Good to know

A collective bargaining agreement (CBA) regulates the rights and obligations of the contracting parties, the employer or the employers’ association on the one hand and the trade union on the other, on behalf of the employees.

There are 3 types of collective agreements in Luxembourg:

• the CBA at company level, which applies to all employees of a company and which is negotiated with the representatives of the same employer;
• the CBA for a sector or for a professional branch, which applies to all employees of the branch or profession concerned, which is negotiated with the representatives of the employers of a sector or profession and which can also be declared of general obligation by a Grand-Ducal regulation, i.e. even employers who have not signed it personally must apply it for their staff;
• the framework agreement, which sets the minimum conditions for employees in a branch and which is negotiated with several employers. Subordinate agreements are negotiated in companies that have signed the framework agreement. These agreements stipulate conditions not specified in the framework agreement for one or more of the companies that have signed the framework agreement.

A CBA regulates salaries, salary increases, working hours and other working conditions for employees in a branch or company. With the exception of the social minimum wage, salaries are not prescribed by law and therefore the level of wages, career development, etc. can only be improved by a CBA.

Collective agreements improve the legal minimum standards (salaries, leave, working hours, breaks, etc.) and also have a protective function. They guarantee a decent standard of living and working conditions. A CBA also regulates the internal continuing vocational training in the company or at the level of a branch, equality between women and men, etc.

According to the Labor Code, Title VI – Collective Labor Relations Chapter I – Collective Bargaining Agreements and Chapter II. – Negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement, a CBA can only be negotiated by a trade union recognized as a general national representative – the largest and most important is the OGBL. A trade union that is representative of a particular sector can also negotiate at branch level.

A collective agreement has a minimum duration of 6 months and a maximum duration of 3 years.

The right to define the rules of working relationship independently of the state is called tariff autonomy.

The OGBL negotiates more than 200 collective agreements. Approximately 50% of all employees in Luxembourg benefit from the advantages of a CBA. If you want to find out more about the CBA in your company or sector of activity, please contact the relevant professional syndicate.

The cost-of-living benefit (allocation de vie chère – AVC) allows low-income households to better cope with rising prices for consumer goods. The amount depends on the composition of the household. Household income must not exceed the thresholds below. The benefit is free of taxes and social security contributions.

The AVC is paid upon application by the National Solidarity Fund, subject to certain conditions. The form is available here or through www.myguichet.lu.

Each form must be completed in full, accompanied by a bank customer ID, signed by all applicants of legal age or their legal representatives, and submitted before 31/10/2024.

Persons who have already received a cost-of-living benefit will receive a pre-filled form from the National Solidarity Fund (Fonds nationale de solidarité – FNS) at the end of the year in question.

An energy allowance has been introduced for low-income households. This allowance varies between a minimum of €200 and €400 depending on the income and composition of the household. The maximum income limits for eligibility correspond to those of the cost-of-living benefit plus 25% (see table below).

The energy allowance is a temporary measure, limited to the years 2022, 2023 and 2024. The application for the energy allowance must be submitted no later than October 31, 2023. After this deadline, the application will be rejected. The form is available here or via www.myguichet.lu.

The energy allowance will be paid along with the AVC.

Individuals who have submitted an application to receive the AVC do not need to submit a second application.

Limits on gross monthly household income

Note that applicants with income above the eligibility limit may receive a reduced AVC/energy allowance. The amount of this allowance is the difference between the AVC/energy allowance amounts an applicant in a similar situation would normally receive and the part of the annual income that exceeds the threshold.

Dependency insurance is a compulsory insurance based on the same principle as health insurance. Coverage includes the insured person him-/herself and his/her family members. The amount of the contribution is 1.4% of the insured person’s total gross income, reduced by a quarter of the social minimum wage and deducted from net income.

Cross-border workers are also entitled to dependency insurance benefits in accordance with the terms and conditions of the bilateral agreements.

The permanent employment contract may be terminated by registered letter, subject to the following notice periods:

The notice period begins on the 15th of the current month, if the dismissal was notified before this date, and it begins on the 1st of the following month, if the dismissal was notified after the 14th of the current month.

The employer can exempt the employee from working during the notice period. This must be notified in the termination letter or by a separate letter.

