Next Steps to Develop the PHS Sector

Personal and Household Services ( PHS) helps households manage everyday needs, supporting families, enabling work–life balance, while creating meaningful employment opportunities. To fully strengthen this sector, the EU must adopt policies and support Member States to ensure quality, accessibility, affordability, and formalisation of the sector across all Europe.

European policies around PHS often aim to:

·       Create formal and stable jobs

·       Reduce undeclared work

·       Expand access to affordable services

·       Improve work-life balance

·       Ensure gender equality

·       Enhance training, safety, and dignity for workers

Types of Support Measures

 
Measure Type
Purpose
Examples Tools
User Support
 Make PHS affordable for households Tax credits, service vouchers, subsidies
Provider Support
 Reduce operational costs & boost quality Grants, reduced social contributions, and training aid
Market Formalisation
 Make formal jobs attractive Legal frameworks, digital tools, certification
Professionalisation
 Build a skilled and valued workforce Qualification pathways, social dialogue, fair pay

 

Key Facts & Figures

Up to 4%

of EU employment comes from the PHS sector

90%

of PHS workers are women

Formalisation could create up to 

5 million jobs

if just 1% of adults outsourced PHS tasks 

The sector should be recognised by the European Commission as

Strategic for inclusive growth

Main Challenges Ahead

Persistent Undeclared Work

Limited affordability for low-income households

Difficult recruitment & retention due to working conditions

Uneven availability across regions

Lack of data, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks

The Way Forward

The European Services for Individuals (EFSI) network supports the transformation of the PHS sector through:

  •  Policy Innovation: promoting effective models (e.g., vouchers, service-cheques, local employment hubs)
  • Evidence-Based Design: using EU-wide data to evaluate policy impacts and “earn-back” returns
  • Social Dialogue: strengthening professional status and rights of PHS workers
  • Decent Work for All: ensuring training, fair pay, and safe working conditions for millions of PHS professionals
  • Digitalisation & New Models: supporting social enterprises, cooperative platforms, and tech-enabled service delivery

Therefore, Personal and Household Services sector sits at the heart of Europe’s social and economic future. By investing in quality, affordability, and formalisation, Europe can unlock millions of jobs, promote equality, and improve lives, one household at a time. Supporting people where they live is the most direct path to an inclusive and resilient Europe.