They clean your interior, iron your laundry and shine windows and parquet floors when you are at work or enjoying a relaxing break… How much do housekeepers earn, which you only finance up to €10? hour via the service voucher system?
Nowadays, it is quite difficult to find stable, flexible work that does not require special professional skills. However, a trade is accessible to most people following a simple training as a maintenance worker. Several names designate this profession: man or woman of cleaning, man or woman with day, maintenance agent, technician or technician of surface or cleaning agent. But how much do they earn?
The salary of a household help in Belgium
The salary of housekeepers is subject to the scales of the CP 322.01 scheme, the latter being linked to personal assistance. Since January 1, 2023, the minimum gross hourly wage for a housekeeper is €13.10 when hiring. Then, this amount evolves with the years of seniority. After 3 years of experience, the housekeeper will therefore receive a minimum of €13.91/hour.
So, per month, having just been hired, a full-time housekeeper or housekeeper (38h/week) earns around 2000€ gross, more or less 1840€ nets (for a single person, without children).
It should be noted that, in this environment, there is a very large number of part-time workers: in 2020, 18% of workers worked full-time, 71% were between full-time and part-time and 11 % occupied less than half time. The missions being multiple and the working time being fluctuating, the net salary received at the end of each month varies from one month to another: the vast majority of housekeepers therefore found themselves with a monthly income of less than 1000 euros.
Service vouchers: housekeepers will be able to receive up to 95% of their salary
What are the fringe benefits?
By working as a domestic helper in Belgium, you can benefit from certain non-negligible extralegal benefits which will supplement your net salary. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the benefits you can expect to receive if you work as a maintenance worker in Belgium:
- The work of household help sometimes makes it possible to benefit from tickets-restaurantsvery useful for minimizing food-related expenses;
- It is possible to receive a mileage allowance when the place of work is located far from the place of residence: transport or travel costs are then borne by your employer;
- Some bonuses can be paid such as the (double) holiday pay or the year-end bonusalso known as the 13th month bonus;
- Cleaners employed by large companies can benefit from thehospital insurance which covers hospital costs in the event of a health problem;
- By being a company employee, you can also benefit from theinsurance Group.
The number but also the type of benefits you can benefit from vary from one structure to another. They are to be negotiated with the employer before signing your employment contract.
What are the advantages of the service voucher as a means of payment?
Individuals can hire housekeepers and pay them using service vouchers. This allows them to benefit from tax deductions later on. The service voucher exists either in paper form or in electronic form. The service voucher system is managed by each Region, which sets the maximum number of vouchers per person.
When a housekeeper works in an approved company that can receive payments by service vouchers, she benefits from a real employment contract and all the related protections: pension contribution, social protection, paid leave and guaranteed remuneration in the event of accident at work or illness.
In other countries, what is the net salary of a household help?
As is the case for other professions, the net salary of a household helper varies from one country to another and even within the European Union. In France, for example, the average annual salary of a cleaner is 19,988 euros, or 10.25 euros per hour for a worker with no experience. For agents who already have experience in the field, their average salary can reach up to 23,400 euros. In Germany, cleaning agents, called housekeepers, receive an average of 1806 euros per month. As is the case for Belgium, the salary of these workers in Germany but also in France is strongly linked to the region of establishment. The amounts quoted above being national averages, there can be quite substantial salary fluctuations depending on whether you are in one region or another.