The employee may request by registered letter, within one month of notification of the dismissal, the reasons for his/her dismissal. The employer is then required to state the reasons within one month with precision and by registered letter. In the absence of written reasons within one month, the dismissal is considered unfair. The action for compensation for unfair dismissal must be brought within three months.

In addition, the law recognizes that the person dismissed with notice has the right to the following severance payments:

When a company employs less than 20 employees, the employer can opt either for the payment of severance pay or for an extension of the notice period. In this case, he/she must indicate his/her choice in the dismissal letter.

Collective bargaining agreements may provide for different notice periods and severance payments; these must in any case be more favorable than the law.

Please contact the OGBL professional union responsible for your company or sector for more information.

You’ll find more information in our brochure I lost my job, what can I do?

There are fixed-term and permanent employment contracts as well as employment contracts for pupils and students. They can be on a full-time (40 hours/week) or part-time basis.

Trial periods can be set within the framework of the employment contracts. These can last between 2 weeks and 12 months. The duration of the trial period must be fixed in writing. It cannot be renewed for successive contracts with the same employer.

For part-time contracts, the weekly working hours and the type of work must be precisely defined in the contract.

The OGBL also demands the introduction of a legal basis allowing employees to choose guaranteed options for part-time work. This right should be combined with a right to return to full-time work at the end of the period. At present, this is only possible on the basis of a joint written agreement between the employer and the person concerned and therefore depends on the goodwill of the employer.

Fixed-term employment contracts have a maximum duration of two years and can only be extended twice during this period and the extension must already be provided for in the basic contract. However, there are legal exemptions for certain sectors and occupational groups.

Full details can be found in the CSL brochure in French or in German.

Students and pupils will find everything they need to know in the OGBL brochure in English, and more details about apprenticeship in the CSL brochure in French or in Luxembourgish (page 37).

All possible contracts for teenagers and young employees can be found in the CSL publication in German or in French.

There are also temporary work contracts. Temporary workers receive an employment contract, the mandatory information of which is based on the fixed-term employment contract. In addition, the contract must include the obligatory information from the so-called secondment contract with the user company (for replacements, the name of the absent person, the duration of the mission, the particulars of the position to be filled, the required professional qualification, the place of work, the normal working hours, the amount of the salary, the reason for the mission). If the contract is concluded for a fixed term (max. 12 months, except for seasonal employment contracts or for highly specialized persons), the expiry date must be fixed. If not, the minimum duration for which it was concluded must be fixed. The duration of the trial period may, where appropriate, be between 3 and 8 days. Only one trial period is possible per temporary work contract. The contract must also include an extension clause and an indication that the user company can hire the temporary worker after the mission.

If the user company has signed a collective agreement, its provisions also apply to temporary workers.

If a temporary work contract is concluded orally or if the contract does not specify that it was concluded for a fixed term, it is automatically converted into a permanent employment contract.

The OGBL brochure for temporary workers, available in German, French and Portuguese explains all the details.

An energy allowance has been introduced for low-income households. This allowance varies between a minimum of €200 and €400 depending on the income and composition of the household. The maximum income limits for eligibility correspond to those of the cost-of-living benefit plus 25% (see table below).

The energy allowance is a temporary measure, limited to the years 2022, 2023 and 2024. The application for the energy allowance must be submitted no later than October 31, 2023. After this deadline, the application will be rejected. The form is available here or via www.myguichet.lu.

The energy allowance will be paid along with the cost-of-living benefit (allocation de vie chère – AVC).

Individuals who have submitted an application to receive the AVC do not need to submit a second application.

The AVC allows low-income households to better cope with rising prices for consumer goods. The amount depends on the composition of the household. Household income must not exceed the thresholds below. The benefit is free of taxes and social security contributions.

The AVC is paid upon application by the National Solidarity Fund, subject to certain conditions. The form is available here or through www.myguichet.lu.

Each form must be completed in full, accompanied by a bank customer ID, signed by all applicants of legal age or their legal representatives, and submitted before 31/10/2023.

Persons who have already received a cost-of-living benefit will receive a pre-filled form from the National Solidarity Fund (Fonds nationale de solidarité – FNS) at the end of the year in question.

Limits on gross monthly household income

Note that applicants with income above the eligibility limit may receive a reduced AVC/energy allowance. The amount of this allowance is the difference between the AVC/energy allowance amounts an applicant in a similar situation would normally receive and the part of the annual income that exceeds the threshold.

