What family event qualifies for extraordinary leave?

The family events taken into consideration are set out in the table below, together with the duration of the corresponding special leave:

Type of leave	Beneficiary	Duration	Responsible for pay during leave
Death of an employee’s blood relative, twice removed* or spouse/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 hour State: 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 hour State: starting from the 17th hour
Moving house	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/partner or first degree relative** of employee or spouse/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 for reasons of force majeure	Employees and apprentices	1 day over 12 months	50% Employer 50% State
Caregiver leave***	Employees and apprentices	5 days over 12 months	50% Employer 50% State
* Grandmother, grandfather, granddaughter, grandson, sister, brother ** Mother, father, daughter, son *** Son, daughter, mother, father, spouse or partner

(Last updated on 11.10.2023)

When is an employee entitled to leave for reasons of force majeure?

The employee is entitled to extraordinary leave for reasons of force majeure linked to urgent family reasons in the event of illness or accident making the employee’s immediate presence indispensable.

How long is the leave for reasons of force majeure?

This leave for reasons of force majeure corresponds to one day’s extraordinary leave over a 12-month employment period, equivalent to 8 hours per day for a full-time employee, which can be split into whole hours.

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

What is the caregiver leave?

An employee is entitled to extraordinary leave to provide personal care or assistance to a family member or a person living in the same household as the employee who requires considerable care or assistance for serious medical reasons.

The serious medical reason reduces the employee’s capacity and autonomy, rendering the person incapable of compensating for or coping autonomously with physical, cognitive or psychological deficiencies or health-related constraints or requirements. It must be certified by a doctor.

A family member is defined as a son, daughter, mother, father, spouse or partner.

How long is caregiver leave?

Caregiver’s leave corresponds to 8 hours per day over 5 days, i.e. 40 hours for a full-time employee, which can be split into whole hours. For employees whose working week is less than forty hours, who work part-time or who have several employers, these hours of leave are set in proportion to the weekly working hours laid down in the collective labour agreement or the employment contract concerned.

What should an employee do if he intends to take leave for reasons of force majeure or carergiver leave?

An employee wishing to take one of these forms of leave must notify the employer or a representative of the employer, either personally or through an intermediary, orally or in writing, no later than the day of the absence.

For the caregiver leave, on the third day of his absence at the latest, the employee must provide his employer with a medical certificate attesting that the conditions for entitlement have been met and a document proving the family relationship between the employee and the person in need or that their respective places of residence correspond.

Who pays for force majeure leave or caregiver leave?

50% of the salaries paid by the employer for such leave are borne by the State budget. The elements taken into account when calculating the amount to be reimbursed by the Minister for Employment are the basic salary declared by the employer to the  Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale – CCSS), plus the social security contributions payable by the employer in respect of the period of leave taken. The basic salary used to calculate the reimbursement is limited to five times the minimum social salary for unskilled workers. If the employee works part-time, the limit is adjusted proportionally according to the number of hours worked.

To obtain this reimbursement, the employer must submit the request, with supporting documents, electronically via Myguichet.lu within six months of the date on which the leave is taken, or from the last day of the leave if the employee takes it for several consecutive days, on pain of foreclosure.

Requests not submitted by this means will only be accepted if the applicant can justify that he/she does not have access to this means of transmission. The Minister of Labour informs the employer of the details and the amount paid by the State Treasury via the electronic platform intended for this purpose or, in the event of a justified request sent by another means, by simple or electronic mail.  

Allowances unduly granted on the basis of false or erroneous declarations must be returned.

How are employees protected during leave for reasons of force majeure or during caregiver leave?

Throughout the period of such leave, the employment contract is maintained. The employer is not authorised to notify the employee of the termination of his employment contract or, where applicable, of the notice to attend the interview prior to dismissal on the grounds that the employee has requested or benefited from one of these forms of leave.

Termination of the employment contract in breach of these provisions is null and void. Within 15 days of the dismissal, the employee may apply to the President of the Labour Court, who shall rule as a matter of urgency and as in summary proceedings, with the parties heard or duly summoned, to declare the dismissal null and void and to order that his employment contract be maintained.

The order of the president of the labour court is provisionally enforceable. It may be appealed by simple request, within fifteen days of notification through the court registry, to the judge presiding the division of the Court of Appeal to which appeals in employment law are assigned. The case is decided as a matter of urgency, after the parties have been heard or duly summoned.

During the period of leave, the employer is obliged to keep the employee’s job or, if this is not possible, a similar job corresponding to his qualifications and offering at least equivalent pay. The period of leave is taken into account in determining seniority rights.

The employee retains the benefit of all the advantages acquired before the start of the leave. The employee may not be the subject of reprisals or less favourable treatment on the grounds of having made a request for the granting of one of the leaves listed above or of having benefited from it. 

