Glossary

The senior member of a household's service staff. A butler runs table and wine service, looks after wardrobe, silver and the formal rooms, receives guests and often coordinates the other staff. In many modern households the role overlaps with that of the house manager, and agencies use both titles for the same position.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Runs the daily operation of one residence: staff rotas, suppliers and tradespeople, maintenance, household budgets and the principal's standards. Reports to the family or to an estate manager. The title is common where a household has several employees but no butler in the traditional sense.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Oversees one or several properties as a whole: grounds and buildings, renovation projects, security, vehicles and the staff of each residence. Often reports to a family office and manages budgets and contractors. The term comes from British and American usage and is used in Europe for large or multiple residences.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Keeps the residence in order: cleaning, laundry and wardrobe care, household supplies, sometimes simple cooking and errands. Live-in or live-out, full-time or by the hour. In a larger household a head housekeeper leads the cleaning staff. It is the most frequently placed role in the register.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Cooks for one household: menu planning, shopping, daily meals and dinners for guests, often with dietary requirements. Employed by the family, unlike a caterer or an event chef, and sometimes travels with the household between residences or on a yacht.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Drives the family and its guests, keeps the vehicles maintained and plans routes and timing. In smaller households the chauffeur also takes on errands or light security duties; in larger ones the role is separate from close protection. Agencies look for clean driving records, discretion and local knowledge.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Cares for the children in the family's home: daily routine, meals, play, school runs, sometimes travel with the family. Live-in or live-out, often with childcare training or long references. Not to be confused with an au pair, who lives with a family as a cultural exchange with limited hours and a pocket-money allowance.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Focuses on the children's education rather than their care: lessons and homework, languages, preparation for school entrance or examinations, cultural activities. Usually a qualified teacher, often working alongside a nanny with younger children. Agencies also use the titles private tutor or educator.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Supports the principal personally rather than the household: diary and travel, correspondence, invitations, purchases, liaison with the family office and the house staff. A private PA works for an individual or family, as opposed to an executive assistant employed by a company.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Two people, usually a couple, who together cover the running of a residence: housekeeping and cooking on one side, driving, maintenance and grounds on the other. Typically live-in, often as the only staff of a country house or holiday residence that must be kept ready for the family's arrival.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Residential security staff and close protection officers who accompany family members. The work ranges from gate and night duty to travel security and drivers with protection training. Security staff and the firms that provide them need their own licences in most countries, separately from staffing agencies.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai

Looks after grounds, gardens, pools and the technical side of a property: heating, irrigation, small repairs, contractors. In Switzerland and Germany the caretaker role is often called Hausmeister or Hauswart and combined with driving or security rounds.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Staff for the private office that manages a family's affairs: chief of staff, executive and personal assistants, household coordinators, bookkeepers. Some agencies place both household staff and these office roles; the register records the role when the agency names it.

In the register: all cities, Paris, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Captain, officers, engineers, stewardesses, deckhands and chefs on private yachts. Crew usually hold maritime certificates (STCW basic training, often MCA or flag-state licences) and are often placed by specialised crew agencies; a few household agencies in the register also place yacht crew.

In the register: all cities, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Monaco, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Cares for an elderly, ill or convalescent family member at home: personal care, medication as prescribed, companionship, sometimes nursing tasks that require a nursing qualification. Distinct from housekeeping. Agencies may place carers on a live-in basis or in rotation.

In the register: all cities, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Paris, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi

A company that handles requests for private clients: travel and hotels, restaurants and tickets, events, household coordination, property, relocation, shopping. Clients pay a membership or per request. Hotel concierges, credit-card and bank concierge programmes and employee-benefit concierges are not lifestyle concierges in the sense of the register and are not listed.

Access model in which the client pays a yearly fee for the concierge's availability, often in tiers with a dedicated manager at the upper levels. Individual requests may be included or billed on top. The register records the model the website describes and whether the fees are published.

In the register: all cities

Access model without membership: the client books a service as needed and pays per request, per hour or as a percentage of the purchase arranged. Common among concierges that serve visitors as well as residents.