As far as the achievement of equal rights and opportunities between women and men in the world of work is concerned, it is far from over. Problems such as the gender pay gap, sectoral and occupational segregation (exclusion of women from some parts of the labor market and men from others), few women in management positions, high rate of part-time employment for women because of the difficulty of reconciling family and work, a higher proportion of women in long-term unemployment and last but not least the risk of poverty remain, despite the fact that the employment rate for women has increased. And, Luxembourg still remains below the European average for the female employment rate.

The principle of equal treatment between women and men with regard to access to employment and employment itself is enshrined in the Labor Code.

The law prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of gender.

Direct discrimination exists if a person is, has been, or would be treated less favorably than another person in a comparable situation because of his or her sex.

Indirect discrimination occurs when regulations, criteria or methods that appear to be neutral put people at a particular disadvantage on the basis of their sex compared to other people.

The principle of equal treatment relates to conditions of access to employment, including selection criteria and recruitment conditions, at all hierarchical levels and in relation to promotion, access to vocational guidance, vocational training, continuing vocational training and retraining, including practical work experience, working and dismissal conditions, remuneration and membership of a trade union and participation in trade union work, including the use of trade union benefits.

Wage discrimination on the basis of sex is prohibited by law. Women and men must receive equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. The law includes by salary, remuneration, income the total remuneration of the employee, i.e., the basic salary as well as supplements, allowances, profit-sharing, discounts, bonuses, free parking spaces, housing, etc.

Since equality delegates and staff delegations must and can become active in the field of equal treatment, we present below some instruments and state aids that should be proposed to the employer.

The Ministry for Equality between Women and Men provides companies with the Logib-Lux software, which enables user companies to determine their current wage structure and the causes of possible wage differentials. The instrument is mainly intended for companies with more than 50 employees. A guide on equal pay supports companies with fewer employees in their efforts to achieve equal pay.

An employer who employs a person of the underrepresented sex can receive subsidies if applicable. Within the framework of an employment initiation contract – CIE, the employment fund reimburses the employer 65% of the basic allowance if a position is filled by a member of the under-represented sex in the activity or profession concerned, as well as the employer’s full share of social security contributions.

The under-represented sex is defined as the sex that is under-represented if an activity or profession is carried out at the national level by less than 40% of people of that sex.

The Positive Actions program of the Ministry of Equality between Women and Men supports companies in their voluntary efforts to achieve equality between women and men at work. The action program is based on three priority themes:

Equal treatment (recruitment, training and qualification, remuneration, corporate culture, harassment), decision-making (professional training and promotion, equal participation in decision-making), reconciliation of professional and private life (work organization, professional reintegration, reconciliation of a managerial function and private life).

The company submits its project to the Ministry and, if approved, an agreement is signed. The State’s contribution takes the form of a subsidy. This subsidy varies according to the total cost of the positive measures implemented in the company. Before it can be implemented, the employer must submit the positive action to the equality delegate for an opinion.

Family benefits were reformed on August 1, 2016. Only at the level of family allowance itself, there is a difference between children for whom allowances were received before August 1, 2016 and those for which the right to the allowance only started from August 1, 2016.

The children’s bonus has been abolished, while it has been integrated into the various amounts. The family group has also been abolished, so that the same amount is due for each child regardless of the number of children.

As of January 1, 2022 (retroactive to October 1, 2021), the family allowances are again adjusted to the price development (index). However, this only applies to the family allowance itself, not to the other allowances. It should be noted that the family allowance was not affected by the index manipulation and that its amount was increased by 2.5% on 1 July 2022, while the indexation of wages and pensions was postponed to April 1, 2023.  With the end of the index manipulation decided by the tripartite, the adjustments of the family allowances will be made at the same time as those of the salaries and pensions, with the obvious exception of the postponed adjustment to April 1, 2023.

• Birth allowance
• Family allowances
• Back-to-school allowance
• Additional special allowance

If you are ill and therefore unable to work, you must inform your employer or the employer’s representative of your inability to work on the first day of your absence. You can do this yourself or you can inform him through a third party. The information can be given either in writing, by e-mail, fax or SMS, or verbally, also by telephone.

At the latest on the third calendar day of your absence, the employer must have a medical certificate confirming your incapacity for work and its foreseeable duration.

