Luxembourg: Employee rights

Updating authors: Patrick Ries and Julie Erbrech, Loyens & Loeff Luxembourg

Original author: Arendt & Medernach

See the legal services provided by the author of International > Luxembourg, including any discounts/offers for subscribers.

Summary

• Employees' normal working time must not exceed eight hours per day and 40 hours per week, and various statutory rules govern matters such as working time flexibility, overtime and night work. (See Hours of work)
• Employees are entitled to a daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours, a weekly rest period of at least 44 consecutive hours and, if they work more than six hours a day, a rest break. (See Rest breaks and rest periods)
• There is a general prohibition of Sunday work, except where specifically permitted by law. (See Sunday work)
• Employees have a statutory entitlement to 26 working days of paid leave per calendar year. The leave may not be taken until the employee has completed three months' continuous service with the employer. (See Holiday and holiday pay)
• Pregnant employees are obliged to take 20 weeks of maternity leave (during which they generally receive a social security benefit equivalent to full pay) and have various rights, as do employees who are breastfeeding. (See Maternity and pregnancy rights)
• Parents are entitled in the period up until their child's sixth birthday, to take four or six months of full-time parental leave or, by agreement with the employer, eight or 12 months of part-time parental leave or to split the parental leave period. The leave is unpaid but the employee receives a social security benefit. (See Parental leave)
• Male employees are entitled to ten days' paid leave in the event of the birth of their child. (See Paternity leave)
• Employees are entitled to a certain amount of paid leave for family reasons to care for a sick child, and to paid "family hospice leave" to be with a close relative who is terminally ill. (See Carer's leave)
• Employees are entitled to short periods of paid special leave for various personal reasons and, in certain circumstances, may be entitled to paid leave for a range of training, voluntary, sporting and similar purposes. (See Other leave)
• A part-time employment contract must be in writing and contain provisions on matters such as the scheduling of the employee's hours and potential overtime work. (See Part-time workers)
• Fixed-term contracts are permitted only for the performance of specified "precise and temporary" tasks, and generally for a maximum duration of 24 months, including any renewals. (See Fixed-term workers)
• Employers have various obligations in relation to remote workers. (See Remote workers)
• Temporary agency workers may be used only to perform specified "precise and temporary" tasks, and various rules govern their terms and conditions, and the relationships between the worker, the temporary work agency and the user company. (See Temporary agency workers)
• Foreign employees posted by their employer to work temporarily in Luxembourg are, for the duration of their posting, covered by various provisions of Luxembourg employment law. (See Posted workers)
• In the event of the transfer of an undertaking or establishment, or part thereof, the employment contracts of the employees concerned automatically transfer to the new employer, which must observe existing employment conditions. (See Transfers of undertakings)
• Employment contracts terminate immediately in the event that the employer is declared bankrupt, and pay-related debts owed to employees receive priority, up to a limit, over debts owed to other creditors. (See Insolvency of employer)
• Employers are free to institute a disciplinary and/or grievance procedure, although there is no statutory requirement to do so. (See Disciplinary and grievance procedures)
• Employers, employees, clients and suppliers must refrain from committing any acts of moral harassment. (See Bullying)
• Data protection legislation imposes various obligations on employers as personal data controllers. (See Data protection and privacy)
• Companies employing at least 50 employees must create internal reporting channels and procedures for whistleblowers. (See Whistleblowing)
• Employers are obliged to define a framework guaranteeing the right to disconnect. (See Right to disconnect)