A report published in May 2024 by four European associations, including EFFAT, EFFE, EFSI and Uni Europa found a crises in labour shortages and turnover in the personal and household services sector in Europe, which in turn is undermining working conditions and the quality of service provision.

The report is based on data from over 6000 survey responses from over 4000 workers, 2000 service users and user-employers, and 157 companies or organisations in the sector.

It found over half of the surveyed workers do not believe their job is sustainable until retirement, with workers considering leaving most commonly due to low pay. Directly employed and self-employed workers were slightly less concerned about pay than workers employed by a company or other organisation, but worked longer hours.

The report also found occupational health and safety concerns in the sector, with only 40% of workers receiving health and safety training.

Two-thirds of workers said they would prefer to work for a company that had a collective agreement with a trade union focusing on working conditions in homes. 60% of the companies or provider organisations whose workers are not covered by collective agreements said they would be open to signing such an agreement.