If you are not sure whether the certificate can be sent by post within the required period because you do not live in Luxembourg or you are on vacation, you can also choose a different method of sending, e.g. scan or photograph and then by email or SMS, because in the event of a dispute, the employee must prove that the relevant legal provisions have been complied with.

For detailed information on this subject, consult the OGBL brochure I’m ill, what should I do? Incapacity to work due to illness or accident.

The income for social inclusion (Revenu d’inclusion sociale – REVIS), also called guaranteed minimum income, is a lower income limit and has been adjusted as of January 1, 2019.

The new REVIS has two components. On the one hand, the inclusion allowance, which is intended to make up the difference between the maximum amounts defined by law and the sum of the resources available to the domestic community. On the other hand, the activation allowance is intended to support a person participating in an activation measure.

The applicant must meet the following conditions: be ready to exhaust all possibilities to improve his or her situation.

A person under the age of 25 can benefit from the REVIS if:

• he or she is raising a child for whom he or she receives child benefit,
• she is pregnant (from 8 weeks before delivery),
• she is unable to earn a living;
• is a caregiver for a person benefiting from long-term care insurance.

Applicants from outside the EU must prove effective residence in Luxembourg for 5 years within the last 20 years.

Applicants from an EU country, who are newly arrived in the country, are not entitled to the REVIS during the first 3 months of their stay in Luxembourg.

Please note: cannot benefit from the REVIS the person:

• who has voluntarily abandoned or reduced his/her professional activity,
• who was dismissed for serious misconduct,
• who is on unpaid leave or part-time,
• who is pursuing higher education,
• who does not respect the collaboration agreement with ADEM or who refuses to take part in an measure proposed by ADEM,
• who refuses to collaborate with the National Office for Social Inclusion (Office national d’inclusion sociale – ONIS),
• from which unemployment benefit has been withdrawn,
• who has made an incomplete or inaccurate declaration to the National Solidarity Fund (Fonds national de solidarité – FNS).

Inclusion allowance amounts

• per adult 925,36 € (ind. 944,43)
• per child 287,30 € (ind. 944,43)
• increase per child in a single-parent household 84,91 € (ind. 944,43)
• flat rate for common expenses per household 925,36 € (ind. 944,43)
• surcharge for communal expenses per household with children 138,84 € (ind. 944,43)

The application must be submitted by form to the FNS (National Solidarity Fund).

• Severely disabled income

In addition to the annual recreational leave, there are numerous statutory special leaves that enable employees to better reconcile their professional, family and personal obligations (maternity leave, leave for family reasons, accompanying leave, etc.), but also leaves or conditions that go beyond the legal provisions and have been negotiated within the framework of collective agreements.

• Recreational leave
• Absence for reasons of force majeure
• Extraordinary leave
• Maternity leave
• Parental leave
• Leave for family reasons
• Family hospice leave
• Caregiver leave
• Other leaves

There are 11 legal holidays in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:

• New Year’s Day (January 1) ;
• Easter Monday ;
• May 1st ( Labor Day);
• Europe Day (May 9);
• Ascension Day ;
• Whit Monday ;
• National holiday (public celebration of the Grand Duke’s birthday on June 23);
• Assumption Day (August 15);
• All Saints’ Day (November 1);
• 1st Christmas Day (December 25);
• 2nd Christmas Day (December 26).

Legal public holidays count as part of your weekly working time, and entitle you to a wage corresponding to the number of hours you would normally have worked on that day.

If you work on a public holiday that falls on a working day (any day of the week from Monday to Saturday; Sunday is a non-working day), you are entitled to a total remuneration of 300%:

• remuneration for the hours of work that would normally have been worked on that day at the normal hourly rate,
• and pay for hours actually worked on that day at the normal hourly rate,
• and a supplement of 100% of the normal hourly rate for hours actually worked.

There is no provision in the law for compensatory leave for a legal public holiday that falls on a working day. However, if you work on a legal public holiday falling on a weekday (other than Sunday) on which you would not have worked under the terms of your work contract, you are entitled to a compensatory day off. In this case, total remuneration is 200% plus one compensatory day off, which must be granted within 3 months.

