During the initial two months of employment for each new hire, the employer is obligated to arrange a compulsory medical evaluation conducted by an occupational physician affiliated with the company’s health service.

The physician will assess the applicant’s suitability for the position, irrespective of the nature of the work involved (e.g., office-based, industrial, construction, etc.).

Following the employee’s recruitment, the employer must also schedule regular periodic medical assessments.

Luxembourg lacks specific legislation governing background checks, yet employers must comply with data protection regulations.

Employers are accountable for conducting background checks and typically cannot delegate this task to third parties.

Candidates must receive information about the processing methods and recipients of their personal data.

Requesting a criminal record extract from an employee must be justified by the job’s requirements, as specified in the job offer.

The probationary period, applicable to both indefinite and fixed-term contracts, ranges from two weeks to six months. Either party can terminate the contract during this period by providing written notice.

In specific instances, the probation period may not exceed three months (e.g., when a technical certificate is lacking), or it may be extended for up to 12 months (e.g., for senior or highly compensated employees).

The notice period is determined based on the initially agreed duration of the probationary period, and it remains the same for both parties.

Notice periods must adhere to certain minimum requirements:

• If the probation period is specified in weeks, the notice period must equal the number of weeks agreed upon.
• If the probation period is specified in months, the notice period must be at least four days per month of the agreed-upon trial period (but not less than 15 days) and no more than one month.

The standard work schedule consists of 40 hours per week, with eight hours per day. A single working day should not surpass 10 hours. In specific circumstances, such as urgent tasks or serious accidents, working hours may be extended to a continuous shift lasting up to 12 hours. Employees are permitted to work up to 48 hours weekly, inclusive of overtime.

Employees are entitled to a rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours within a 24-hour cycle, along with a minimum rest period of 44 consecutive hours over the course of a workweek. If this requirement cannot be met, employees must be granted an additional six days of leave within the year.

Exceeding the standard weekly average of 40 hours with overtime must not extend beyond four consecutive weeks. Overtime work necessitates prior notification to or approval from the Ministry of Labour.

On public holidays, overtime pay is set at a 100% supplement of the regular hourly rate for each hour worked. Similarly, on Sundays, the overtime rate is established at a 70% supplement of the hourly wage for each hour worked. Alternatively, employees may opt for compensatory time off in lieu of the wage supplement for hours worked on Sundays.

Overtime regulations do not apply to employees holding senior or executive management positions, as defined by law.

If a bonus is stipulated in the employment contract, it becomes obligatory.

Nevertheless, it is customary for the employment agreement to specify that gratuities and bonuses are discretionary and subject to revocation by the employer at any time.

Indefinite term employment contracts allow the employer to terminate the working relationship by issuing a written notice of dismissal. The duration of the notice period varies based on the length of the employee’s service:

• Less than 5 years: 2 months
• Between 5 and 10 years: 4 months
• More than 10 years: 6 months

Employees also have the right to terminate the employment by providing written notice of resignation. The notice period for resignation is half of that required for an employer’s dismissal:

• Less than 5 years: 1 month
• Between 5 and 10 years: 2 months
• More than 10 years: 3 months

Both the employer and the employee can terminate the employment contract without notice in case of serious grounds (e.g., gross misconduct or non-payment of wages).

Certain categories of employees, such as pregnant employees, those on parental or sick leave, are protected from dismissal.

The employer may terminate the employment contract for genuine and serious reasons related to the worker’s aptitude, behavior, or the operational needs of the company. In companies with over 150 employees, the employer must hold a discussion with the employee before issuing a written notice of dismissal by registered mail. If requested, the employer must provide reasons for dismissal via registered letter. Immediate termination is possible in cases of serious misconduct.

Fixed-term employment contracts can be terminated before the end date due to gross misconduct or by mutual agreement of the parties.

Indefinite term contract employees who are terminated for reasons other than gross misconduct or who resign voluntarily must adhere to the following notice periods.

The notice period commences on the 15th day of the month if the termination notice was issued before the 15th. If the notice was given after the 15th day of the month, the period begins on the first day of the following month.

Luxembourg legislation does not permit payment in lieu of notice. However, employers are allowed to place employees on garden leave during the notice period.

The Luxembourg Labor Code acknowledges non-compete and non-solicitation clauses as enforceable restrictive covenants.

However, these clauses are constrained by time (up to 12 months post-termination), geographical limits, and relevance solely to the employer’s business activities. Moreover, they must be documented in writing. While financial compensation isn’t obligatory, labor courts are more inclined to uphold the validity of restrictive covenants when financial compensation is provided.

If an employee has served for a minimum of five years, the employer is obliged to provide severance pay upon dismissal. The severance amount ranges from one to twelve months, determined by the duration of the employee’s tenure with the employer, as outlined below:

This entitlement is not applicable in cases of mutual termination of the contract.

