According to data from the Social Security Institute, by December 2024, the average salary for domestic service workers stood at 358 euros.
This figure pertains to those registered with Social Security as domestic service professionals. At that point, there were 220,400 active workers, yet only 23% (51,500) made social contributions, accounting for both employee and employer responsibilities.
The statistics indicate that average salaries have been rising annually.
By the end of 2022, domestic cleaning workers earned an average of 318 euros, increasing to 332 euros by December 2023.
This marks an increase of 40 euros from December 2022 and 26 euros from December 2023.
Despite salary increments, wages known to Social Security remain far from the national minimum wage (SMN), which was 705 euros in 2022, 760 euros in 2023, and 820 euros in 2024.
Comparing the trend with the minimum wage trajectory, in 2023, domestic service salaries’ increase fell short of SMN growth. However, by 2024, it aligned with the annual rise of the minimum wage.
In 2023, the SMN rose by 7.8%, while average domestic cleaning wages increased by 4.4% from 318 to 332 euros. In 2024, the minimum wage rose by 7.9%, with the sector’s average salary growing by 7.8%, from 332 to 358 euros.
Employers, often individuals, are required to declare domestic worker hires and pay social contributions.
Contributing to Social Security affects retirement pension calculations and eligibility for benefits like sickness or unemployment benefits, parental leave, or funeral expense reimbursements.
It also indirectly impacts pay as Social Security registration mandates employers to provide 22 working days of vacation pay and a Christmas allowance equivalent to one month’s salary, regardless of the employment contract type.
If paid hourly, the declared salary, which forms the basis for contributions, is 3.01 euros per hour even if actual wages are higher, such as eight or nine euros per hour.
Employers must declare at least 30 hours per month.
The employer contributes 18.9% and the worker 9.4%, resulting in a total contribution rate of 28.3%.
The “Decent Domestic Work White Paper,” published in April 2024 by the Union of Concierge, Security, Cleaning, Domestic, and Various Activity Workers (STAD) with support from the Citizenship and Gender Equality Commission (CIG) and the EEA Grants, highlights that those working for multiple families face higher instability and lower protection levels due to managing different employers with varied understandings of workers’ rights.
A survey for this study found that 48% of professionals working for one or more families do not make contributions, usually handled by the employer.
The main reason cited for not registering with Social Security is employers’ reluctance to ensure contributions, mentioned by 30.3% of respondents working for one household and 60% for those working for several.