If you work on a public holiday that falls on a Sunday, you are entitled to:

• a compensatory day off, to be taken within 3 months, to compensate the public holiday falling on a Sunday,
• pay for the hours actually worked at the normal hourly rate, plus a supplement of 100% of the normal hourly rate for the hours actually worked to compensate for work on the public holiday,
• and a supplement of 70% of the normal hourly rate for hours worked to compensate for Sunday work (this supplement may be higher if your collective bargaining agreement provides for it).

If the hours worked on Sunday are overtime, you are of course also entitled to a supplement of 40% or to compensatory rest (1.5 hours per hour of overtime worked).

Legislation on the protection pregnant women, women who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, includes a number of provisions such as:

• the right to exemption from work, without loss of pay, to attend prenatal examinations provided for by law
• definition of a certain number of jobs that are dangerous to the health or safety of pregnant or nursing women
• prohibition of the most dangerous work; accommodation for other work (see also exemption from work)
• alternative assignment with maintenance of the previous salary if, following the opinion of a doctor from the competent occupational health service, it is not possible to eliminate the risks; if a change of assignment is not technically or objectively possible, the employee must be exempted from work (see also exemption from work)
• prohibition of dismissal during pregnancy and up to 12 weeks after the birth; if the pregnancy is declared during the trial period of an open-ended contract, the trial period is suspended until the end of the prohibition of dismissal period
• prohibition of overtime work by pregnant and breastfeeding women
• prohibition of work for 8 weeks before and 12 weeks after childbirth.

In addition, breastfeeding mothers are entitled to a breastfeeding break of either two 45-minute breaks or 90 minutes (e.g., if the usual work break is less than one hour) at the beginning and/or end of their workday after they resume work.

• Exemption from work for pregnant or breastfeeding women

The legal provisions relating to the minimum social wage apply to all employees without exception. The minimum social wage is set at:

For employees with a professional qualification corresponding to the workpost, the minimum social wage is increased by 20% (3.165,35 € – ind. 944,43).

The rates for young employees as well as the minimum wages can be substantially improved through collective bargaining agreements.

In case of adaptation, please refer to our social parameters, which are available in our agencies or can be downloaded here.

The hourly rate of the social minimum wage is calculated by dividing the monthly social minimum wage by 173.

Since March 29, 2023, the Labor Code contains provisions to combat harassment in the workplace, and allows the Labor and Mines Inspectorate (ITM) to impose an administrative fine on the employer. The Grand Ducal regulation of December 15, 2009, which declared the agreement of June 25, 2009, negotiated and signed by the social partners, to be a general obligation, remains in force, and the provisions relating to violence in the workplace must therefore be applied by all Luxembourg-based companies.

Moral harassment

The law specifies the measures to be taken by an employer in the event of moral harassment within the company or in the course of working relations (contact with customers, travel on duty, etc.). If, despite the measures taken by the employer, the moral harassment does not cease, a procedure with the ITM can be launched at the initiative of the victim or, with his or her agreement, of the staff delegation. After hearing the victim, the alleged harasser, any witnesses and the employer or his representative, the ITM will draw up a report within 45 days of receipt of the claim, and, if necessary, order the employer to take the appropriate measures. The law also protects the victim and witnesses from possible reprisals by the employer.

The staff delegation, whose role is defined by law as being primarily to prevent cases of moral harassment within a company, proposes to the employer any preventive action it considers necessary. The staff delegation can accompany and advise the employee concerned.

For further information, contact your staff delegation or the OGBL via contact.ogbl.lu.

Violence

The following aspects must be taken into account in the company’s prevention policy:

• drawing up a violence risk plan, taking into account the specific nature of the company’s activities,
• equipping workplaces with the appropriate equipment for the company’s risks, to prevent acts of violence by persons from outside the company,
• information and training for employees and managers concerning the policy of prevention and protection against violence in the workplace,
• appointing a competent contact person for the prevention of and protection against violence in the workplace,
• determining the means and procedures available to victims.

Further information can be found in the CSL brochure on the subject, and the full agreement can be found here in French and in German.

According to the Labor Code, religion, belief, sexual orientation, age, disability, race, ethnicity, being male or female, and gender reassignment are prohibited grounds for discrimination.

The Penal Code supplements this with origin, skin color, health status, morals, trade union activities, and actual or assumed membership or non-membership of a nation.