When computing severance pay, sickness benefits, bonuses, and any regular payments are taken into account, while discretionary payments and expense reimbursements are excluded.

Employers must ensure that the processing of personal data concerning employment adheres to the regulations set forth in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Personal data of employees should only be processed for purposes directly related to the employment relationship.

Employees are entitled to the following rights:

• Right to be informed
• Right to access their personal data
• Right to object to the processing of their personal data
• Right to file a complaint with the National Commission for Data Protection
• Right to have their personal data erased
• Right to data portability

Employees are entitled to receive a monthly salary payslip at the end of each month, delineating all taxable compensation items, including but not limited to gross remuneration, social security contributions paid, and tax withheld.

Employees are entitled to a minimum of 26 days of paid annual leave per year, contingent upon having completed a continuous three-month period of employment with the same employer. During the initial year of employment, annual leave accrues at a rate of one-twelfth per month, with any work exceeding 15 calendar days considered as a full month.

Any accrued annual leave not utilized by the end of the calendar year can be carried over to the following year, provided it is taken by March 31 of the subsequent year. Additionally, certain categories of workers, such as victims of workplace accidents, war invalids, disabled workers, miners, manual workers, and technical engineers in the mining industry, may be entitled to additional leave days.

An employee must promptly notify the employer of any illness on the first day of absence to qualify for paid sick leave and to be safeguarded against dismissal. A medical certificate must be provided no later than the third day of absence.

If sick leave extends beyond 26 weeks, the employer retains the right to terminate the employee’s contract due to severe medical issues. Automatic termination of the employment contract occurs if the employee has been on sick leave for 78 weeks within a 104-week period.

During sick leave, the employer is obliged to pay the employee’s full salary, including all benefits, until the 77th day of sick leave over an 18-month period. Sick leave need not be continuous.

The employer’s mutual insurance scheme reimburses 80% of the total compensation paid by the employer during sick leave. Starting from the month following the 77th day of sick leave, the National Health Agency (Caisse Nationale de Santé) provides sickness benefits to the employee for the duration of weeks 78 through 104.

Individual Training Leave:
Each employee is entitled to 80 days of training leave, which can be utilized at any point during their career.

Linguistic Leave:
In addition to individual training leave, linguistic leave is offered to employees of all nationalities aiming to study or enhance their proficiency in the Luxembourgish language. Linguistic leave is limited to a total of 200 hours.

Cultural Leave:
Cultural leave aims to foster cultural pursuits or arts alongside professional activities. Eligibility for this leave is determined by the employee’s designation as a “culture actor” as defined by the Labour Code of 2006. The duration of this leave varies from 2 days to 50 days, depending on the beneficiary’s category.

Caregiver Leave:
This five-day paid leave is provided to employees for the purpose of offering personal care or assistance to a family member or someone residing in the same household. Employers can receive a 50% reimbursement of the leave cost from the state.

Force Majeure Leave:
This one-day paid leave, available over a 12-month employment period, is granted for urgent family matters such as illness or accidents that necessitate the employee’s immediate presence. Employers can claim a 50% reimbursement of the leave cost from the state.

• Marriage Leave: 3 days
• Marriage of a Child: 1 day for each parent
• Paternity Leave: 10 days
• Adoption Leave: 12 weeks
• Adoption of a Child under 16 Years Old (if adoption leave is not taken): 10 days
• Death of Spouse or 2nd Degree Relative: 2 days
• House Moving (Every 3 Years): 2 days

A pregnant employee is entitled to 20 weeks of paid maternity leave, with eight weeks to be taken before childbirth and 12 weeks after. This leave is financially supported by Luxembourg social security and is limited to five times the minimum wage.

Fathers are granted 10 days of paternity leave.

Parental Leave

Both parents have the right to full parental leave lasting four or six months, to be utilized before the child reaches 6 years of age. The initial period of this leave must commence immediately after the conclusion of maternity leave. If the parent works part-time, the total leave extends to eight or 12 months. Only parents who have maintained continuous employment with an employer for at least one year are eligible for this leave, which is financially covered by social security.

Alternatively, the leave can be divided as follows:

• Four months within a maximum span of 20 months, or
• One day per week for up to 20 months.

Furthermore, if parental leave was not immediately taken following maternity leave, parents can opt for three months of unpaid parental leave provided their children are under 5 years old.

To qualify for parental leave, the applying parent must be raising the child in their own household and must have contributed to Luxembourg social security for at least 12 consecutive months before the commencement of parental leave.

Emergency Family Care Leave

Emergency family care leave ranges from five to 12 days, depending on the child’s age.

There are 11 public holidays annually: New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, May 1st, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, June 23rd (the Grand Duke’s birthday), Assumption Day, All Saints’ Day, and December 25th and 26th.