Who are first- and second-degree relatives?

A “relative in the first degree” is defined as the mother, father, daughter or son of the employee or his spouse/partner.

The term “second degree relative” refers to the grandmother, grandfather, granddaughter, grandson, sister or brother of the employee or spouse/partner.

Can extraordinary leave be carried over?

As for the time at which the extraordinary leave must be taken, it should be noted that the employee must take the leave at the time the family event occurs.

In other words, employees moving in January cannot take their two days of extraordinary leave in July, unless otherwise agreed with the employer.

Furthermore, it is not allowed to carry over days of extraordinary leave to be added to ordinary leave. For example, if an employee gets married in February and is on ordinary leave in July, that person cannot extend this leave by the three days of extraordinary leave, unless otherwise agreed with the employer.

Only the 10 days leave in case of birth or adoption of a child can be split if the employer agrees and provided certain conditions are met (see question: What are the terms and conditions for taking the 10-day leave for the birth or adoption of a child?). The 10 days must be taken within two months of the birth or adoption of the child.

Under the law, a special day off is carried over if it falls on:

• a Sunday;
• a legal holiday;
• a non-working day (e.g. Saturday for people who work Monday to Friday);
• a compensatory day of rest (e.g. a day off for working on Sunday).

In such cases, the special day off shall be moved to the first working day following the family event.

Can a newly hired employee take extraordinary leave without waiting for the three-month period to expire?

In principle, employees who have just been hired by an employer must wait three months before being able to take days off, unless their employer agrees otherwise.

However, this waiting period does not apply to extraordinary leave. If a family event occurs, the employee can be granted extraordinary leave immediately, even if the employee has been working for less than three months.

How many times can extraordinary leave for moving house be taken?

Prior to 31 December 2017, a person could take advantage of extraordinary leave as often as they moved during the year.

Since 1 January 2018, the duration of leave for moving house granted remains set at two days, but this leave will only be granted once every three years, unless an employee has to move for professional reasons. However, the three-year reference period is limited to the same employer. This entitlement is created individually with each employer without taking into account any possible use of these days of leave with a previous employer.

However, it must always be an official change of residence, i.e. the administrative reporting formalities at the municipal level for changing address must be carried out.

Can extraordinary leave be awarded if the family event occurs during a period of illness?

No, if the family event occurs during sick leave, the extraordinary leave is lost. It cannot be awarded at a later date.

If an event occurs during a period of regular leave, is extraordinary leave due?

Yes, if the family event occurs during a period of ordinary leave, this leave is interrupted for the duration of the extraordinary leave.

Who pays for the extraordinary leave?

Extraordinary leave is paid for by the employer in the same way as ordinary leave, except for leave for reasons of force majeure, caregiver leave and leave for the birth of a child.

In fact, 50% of the salaries paid by the employer for leave for reasons of force majeure and caregiver leave are borne by the State budget.

The elements taken into account to calculate the amount to be reimbursed by the Minister for Employment are the basic salary declared by the employer to the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale -CCSS) plus the social security contributions payable by the employer in respect of the period of leave taken.

The basic salary used to calculate the reimbursement is limited to five times the minimum social wage for unskilled workers.

If the employee works part-time, the limit is adjusted proportionally according to the length of time worked.

To obtain this reimbursement, the employer must submit the request, with supporting documents, electronically via Myguichet.lu within six months of the date on which the leave is taken, or from the last day of leave if the employee takes it for several consecutive days, on pain of foreclosure. Requests not sent by this means will only be accepted if the applicant can justify that he/she does not have access to this means of transmission.

The Minister of Labour will inform the employer of the details and the amount paid by the State Treasury via the electronic platform intended for this purpose or, in the event of a justified request sent by another means, by simple or electronic mail.

Allowances unduly granted on the basis of false or erroneous declarations must be returned.

As for leave related to the birth or adoption of a child, from the seventeenth hour onwards, this is paid for from the State budget. For employees with a working week of less than forty hours, part-time workers or those with multiple employers, reimbursement is calculated based on the proportion of the weekly working time laid down in the relevant collective agreement or employment contract.

The salary that is taken into account for reimbursement is limited to five times the minimum wage for unskilled workers.   If the employee is part-time, the limit is adjusted proportionally to the hours worked.

To calculate the employee’s reimbursement amount, the Minister for Labour considers the employer’s declared basic salary to the Social Security Centre  (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale -CCSS) as well as the employer’s social security contributions for the leave period.

In order to obtain reimbursement for wages and social security contributions, the employer must lodge the application, along with relevant documentation, electronically through Myguichet.lu within 5 months from the birth date of the child or, if adopted, from the date the child moves into the same residence or from the date the adoption becomes effective. Failure to do so will result in the application becoming time barred.