These grounds of discrimination apply to conditions of access to employment, including selection criteria and conditions of recruitment, at all levels of the hierarchy and for promotion, access to vocational guidance, vocational training, continuing vocational training and retraining, including practical work experience, working conditions and dismissal, remuneration and membership in a trade union, and participation in trade union work, including the use of union benefits.

Employees who believe they have been the victim of direct or indirect discrimination (see Equal treatment of women and men in the workplace) have the right to report it to the employer. A complaint does not result in reprisals, either for the victim or for any witnesses, but the employer is obliged to act.

You can defend yourself by asking for the nullity of any provision or act that violates the principle of equal treatment, by asking for the termination of the employment contract on your own initiative or by filing a complaint with the criminal court.

More details can be found here (French or German). If you are a victim of discrimination in the workplace, please contact our Information, Advice and Support Service immediately.

In principle, the reform of the pension system has not changed the following indications. However, the calculation of pensions has been revised. Until now, the theoretical gross monthly pension amount is shown on the annual statement of membership from the insured person’s 55th birthday. You can also request a simulation (for information purposes) of the pension from the National Pension Fund.

• Old Age Pension
• Disability Pension
• Minimum pension
• Child-raising pension
• Work accident allowance

There are 5 professional chambers in Luxembourg, founded in 1924:

• Chamber of Employees – Chambre des Salariés – CSL,
• Chamber of Civil Servants and Public Employees – Chambre des Fonctionnaires et Employés publics – CHFEP,
• Chamber of Agriculture – Chambre d’Agriculture,
• Chamber of Commerce – Chambre de Commerce,
• Chamber of Trades – Chambre des Métiers.

These are institutions under public law whose main mission is to defend the interests of the professional groups they represent (workers and pensioners from the private sector, the State and municipalities, farmers, merchants, artisans). Membership is compulsory and the annual contribution is automatically collected; in the case of employees, from their salary by the employer, who then forwards the contribution to the Chamber.

If laws or Grand-Ducal regulations, that affect one or more of these professional groups, need to be enacted, the government must seek the opinion of the professional chambers concerned. This procedure exists only in Luxembourg and underlines the importance of the chambers.

The professional chambers may also submit unsolicited proposals to the government, which may be forwarded to parliament after examination.

• Chamber of Employees
• Chamber of Civil Servants and Public Employees

The legal provisions on the employment of young employees apply to all young people up to the age of 18. In principle, they prohibit overtime, night work, work on Sundays and public holidays, piecework and line work.

It also stipulates that school hours are to be considered working hours and that young employees (up to the age of 21) must undergo periodic medical examinations.

If you are an apprentice, then you will find more details in the CSL brochure in French or in German.

If you work more than 6 hours a day, your work schedule must, for health and safety reasons, be interrupted by at least one rest period/break. This break may be paid, as is often the case when collective bargaining agreements are in force, or unpaid. The law nevertheless specifies that the daily work schedule may only be interrupted by one unpaid rest period. This is to avoid excessively long working days

Employees under the age of 18 are entitled to a 30-minute break after 4 hours’ work.

Breast-feeding employees may request two 45-minute breaks per day to feed their child.

In a 24-hour period, everyone is entitled to a minimum rest period of 11 consecutive hours. If, for example, you work late into the evening, you cannot be forced to return to work early the next morning.

You must also have an uninterrupted weekly rest period of 44 hours. As far as possible, Sunday should be included in this rest period. If such a weekly rest period is not respected, you are entitled, upon ITM’s notification, to additional leave. For each full period of 8 weeks, whether successive or not, during which this rest is not granted, you are entitled to one additional day off (maximum 6 days off per year).

According to the labor code, harassment on the basis of sex is discriminatory and prohibited.

Sexual harassment is intentional behavior with sexual suggestion that is degrading and shameful to the victim, used as a means of extortion (e.g. approaches related to the promise of reward and/or threat of consequences), creating an intimidating and hostile environment for the victim.

Sexual harassment may take physical, verbal or non-verbal forms and may originate from the employer, a co-worker, a customer or a supplier.

The employer is required to refrain from sexual harassment and to protect all employees from sexual harassment.

If a victim of sexual harassment wishes to report it, it is sufficient to establish facts that suggest the existence of harassment. But mere accusations or allegations are not enough.

