Domestic helpers, carers and baby sitters: pay rises in the pay packet

Increases up to EUR 83 per month in costs for families with domestic workers, as of 2026. These are brought as a dowry by the renewal of the collective agreement for family assistants, i.e. domestic helpers, carers and baby sitters, signed on 28 October by the employers' associations Fidaldo and Domina, with the trade unions in the sector (Filcams Cgil, Fisascat Cisl, Uiltucs and Federcolf). The agreement, which is valid from 2026 to 2028, has been in force since 1 November, but wage updates will take effect from next year.

The new collective labour agreement introduces an overall increase in remuneration of EUR 100 gross per month (benchmarked on the BS level), which will be staggered over the years: EUR 40 from 1 January 2026, EUR 30 from 1 January 2027, EUR 15 from 1 January 2028 and EUR 15 from 1 September 2028. To these costs must be added the annual revaluation of minimum salaries according to the Istat inflation index (which has been increased from 80% to 90% of the index recorded in November 2025) and the updating of contributions, which is triggered annually. The result, in terms of costs, emerges from some simulations carried out by Assindatcolf for Il Sole 24 Ore on Monday, for three family assistant profiles (see the infographic above).

Thus, for a co-habiting carer working 54 hours per week, expenditure will increase by about 75 euros per month compared to 2025 levels, with an additional outlay per year of between 850 and 900 euros, taking into account salary and contributions. For a BS level babysitter, the minimum hourly wage will rise from EUR 7.10 to EUR 7.46: the family employing the worker for 40 hours per week will spend an average of EUR 83 more per month (between EUR 900 and EUR 1,000 more per year). The domestic helper at level B will go from a minimum hourly wage of EUR 6.68 to EUR 7.02. The monthly cost for a family employing her for 25 hours per week will increase by EUR 53 (about EUR 600 more per year).

The increases will entirely affect the pockets of employers who apply minimum wage levels: they could be less significant or directly absorbed by any higher salaries already paid today, as Rita De Blasis, secretary general of the union Federcolf, points out: "We have brought to the negotiating table the workers' demands," she explains, "and the need to recognise them a salary in line with the cost of living. In the North, wages are often higher than the minimum contractual levels'.

In a sector where undeclared work accounts for almost 50 per cent(compared to the 817,000 workers surveyed by the Inps, it is estimated that there are just as many undeclared workers), the increase in costs could represent an obstacle for families and for the elderly who employ one or more assistants. 'With the new collective agreement,' explains Andrea Zini, president of Assindatcolf, the national association of domestic work employers, a member of Fidaldo, 'we have signed a declaration of intent that aims to strengthenbilaterality. The aim is to get certain benefits to domestic workers, from the thirteenth month's salary to the severance pay, to be recognised by a structure such as the Cassa Colf, fed by contributions from the parties. This could make it possible to help families not to incur very heavy one-off disbursements, and to achieve greater traceability of wages, also to the benefit of the State. At that point, it would perhaps become more sustainable to increase tax benefits for families that hire domestic workers in good standing. We have long advocated the deductibility of wage costs,' he adds.