EFFE Position Paper on the Future European Intergenerational Strategy  
Building Intergenerational Fairness Through Care: The Role of Domestic and Home Care in a Sustainable and Inclusive Europe

31-10-2025

The European Federation for Family Employment & Home Care (EFFE) welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to develop a Future Intergenerational Strategy promoting fairness, solidarity, and cohesion between generations.

EFFE stresses that intergenerational justice cannot be achieved without recognising the essential role of domestic and home care – the Personal and Household Services (PHS) sector – in supporting people across all stages of life.

Care is the invisible infrastructure of European societies. From childcare and support to working parents, to long-term care for older persons and people with disabilities, domestic and home care services sustain autonomy, health, and inclusion. They also enable millions of Europeans, particularly women, to participate in the labour market, while creating over 10 million jobs across the EU. Yet, this essential sector remains undervalued, under-regulated, and too often undeclared.

EFFE calls for the Intergenerational Strategy to place care at its core. Ensuring accessible, affordable and high-quality home-based services is vital to allow citizens to live and age in dignity, prevent isolation, and reduce territorial inequalities. The sector must be recognised as a pillar of social cohesion and economic resilience that benefits all generations.

However, structural challenges persist. Territorial disparities restrict access to care, especially in rural and ageing regions. Working conditions remain poor, with low wages and limited social protection. In many Member States, a large share of domestic and home care work remains undeclared, leaving workers without rights or protection and causing major losses in public revenue and social security systems. Families face high costs and complex administrative burdens, while women continue to shoulder the majority of unpaid care, resulting in persistent gender gaps in income, pensions and well-being.

EFFE calls for a comprehensive EU approach built on six priorities:

1. Formal recognition of domestic and home care within the Intergenerational Strategy and the European Pillar of Social Rights;

2. Accessibility and affordability, through vouchers, social incentives, tax credits, and regional funding mechanisms;

3. Improved working conditions and professionalisation, including training, social dialogue, and skill recognition;

4. Formalisation of employment via simplified administrative tools and fiscal incentives;

5. Reduction of gender and intergenerational care gaps by investing in formal care and recognising informal carers;

6. Coherence with EU social and economic policies, including the Care Strategy, Gender Equality Strategy, and European Semester.

Investing in domestic and home care is not a cost but a social and economic return. It reduces poverty, strengthens labour participation, and supports ageing in place while ensuring dignity and fairness across generations. EFFE urges the European Commission to make care the foundation of intergenerational solidarity. Supporting user-employers, empowering care workers, and guaranteeing universal access to quality home care will allow Europe to build a sustainable, inclusive, and fair society for all generations.