The victim must prove that the act took place, for example by witnesses or by presenting documents. In addition, provided that the employer is not the perpetrator, the victim must also prove that he or she informed the employer and that the employer did not take any action.

Then, the burden of proof is reversed, i.e. the employer must prove that there was no sexual harassment or that he took all necessary measures to stop it.

When you are being sexually harassed, it is important to talk about it and ask for help. If necessary, contact the staff representatives or the OGBL Information, Advice and Assistance Service.

Under no circumstances should the victim be harmed by measures aimed at ending sexual harassment.

• Health Insurance
• Voluntary Health Insurance
• Continued health insurance

Social elections mean that employees and municipal civil servants and employees elect their staff representatives. These elections take place every five years for both types of personnel.

Employees are called to the polls to elect the members of the staff delegation in their company or group of companies.

Municipal civil servants and employees elect the members of the staff delegation in their municipality or municipal syndicate.There are 2 institutions in Luxembourg that represent the interests of employees in Luxembourg:

• the Chamber of Employees (CSL)
• the Chamber of Civil Servants and Public Employees (CHFEP).

Pensioners also participate in the election of professional chambers held every 5 years.

• Elections of staff delegations - Employees
• Elections of staff delegations - Municipal civil servants and employees
• Elections of the Chamber of Employees
• Election of the Chamber of Civil Servants and Public Employees

In the private sector, there must be a staff delegation in every company with at least 15 employees. This is elected every five years (see Social elections). The OGBL has more than 3,500 staff delegates in companies in Luxembourg.

In the municipal sector, a distinction must be made between the delegations of municipal workers and the delegations of municipal civil servants and employees. Municipal workers are called to the polls together with all workers in the private sector. In municipalities with at least 15 municipal civil servants and employees, their interests are represented by a compulsory staff delegation elected every five years, usually one year before the private sector elections. In municipalities with fewer municipal civil servants and employees, the election of a delegation is optional (see Social Elections).

There is no actual staff delegation for state civil servants and employees, but professional associations may be formed within state administrations, departments, and institutions, authorized by ministerial decree. Such an association acts as a staff representative body and has as its exclusive objective the defense of the professional interests of the remuneration subgroup for which it is representative. The OGBL has in fact signed cooperation agreements with the Association du personnel policier détenteur d’un Diplôme de fin d’Etudes Secondaires de la Police grand-ducale (ADESP), the Association des maîtres d’enseignement Luxembourg (AMELUX), the Association des maîtres d’enseignement Luxembourg (AMELUX) and the Association du personnel de la Police grand-ducale (ADESP), the Association du Personnel des Centres de Compétences et de l’Agence (APCCA), the Association du Personnel de la Police Judiciaire (APPJ) and the Guilde des Controllurs aériens (GLCCA), which aim to cooperate in defending the interests of the employees concerned.

The general mission of staff delegations and representations is to safeguard, defend and promote the professional interests of the staff they represent.

They are the intermediary between personnel and employers, both collectively and for individuals or groups of individuals.

• Staff representatives in the private sector
• Representatives of municipal civil servants and employees

In Luxembourg, telework is not governed by law, but by an interprofessional agreement concluded in 2006 between employers’ representatives (UEL – Union des Entreprises luxembourgeoises) and the nationally representative unions OGBL and LCGB. Subsequently, and due to the commitment of the OGBL on this subject, a new agreement was negotiated on 20 October 2020, declared to be of general obligation by the Grand-Ducal regulation of 22 January 2021. This agreement provides some clarification, although there is still room for improvement in favor of employees. It follows that the OGBL will continue to submit its demands to improve the legal and regulatory provisions.

In our Short Guide for Teleworkers, we try to answer residents’ and crossborder workers’ frequently asked questions about telework regulations in Luxembourg

Unemployment benefit is granted to the involuntarily unemployed domiciled on Luxembourg territory, registered with the Agency for the Development of Employment (ADEM), employed for 26 weeks (182 days) during the 12 months preceding his/her registration and with a working time of at least 16 hours/ week.

Unemployment benefit is in principle 80% of the average gross salary for the 3 months preceding the unemployment. However, it may not exceed the following amounts:

The duration of unemployment benefit is 6 to 12 months depending on the number of months worked in the 12 months prior to registration. It may be extended by a further 6 months for reasons of age, disabil­ity (depending on age and degree of disability), or assignment to employment measures, respectively between 9 and 12 months for workers over 50 years of age in the case of social security affiliation over 20 years, but may not exceed a total of 24 months of compensation.

