Some companies double or triple the customer contribution: at I-mens the contribution increases from 1.4 to 5 euros per hour, at Helan the annual contribution increases from 75 to 120 euros. The money from the extra customer contribution is needed on the one hand to cover the costs of the service voucher companies, and on the other hand to pay the wages, supervision and training of domestic helpers, according to Anne Coppens from Helan.
The customer contribution is currently the only way to keep the sector afloat. Another option could be a price increase of the service voucher itself, but the Flemish Government has been opposing this for years. Since 2014, it has fixed the price of service vouchers at 9 euros per hour, which becomes 7.2 euros after the tax deduction.
“However, the price of service vouchers is currently unattainable after the wage indexations of recent years,” says Ann Cattelain of professional federation Federgon on Radio 1. “We all know as private individuals that the price has remained unchanged for years and that is of course not realistic. situation in a period such as today where, for example, we had an indexation of more than 10% last year.”
About 800,000 Flemish families use service vouchers.