Special leave in Luxembourg

What are special leaves in Luxembourg?

Special leaves are leaves of absence from work for which remuneration is maintained and to which employees in Luxembourg are entitled in specific circumstances established by law.

These leaves are regulated by Article L. 233-16 of the Code du Travail and are granted for personal or family reasons requiring the employee's absence from the workplace. Their main purpose is to allow employees to manage important life events without losing income or putting their employment relationship at risk.

These leaves constitute a minimum of mandatory leaves that must be granted to employees, however, companies can go further and additional leaves can be established in collective bargaining agreements, internal regulations or in the employment contract.

The following table summarizes the different leaves available to employees in Luxembourg specifying who can benefit and the duration of the leave. In addition, the last column mentions who is responsible for the employee's remuneration during these days, since it is not always the employer who is responsible for the remuneration, in some cases the state participates in some percentage.

Type of leave	Beneficiary	Duration	Responsible for pay during leave
Death of a 2nd-degree relative of the employee or his/her spouse or partner	Employees and apprentices	1 day	Employer
Marriage of a child	Employees and apprentices	1 day	Employer
Adoption of a child under the age of 16	Employees and apprentices who do not qualify for foster care leave	10 days can be split into hours	Employer: up to the 16th hourState: starting from the 17th hour
Birth of a child	Employees and apprentices who are second parent of a child	10 days can be split into hours	Employer: up to the 16th hourState: starting from the 17th hour
Moving	Employees and apprentices	2 days over a 3-year reference period with the same employer, except if moving for professional reasons	Employer
Death of spouse or partner or 1st-degree relative of employee or employee's spouse or partner	Employees and apprentices	3 days	Employer
Wedding	Employees and apprentices	3 days	Employer
Death of a minor child	Employees and apprentices	5 days	Employer
Registered civil union of an employee	Employees and apprentices	1 day	Employer
Leave due to force majeure	Employees and apprentices	1 day over 12 months, can be split into hours	50% Employer50% State
Leave to care for a family member or a person living at home, where family members are defined as sons and daughters, mother, father, and spouse or partner.	Employees and apprentices	5 days over 12 months, can be split into hours	50% Employer50% State
Permission to leave work to vote	Employees and apprentices	The time needed to travel to the polling station and cast the vote.	Employer

It is important to understand that these leaves are linked to specific events and must therefore be taken when the event occurs. The only exception is in the case of the birth or adoption of a child.

In addition, it should also be noted that, since some of these permits involve couples, couples who have registered a domestic partnership abroad must make their relationship official in Luxembourg in order to benefit from the permits. To officialize this relationship, it is necessary to register the partnership formed abroad with the Luxembourg Civil Registry.

Those who have just settled in the country must take this important point into account, however, they are not the only ones who must take this step, border workers must also consider it.

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How to apply for special leave?

Unlike annual leaves, special leaves in Luxembourg are not subject to the employer's approval, as long as the employee meets the conditions for requesting a special leave, the employer must grant it.

However, it should also be noted that the fact that the employer must grant the leave on a mandatory basis does not mean that the leave does not have to be requested and that the day can be taken without further notice. In order to be able to enjoy these special leaves, it is necessary to expressly request the leave from the employer.

Furthermore, in addition to being mandatory, another point in favor is that workers are entitled to these special leaves from the moment they join the company, they do not have to comply with the 3-month waiting period that applies to legal vacation leave.

What happens if the leave crosses other leaves or holidays?

It is possible that the events that give rise to special leaves may intersect with other leaves or holidays, so let's see what happens in such cases.

Sick leave: if the event occurs during sick leave, the special leave is lost.
Ordinary leave: if the event occurs during ordinary leave, ordinary leave is interrupted and resumes at the end of ordinary leave.
Sunday, holiday, non-working day or compensatory rest day: if the event occurs during these days the extraordinary leave is postponed to the 1st working day following the event. For example, if an employee moves on a Monday and Tuesday is a holiday, the second day of extraordinary leave is postponed to Wednesday and the employee will not have to return to work until Thursday.

How do special leaves for part-time workers work?

Ordinary leaves are prorated according to the number of hours worked by the part-time employee, however, this is only true for some of the special leaves: force majeure leave, family care leave and parental leave.

In these cases, employees whose working week is less than forty hours, who work part-time or who have more than one employer, the leave hours are fixed on a pro-rata basis according to the working week stipulated in the relevant collective agreement or employment contract.

For other extraordinary leave, the duration of such leave is counted by days, not by hours, so that the leave will be computed as the number of hours the employee should have worked on the day in question. Whether the employee works 4 or 8 hours, a full day will be counted.

For example, an employee who works one hour on some days and 8 hours on others, has a child's wedding on a day that he only works one hour, his leave will be given for that day and will be equivalent to one hour. This means that he cannot request compensation for the additional 7 hours that he would have been able to take advantage of if he had to work 8 hours on that day.

Finally, when a day of extraordinary leave coincides with a working day not worked by the employee, the leave must be transferred to the first working day following the causal event or the end of the extraordinary leave.

FAQ

Is special leave in Luxembourg paid or unpaid?

Special leave in Luxembourg is paid. Under the Code du Travail, employees are entitled to remuneration during the days of special leave. This ensures that workers can attend to significant life events, such as moving house, weddings, or childbirth, without facing financial loss.

Does the employer have the right to refuse a special leave request?

No, employers in Luxembourg cannot refuse a legitimate request for special leave, provided the employee meets the legal requirements. These leaves are a statutory right granted by law. If a request is unjustly denied, the employee can file a complaint with the labor courts.

Can extraordinary leave be postponed?

In most cases, extraordinary leave cannot be postponed, as it is tied to specific events that occur at a defined time, such as childbirth, marriage, or relocating. The law requires employees to take the leave within the period of the event, unless special circumstances and employer agreement allow for an exception.

How often can extraordinary leave for relocation be taken?

Employees are entitled to two days of special leave for relocation during a reference period of three years with the same employer. However, this limit does not apply if the move occurs due to professional reasons, in which case the employee may be entitled to additional leave.

Who pays for extraordinary leave?

In Luxembourg, the payment for extraordinary leave depends on the type of leave. For common types like marriage or relocation, the employer fully pays the employee’s salary. However, for certain types, such as leave for childbirth, adoption, force majeure, or caregiving for a seriously ill relative, the State participates through the social security system in some percentage. In these cases, the employer may initially pay the employee and later claim reimbursement or the employee may receive compensation directly from the National Health Fund.