Spain is the EU country with the most domestic and care workers: what working conditions do they have?

BarcelonaAccording to data from the INE, in 2050 the Spanish population over 65 years old will represent more than 30% of the total, with the arrival of the generation of baby boom. This aging population will also increase the dependency rate and the need for resources—both financial and human—to care for these people. While, traditionally, elder care and household chores have been assumed by the family unit, especially women, the hiring of external workers to perform this work is becoming more widespread. Spain is the European Union (EU) country with the most female employees in this sector, accounting for 34.5% of the region as a whole.

But who will do these jobs and under what conditions? In the report: Invisible Labor and Broken Bodies: A Closer Look at Home and Care Employment in Spain, the NGO Oxfam Intermón exposes the precariousness and health risks these workers suffer. In 2024, there were 565,718 people employed in this sector in Spain, 87% of whom were women. 54% were foreign nationals. The study highlights that this type of work is the first gateway to the labor market for migrant women, and that in 2033, 40% of work permits granted to foreigners were for domestic work.

Despite the obligation to register domestic workers with Social Security, 32% still work in the informal economy, which limits their access to labor rights such as unemployment benefits.

"There is a part of this informality that is innate in the sector, despite the improvements that have been implemented. There is an invisible barrier that hinders formal employment. It is evident that they cannot access it because they are in an irregular administrative situation," Nerea Boneta, one of the researchers who authored the report, tells ARA.

Part-time work and long hours

Meanwhile, 23.9% of contracts are temporary, and 58.8% of female employees work part-time. Added to this are "extremely long working hours, unthinkable in any other sector." This grievance is exacerbated in the case of live-in workers—there are at least 38,143 in Spain—since they live in the same home where they work, with workweeks that can legally reach 60 hours. "It's a very difficult system to control, and there are many abuses and labor exploitations. For many workers, there is no distinction between work hours and their free time, and they live only to work. These conditions end up being accepted by people who cannot say no because they lack a regularized status," Boneta emphasizes.

The Oxfam report denounces that, despite being essential work, it barely meets the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI). 37.7% of the workers surveyed for this research responded that they had "very serious" difficulties making ends meet.

Furthermore, unemployment protection does not extend to the entire group and severance pay is lower than in other sectors and, in many cases, is not even paid: only two out of five workers who were entitled received it in the last year. "It is also pending that the right to unemployment benefits is recognized retroactively, "It has only been recognized since October 2022, although several rulings support them," adds Boneta.

"Broken bodies"

This poor quality of employment has a direct impact on the health of female employees, leading Oxfam to describe it as a sector of "broken bodies." Ninety percent report having suffered muscle pain in the last year; 65% have experienced stress; 59% anxiety; and 36% depression. These work-related conditions also explain why three out of four respondents regularly use painkillers or painkillers to soothe the pain.

The home and care sector does not recognize any occupational diseases, which makes it difficult for workers to have their disability recognized when they begin the process at the doctor's office.

Regarding workplace violence, 21% say they have experienced it, and 40% know of a similar case. One of the respondents, a 24-year-old woman living in an undocumented situation, explained how she received a job offer where the only requirement was that she work naked.

"Although in recent years there has been a substantial improvement in the [care] system, with measures that have increased its coverage, there is still a long way to go. Right now, 0.85% of GDP is invested and where the State does not reach, it is the families who take care of them, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can, but they can do it, but those who do it for them" concludes Boneta.