-employers, 354 service users and 354 PHS provider organisations. Hearing from every side of the employment relationship reveals a shared challenge: improving pay and working conditions while keeping services affordable.
With cumulative EU-wide inflation of 6.2% since 2024, the cost-of-living crisis weighs on households, providers and workers alike. In his foreword, former Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit points to the persistence of this crisis and to growing affordability concerns “for both sides in the employment relationship”.
Working conditions remain a serious concern. Only about a quarter of workers have a standard 35–40 hour week, and six in ten report musculoskeletal disorders. A quarter of workers have experienced or witnessed verbal abuse, and nearly 15% report sexual harassment or physical or sexual violence. Live-in workers are particularly exposed: nearly six in ten of those on call report sleep problems, and many report a lack of food and inhumane living conditions. Around 20% of respondents work outside their country of origin; for them, clear information on their rights, easier access to work permits and protection from abuse are priorities.
Building respect: a challenge of action, not words
The strongest point of agreement among all respondent groups is that the sector needs more institutional respect. The Monitor is clear on what this means in practice: not awareness campaigns, but concrete employment and policy choices. These include:
In the report’s logic, institutions hold the responsibility to formalise, professionalise and strengthen the sector, extend labour and social rights, and confront undeclared work. Only then can social respect follow.
Trade unions remain a key source of information on rights; non-members rely more on government websites, social media, friends and family. Four in ten providers have no sectoral or company-level collective agreement, while around two-thirds of non-employer users say they would prefer a company covered by one. Among user-employers not represented by an employers’ association, seven in ten see the benefit of representation or are unsure, which points to real potential for outreach. The Monitor concludes that workers, employers and users must act together, within collective bargaining and social dialogue, to prompt the policy action the sector needs.
The Monitor was presented on 15 June 2026 at a launch event with more than 160 participants, including policymakers, social partners and researchers. Aude Boisseuil General Delegate of EFFE opened by stressing the collective effort behind the report and the importance of evidence-based policymaking. Speakers from the European Commission, the Spanish Labour Ministry and the European Parliament discussed workforce shortages, working conditions and recognition of domestic work. Dr Shannon Pfohman, Executive Director of Eurocarers, welcomed the report as a sign that care and domestic work are “gaining importance”, and said PHS should be “front and centre on the policy agenda”. The discussion also considered how the findings can feed into the future European Care Deal.