Young people between the ages of 18 and 21 who leave school receive compensation equal to 70% of the minimum social wage. Young people between 16 and 17 years of age leaving school are entitled to an indemnity of 40% of the minimum social wage.

Entitlement to these benefits is available only after 39 weeks of registration as a job seeker and if the said registration is made within one year of the completion of studies. Under certain conditions, the waiting period can be reduced to 26 weeks and the age limit can be extended to 28 years.

If you have an accident at work or on the way to or from work, you must inform your employer immediately and notify the doctor or hospital that you have had an accident. Where applicable, it is preferable to immediately report any accident to the health and safety delegate that you have had an accident.

The employer must complete and sign the Work/Travel Accident Report and report the accident to the Accident Insurance Association (Association d’assurance accident – AAA).

In order to receive benefits such as a monetary allowance or compensation, the accident must be recognized by the AAA. To be recognized, it must have occurred in the course of the professional activity, during the execution of the work contract, and result in bodily injury and/or damage to the vehicle. The travel accident must have occurred on the employee’s usual or direct route and must not have been caused by gross negligence.

If the accident has been recognized, you may claim, within one year, compensation for damages to motor vehicles, for incidental damages to property (damaged clothing or personal items), for damages to dental crowns, prostheses, orthoses or epitheses. If you are totally unable to work or if the right to sickness benefits expires, you are entitled to the payment of a full annuity. A partial annuity is granted in case of partial incapacity to work with loss of income. If you have to face an external job redeployment, you are entitled to a waiting pension. If you are partially unable to work due to the consequences of the accident (physiological impairment, impairment of well-being, disfigurement or similar), you may under certain conditions apply for a compensation for non-patrimonial damages.

If an employee dies as a result of a recognized accident, his or her legal successors may, within 3 years of the death, apply to the AAA for a survivor’s pension and/or compensation for non-pecuniary damages.

In case of problems with the AAA, please contact the Information, Advice and Assistance Service of the OGBL.

Attention: in case of a decision with which you do not agree, the time limit for opposition is 40 calendar days.

By working time is meant the time during which an employee is at the disposal of his or her employer. The legal working hours are set at 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

This duration cannot, in principle, be exceeded. However, the law provides for the possibility of intro­ducing a reference period of up to 4 months and/or a sliding timetable. Since the terms and conditions may vary considerably, please contact one of our agencies.

A break is mandatory after six hours of work. As the law does not speak of a paid break, the payment of the break has been negotiated in many collective agreements by the OGBL.

Overtime can be compensated for by paid time off or, if applicable, by a transfer to a time-savings account (compte épargne-temps) at the rate of 1.5 hours per overtime hour. Employees can be paid a supplement of 40%. Young people under 18 years of age receive a 100% supplement. However, the provision of overtime by young people is permitted only under restrictive conditions and only if the employer cannot use an adult employee.

The law prohibits the employment of employees on Sundays and public holidays; however, there are a few exceptions are allowed. A supplement of 70% is due for work performed on a Sunday by an adult employee; youth under 18 years of age are entitled to a 100% supplement. Working on a public holiday is to be remunerated with a 100% supplement.

In companies where night work (10:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.) is customary, a supplement is only due if the company has a collective bargaining agreement. The minimum supplement is then set at 15%.

All the rates listed above may be increased by collective agreement.

Only night work in the HoReCa sector (on-trade sector) is regulated by law. In this case, each hour of night work between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. is increased by 25%, either in free time, or in cash.

The provisions of collective agreements often regulate working hours better than the law requires, please contact the OGBL professional union responsible for your company or sector for more information.

There is currently no legal right to disconnection. In order to protect employees who use communication technologies in the digital age and to achieve a positive balance between private life and work, the OGBL demands the right to not have to be available 24 hours a day. However, certain provisions of the Labor Code can already be used as protective measures. The legal daily and weekly maximum working hours must not be exceeded, daily and weekly rest periods must be respected, and you do not need to be at the disposal of your employer in case of absence due to illness or during leave. In addition, the employer is obliged to guarantee the safety and health (physical and psychological) of his employees.