Become a « titre-service » worker

You are searching for a job, you are motivated, you rapidly want a true contract of employment and you want to work as a housekeeper?

The “titres-services” offer you assured working conditions, social rights and a guaranteed income.

In what does the “titre-service” system consist?

It’s a system that allows private people to legally benefit from a housekeeper. This private person is called “user” (fr: utilisateur). This user can be a family, a single mother, an old person, a disabled person…

To receive help, the user contacts an accredited agency, such as the local titres-services employment agencies called Vitale (fr: Agence locale pour l’emploi-titres-services). The user tells the ALE the time and the days he needs for the cleaning to be done.

The Ale sends you to this user who pays you with “titres-services”, so never by cash. Every month, you come to the agency to give all your “titres-services” you received from your users. The Ale gives your salary according to the hours you worked during the month. Every hour is paid with a minimum of 10.49 euro (gross) per hour.

Watch out! The system is only possible for house help at the user’s house. That means that you can clean, do the washing up, cook small meals, do shopping, sew, and clean windows but only at the given address and for private people.

So, you can’t take care of children, clean doctors’ consulting rooms, work in a shop or be the secretary of a business owner even if the user asks you to do it. Your employer is the ALE and she decides what you do, where and when you do it.

How can I become a household help in an ALE-titres services?

Every municipality has got a local employment agency but all haven’t a “titres services” section. You have to know that a lot of users are old and are at home when you work. They are in need of people who talk a little bit French. Of course, other users aren’t there when you work and they trust you. The fact that you aren’t able to speak French isn’t in that case a problem. What is important is that your employer must understand and communicate with you.

You can find all the local employment agencies that can welcome you, non- French speaker, under the video. Don’t hesitate to contact them.

Advantages

By becoming a “titres-services” worker, you receive a true employment contract and you benefit from all the advantages below.

  • Minimal service timing
  • A cover in case of incidents or sickness
  • A social protection
  • A pension collection
  • Paid holidays
  • End of the year’ bonus
  • No work during the weekends or in the evening

But all ALE titres-services can offer you other advantages as travel expenses, luncheon vouchers, work clothes… It depends from the ALE.

The local employment agencies are proximity services. You often work nearby your house and so won’t need to use a mean of transport.

Conditions

To be engaged in an ALE titres-services, you need to be a job seeker. You have to be registered at the FOREM. Almost all ALE ask employment help, as the SINE plan.

To be in the SINE plan conditions, you need to have:

  • A diploma from the lower secondary education, called CESI. If you have a diploma from the upper secondary education in your country but that isn’t recognized in Belgium, you are in the conditions for the SINE plan.
  • Complete unemployment or an income integration from the CPAS or an equivalent help since minimum 1 month.

If you are interested in this job, make a curriculum vitae and ask for a meeting at the ALE titres-services the nearest from your house. The list of the ALE that can welcome you in English are under the video.

Finaly, you need to know that some ALE also has ironing titres-services stations. If you are good at ironing, you can apply for this position but you will then work in a station.

You will find more information on the website of the ALE titres-services the nearest from your house.