{"id":16945,"date":"2025-12-15T12:41:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T12:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/?p=16945"},"modified":"2025-12-15T12:44:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T12:44:31","slug":"athens-home-services-company-efsi-member","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/athens-home-services-company-efsi-member\/","title":{"rendered":"Athens Home Services Becomes the First Greek Company to Join EFSI"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"16945\" class=\"elementor elementor-16945\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f696425 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f696425\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-98c737e elementor-widget 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    font-size: 1.5rem;\n            }\n            \n            .ahs-featured-image {\n                height: 300px;\n            }\n            \n            .ahs-intro-quote,\n            .ahs-highlight-box {\n                padding: 24px;\n            }\n            \n            .ahs-cta-section {\n                padding: 32px 24px;\n            }\n            \n            .ahs-info-cards {\n                grid-template-columns: 1fr;\n            }\n        }\n    <\/style>\n\n    <!-- Intro Quote -->\n    <div class=\"ahs-intro-quote\">\n        \"When I first mentioned in 2008 that I wanted to start Athens Home Services, people told me:<\/br>-'What?! With your skills and background, you want to work with cleaning ladies?'<\/br>That phrase made me more determined.<\/br>I realized that this 'invisible' sector needed someone to speak for it.\"\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"ahs-highlight-box\">\n        <h3>What is EFSI?<\/h3>\n        <p>The European Federation for Services to Individuals (EFSI) is the voice of the home services sector at the European level. Founded in 2006, it represents national associations, employer organizations, and companies operating in personal and household services across 21 EU countries.<\/p>\n        <p><strong>The PHS sector includes everything that happens inside the home:<\/strong><\/p>\n        <ul>\n            <li>Care services: childcare, babysitting, elderly care, assistance for people with disabilities<\/li>\n            <li>Household support services: cleaning, ironing, gardening, minor repairs<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        <p>EFSI's mission is to make the sector more organized, more recognized, and to push for policies that support it.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <!-- Main Content -->\n    \n\n    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/DDA398BD-84D3-4C1B-8155-2A2BAAF92093-1.webp\" alt=\"AHS EFSI 2025\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 32px 0; border-radius: 2px;\">\n\n\n    <section>\n        <h2>The Announcement: First Greek Company in EFSI<\/h2>\n        <p>We are thrilled to announce that Athens Home Services has officially become a full member of <strong>EFSI<\/strong> \u2014 the European Federation for Services to Individuals.<\/p>\n        <p><strong>We are the first Greek company to join this network.<\/strong><\/p>\n        <p>The decision was made at EFSI's Extraordinary General Assembly, after 4 years of close collaboration. This is not just a distinction for us \u2014 it's a significant moment for the entire sector in Greece.<\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n        <h2>A Dream Come True<\/h2>\n        <p>In Greece, personal and household services \u2014 what Europe calls Personal and Household Services (PHS) \u2014 is a sector without structure, without rules, and largely without social security contributions. Workers operate \"under the table.\" No one takes them seriously. And often, they don't take their work seriously either.<\/p>\n        <p>But I believed \u2014 and still believe \u2014 that this sector deserves to become a profession in the full sense of the word.<\/p>\n        <p><strong>Today, this conviction has reached a new milestone.<\/strong><\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n\n    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6156.webp\" alt=\"AHS EFSI 2025\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 32px 0; border-radius: 2px;\">\n\n    <section>\n        <h2>Alongside Europe's Leading Names<\/h2>\n        <p>As a member of EFSI, Athens Home Services now stands alongside leading organizations in the sector:<\/p>\n        <p><strong>National Associations:<\/strong> DOMINA (Italy), AESPD (Spain), Almega Hemservicef\u00f6retagen (Sweden), F\u00e9d\u00e9sap (France), Federgon (Belgium), AHDW, VHBP, BHDU (Germany), Hyvinvointiala (Finland), UZS (Czech Republic).<\/p>\n        <p><strong>Company Members:<\/strong> Oui Care, Edenred, Pluxee, Group Daenens (Belgium), Medical Link Services.<\/p>\n        <p><em>It is both an honor and a responsibility.