Highlights from our first 20^th anniversary webinar

As we entered 2026, our organisation, EFSI, entered its 20^th anniversary year. Month after month, we will highlight each of our members and their contributions to the Personal and Household Services (PHS) sector. In January, we start with the focus on Edenred and Pluxee and their long-standing role in developing social voucher systems to support PHS measures. One of the key activities of this focus was the organisation of a webinar designed to “Unlock the potential of Social Vouchers to develop PHS in Europe”.

Organised on 29^th January, the webinar showcased social vouchers as a well-established and recognised policy tool to support access to PHS, formalise employment, improve working conditions in the sector, and contribute to work-life balance. Key experts from both the suppliers and the policy sides gathered to share their knowledge on the topic:

• Ben Broeckx, Public Affairs and Sustainability Director, Pluxee’s Public Benefits, Belgium
• Estelle Louise Bourgeois, Public Affairs Manager, Edenred France
• Claire Hobden, Technical Specialist on Domestic and other vulnerable workers, International Labour Organization
• Jean-François Lebrun, Specialist in Personal and Household Services, previously Head of Unit and Advisor to the European Commission
• Julien Freund, Public Affairs Director, Pluxee, EFSI’s treasurer
• Delphine Chilese-Lemarinier, Head of EU Affairs, Edenred, EFSI’s President

Social Vouchers: Origins, Implementation, and Results

The first part of the webinar was dedicated to explaining why such systems exist, how they function, and what are the benefits for a countries’ economy and social landscape. Answers were based on well-established examples from France and Belgium. Although both countries’ systems differ because of their national contexts, they share notable similarities, particularly their reliance on fiscal incentives and their aim of tackling similar challenges. In Belgium, the shift from single-income households to dual-income households led to an increased reliance on undeclared work for domestic tasks traditionally led by women, such as cooking, ironing, and cleaning. In response, the Belgian government introduced its social voucher system, with which, in collaboration with certified companies, household services were made more accessible and affordable to users. Beneficiaries purchase vouchers that are partly subsidised by the state, and private companies provide them with the corresponding service, ensuring that employment is legal, hours are validated, and workers are paid fairly.

In France,  tackling  undeclared work and creating legal employment were also the main reasons behind the creation of the social voucher system, alongside the objective of  promoting a better work-life balance for users. Currently, the eligible services for the social vouchers are childcare, support for dependent relatives, and other household services.The prepaid CESU voucher system allows employers or local authorities to provide employees or eligible citizens (depending on their needs)  with the vouchers to access those services. In France, employers can provide 2,500 euros per year and per employee.

In both countries, the voucher issuer companies, such as Pluxee and Edenred, are the enablers of the voucher programmes. They distribute the vouchers, connect users to certified service providers, ensure legal compliance and worker protection, and manage the payment and reporting infrastructure that makes subsidised access to services possible.

The social voucher systems, have shown great results in fighting undeclared work, improving working conditions, and ensuring a better work-life balance. In Belgium, the total business volume per year sits around 4 billion euros, and there is 1.2 million users, covering around 1 in 4 families. The sector employs 150,000 persons making it the 3rd largest employment sector in Belgium. In France, we count 1 million workers and 741,000 users. In 2024, 854 millions euros were provided through the prepaid CESU programme.

Transferability of social vouchers, recommendations to Member-States

The second part of the webinar focused on exploring how social voucher systems can be transferred and adapted across different national contexts. Member-States are very different from one another, making the question of transferability a difficult one, specifically in the context of PHS.

The “earn-back” effect of social voucher systems was highlighted by the panellists as a key point to look at when exploring the implementation of such systems. Through both the direct returns (social contribution and taxes revenues) and indirect (the creation of declared jobs), the net cost of the social vouchers programme is often limited.  It is therefore important for Member-States to rely on experts to support and advise them when designing and implementing such programmes.

Social voucher systems are also an enabler of decent working conditions and better work-life balance. They can also improve gender equality and social inclusion, especially when we know that most care workers are women and often from a migrant background.

Overall, the panellists agreed on the first few steps Member-States need to take in order to implement their social voucher system:

• Understand that implementing measures to support the PHS sector is not a cost, but an investment;
• Define clearly the target audience and the eligible services;
• Organise social dialogue to involve all stakeholders concerned;
• Root the systems in local realities and political priorities;
• Look at the programme globally and ensure smooth operation with professional management.

The keyword highlighted in this webinar is “adaptability”. Social voucher systems cannot be copied and pasted directly from one country to another, especially in the context of PHS. It is thus important to take into account all socio-economic and cultural aspects of the country to ensure the effective  design and implementation of a social soucher system.

To further support Member-States in this transition, EFSI has produced, in collaboration with Edenred and Pluxee, a dedicated short video and an implementation infographic, which summarise the key success factors of the French and Belgian models. If you have additional questions on social voucher systems, you can contact our team.

On behalf of EFSI, we wish to thank our panellists who exposed their expertise and participated in such a rich discussion, and a heartfelt thank you to the audience for their attention and their questions.