In the register: all cities

Access model in which membership is granted after an application or on invitation only, typical of concierges that limit the number of members per manager. The website usually gives no prices; the register then says so.

In the register: all cities

The concierge offers both: a membership for regular clients and individual bookings for everyone else. In the register's figures such a provider counts as bookable on demand.

In the register: all cities

Services that a concierge or agency provides to a family office, the private company that manages a family's affairs: administration, staffing, property, travel and the coordination of several residences. Listed as a service when the provider names family offices as clients.

In the register: all cities, Paris

Recruits, vets and places staff for private households. In a permanent placement the household becomes the employer and pays the agency a placement fee; some agencies also supply temporary staff or run payroll. The register lists agencies that name private households as clients, with the roles, placement types, guarantee and fees their websites state.

The household hires the candidate directly on an open-ended contract; the agency's work ends with the placement, apart from the replacement guarantee. Fees are usually a percentage of the first year's gross salary or a flat amount. Every agency in the register offers permanent placements.

Staff for a limited period: covering an absence, a trial, an event or a few months. Depending on the country the agency may employ the person and lease them to the household, which requires a staff-leasing licence in Switzerland and Germany, or the household signs a fixed-term contract itself.

Staff for a season: a summer residence on the coast, a chalet for the winter, a yacht for the charter months. Common in Monaco and the Alps, where some households keep a core team year-round and add staff for the season.

The agency takes over wages, social insurance and administration for staff the household employs, or employs the staff itself and invoices the household. Useful where the family has no office of its own or employs staff in several countries. Few agencies in the register offer it.

The agency's promise to find a replacement free of charge, or to refund part of the fee, if a placement ends within a set period, commonly three, six or twelve months. Conditions vary: some guarantees apply only if the household has paid on time or has not changed the role. The register records the months the website states, nothing more.

What the household pays the agency for a successful placement. The usual basis is a percentage of the first year's gross salary, often between 15 and 25 percent, sometimes a flat fee or a deposit on registration. Most agencies do not publish their fees; in the register only a few entries show published fees, and those quote them.

The register's wording when a provider's website says nothing about a fact: a licence, a guarantee, fees, a founding year. The entry then shows this label instead of a guess or a figure from another source. A blank is information too: it tells the reader what to ask.

Agencies that place staff regularly and for a fee in Switzerland need a cantonal licence under the Employment Services Act (Arbeitsvermittlungsgesetz, AVG); placing staff from or to other countries additionally needs a licence from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The public register at avg-seco.admin.ch lists licensed firms. Fees charged to households are not capped by law. The register records the licence when the agency states it.

In the register: all cities

In these three countries a placement agency needs no licence. Germany: no licence since 2002, a trade registration is enough; fees charged to job seekers are capped at 2,000 euros including VAT and allowed only on success (section 296 SGB III), and leasing staff to a household needs a separate licence under the Temporary Employment Act. France: neither a licence nor a prior declaration (Code du travail, article L5321-1); no fee may be charged to job seekers (article L5321-3). United Kingdom: no licence since 1995; the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct Regulations 2003 apply, work-seekers may not be charged for finding them a job, and since 7 April 2026 the Fair Work Agency oversees agencies. In all three, fees charged to households are negotiated freely, and the register records this type instead of a licence.

In the register: all cities

Recruiting or placing domestic workers in the UAE requires a licence from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE); unlicensed placement is an offence. MoHRE publishes the list of licensed offices and runs a hotline (600590000). A free zone company licence is not a MoHRE licence. The register records the licence type the provider states.

The name under which MoHRE-licensed domestic worker service centres operate in the UAE since 2018. They recruit, arrange visas and contracts, and offer training and temporary staff under a government-set framework. Some agencies in the register state that they work with or through Tadbeer centres.

A company licence issued by one of the UAE's free zone authorities, such as IFZA or Shams. It allows a company to operate from the free zone but is not a MoHRE licence for recruiting domestic workers. The register records it as the licence type when a provider states it, with that distinction.

In the register: all cities

Every hire in Monaco needs a work permit, and private employers register with the Caisses Sociales de Monaco. Agencies based on the Côte d'Azur operate under French law. No separate Monegasque register of placement agencies was found when the register was compiled.