<\/em><\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n        <h2>What This Means for Greece<\/h2>\n        <p>This is not just recognition for Athens Home Services. It means:<\/p>\n        \n\n   \n        <div class=\"ahs-info-cards\">\n            <div class=\"ahs-info-card\">\n                <h4>A Voice in Europe<\/h4>\n                <p>Greece now has a seat at the table in discussions shaping the future of the sector at the European level.<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"ahs-info-card\">\n                <h4>Access to Know-How<\/h4>\n                <p>We bring to Greece standards, methods, and practices that already work in other European countries.<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"ahs-info-card\">\n                <h4>Pressure for Change<\/h4>\n                <p>With EFSI behind us, we have a stronger platform to demand regulation and recognition of the sector.<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"ahs-info-card\">\n                <h4>Network & Partnerships<\/h4>\n                <p>We enter a community of people doing the same work across Europe.<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <!-- CTA Section -->\n    <div class=\"ahs-cta-section\">\n        <h3>Building the Future of Home Services Together<\/h3>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/services\/\" class=\"ahs-cta-button\">VIEW OUR SERVICES<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div style=\"margin: 32px 0;\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PHOTO-2025-11-18-18-29-05-1.webp\" \n             alt=\"AHS EFSI 2025\" \n             style=\"width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 2px;\">\n        <p class=\"ahs-image-caption\">\n            With the EFSI team at the European Parliament.\n        <\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <section>\n        <h2>The Road Ahead: Our Priorities<\/h2>\n        <p>In Greece, the PHS sector still has a long way to go. The majority of work is done \"under the table.\" Workers have no protection. Employers struggle to find reliable, trained professionals who stay in their positions. There is no organization \u2014 the sector operates without clear structure or regulation.<\/p>\n        <p>Our participation in EFSI is a commitment to change this picture. Our priorities:<\/p>\n        \n        <h3>For Workers:<\/h3>\n        <ul>\n            <li>Promoting training programs and professional certification<\/li>\n            <li>Fair working conditions, legal protection, and higher wages<\/li>\n            <li>Clear contracts with job descriptions<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n\n        <h3>For Employers:<\/h3>\n        <ul>\n            <li>Incentives such as vouchers to make legal employment more affordable<\/li>\n            <li>Tax relief for those who declare workers<\/li>\n            <li>Standardized contracts with clear roles and responsibilities<\/li>\n            <li>Access to trained care professionals<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n\n        <h3>For the Sector:<\/h3>\n        <ul>\n            <li>European standards in the Greek market<\/li>\n            <li>Pressure for policies that recognize the sector<\/li>\n            <li>A voice for a profession that no one took seriously<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n\n        <p><strong>The goal is simple:<\/strong> make legal work the easy choice \u2014 cheaper for the employer, better paid for the worker, better for everyone. And above all, the professionalization of a sector that finally deserves to be treated as a legitimate profession.<\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section>\n        <h2>Acknowledgments<\/h2>\n        <p>None of this would have been possible without our team, our partners, and our clients who trusted us from the beginning.<\/p>\n        <p>We thank EFSI and all its members who welcomed us.<\/p>\n        <p><strong>This is only the beginning.<\/strong><\/p>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <!-- Author -->\n    <div class=\"ahs-author-section\">\n        <p>\u2014 <strong>Smaro Maniati<\/strong>, Founder & CEO, Athens Home Services<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- Links -->\n    <div class=\"ahs-links-section\">\n        <p><strong>Useful Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n        <p>Learn more about EFSI: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.efsi-europe.eu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.efsi-europe.eu<\/a><\/p>\n        <p>Learn more about Athens Home Services: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.athenshomeservices.gr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.athenshomeservices.gr<\/a><\/p>\n    <\/div>\n<\/article>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Historic Milestone for the Home Services Sector in Greece<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oikiakoi-voithoi","category-uncategorized-en"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16945"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16948,"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16945\/revisions\/16948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athenshomeservices.gr\/client\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}