Requests will only be accepted through this means unless the applicant provides a valid justification for using alternative methods of transmission.

The Minister of Labour will notify the employer of the details and amount transferred by the State Treasury using the designated electronic platform. Alternatively, if a valid request is submitted through an alternative method, notification will be sent via standard or electronic mail.

Any compensation granted based on false or inaccurate declarations must be repaid.

Leave for reasons of force majeure and carer’s leave are paid 50% by the State and 50% by the employer.

(Last updated on 11.10.2023)

What are the terms and conditions for taking the 10-day leave for the birth or adoption of a child?

Until the 22nd of August 2023, fathers of newborn children were the only ones eligible for paternity leave.

Same-sex couples could only access ten additional days of leave when adopting a child.

The law of 29 July 2023 allows this leave to be taken by the person who is recognised as an equivalent second parent by the national legislation applicable by virtue of the place of residence or nationality of the child or of the parent concerned and who is entitled to establish parentage of the child without recourse to the adoption procedure.

This applies only if the child is born after the 22nd of August 2023.

The law provides that for an employee whose normal working week is 40 hours, these 10 days of leave correspond to 80 hours, which can be split.

For employees who partake a workweek of less than 40 hours, part-time workers, or those with multiple employers, the leave hours are determined on a proportional basis corresponding to the workweek identified in the applicable collective bargaining agreement or employment agreement.

These hours must be taken within two months of the birth of the child or, in the case of adoption, the date on which the child actually moves into the same household as the employee, or the date on which the adoption takes effect.

It is evident that the period of leave granted for the purpose of fostering a child under the age of sixteen for adoption shall begin on the date on which the child actually enters the same household as the worker applying for the fostering leave or on the date on which the adoption takes effect, i.e. on the date on which the adoption of the child is authorised by an official decision. This policy covers cases where a person moves in with their partner and later decides to become the legal parent of their partner’s child.

The ten days of exceptional leave granted for the birth or adoption of a child are restricted to one instance per employee and per child and cannot be carried over.

In the case of a multiple birth, this leave applies to each child. 

In general, the employer should receive notice at least two months prior to the expected dates the employee plans to take their 10-day leave.

If the employee has not complied with the two-month notice period, they must take their leave all at once and immediately following the birth of their child. Alternatively, if the employer and employee agree, they may use a flexible approach that permits the employee to take their leave either in full or in instalments, at a later date. In doing so, both the needs of the employee and the employer must be taken into consideration as much as possible.

Issues may arise in situations where the child is born prematurely.

In this case, the employee wishing to take advantage of the ten days’ paternity leave was logically unable to comply with the two months’ notice period, which meant that some employers only granted two days’ leave. In order not to prejudice employees who find themselves in such a situation, the law of 29 July 2023 provides that the notice period does not apply if the birth takes place two months before the presumed date.

Are part-time employees entitled to the same number of special leave days?

While ordinary leave is prorated according to the duration of the part-time employee’s work and is therefore counted in hours, the same is not true of extraordinary leave.

Special leave is counted in days, not hours. Depending on the day the employee wants to take it, this leave will have the number of hours that the employee should have worked on that day. It does not matter whether the employee works four or eight hours, a whole day will be counted.

However, since August 2023, the Labour Code has expressly provided for the prorating of the following 3 types of extraordinary leave: leave for reasons of force majeure, caregiver leave and leave in the event of the birth of a child.

Leave for reasons of force majeure corresponds to one day of extraordinary leave over a 12-month period of employment, i.e. 8 hours per day for a full-time employee.

Carer’s leave corresponds to 5 days at 8 hours a day, i.e. 40 hours, over a 12-month period of employment, for a full-time employee.

Similarly, the law now provides that the 10 days’ leave in the event of the birth of a child corresponds to 80 hours, for an employee whose normal working week is 40 hours.

For employees whose working week is less than forty hours, who work part-time or who have several employers, these hours of leave are set in proportion to the weekly working hours laid down in the collective bargaining agreement or the employment contract concerned.

When a day of special leave falls on a working day not worked by the employee, it shall be carried over to the first working day following the event or the end of the special leave.

(Last updated on 11.10.2023)

How can employees in a civil union get extraordinary leave?

In practice, the employees concerned must notify the employer in advance of the date on which the civil union is to be concluded before the civil registrar.

The law does not stipulate a time limit within which the employee must notify the employer, but the employee is required to inform the employer in good time. The extraordinary leave must be taken at the time of the event, i.e. at the time of the civil union ceremony occurs at the municipality. Only the certificate of registration in the civil register issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office is used for granting extraordinary leave on the grounds of a civil union.

This certificate must be given to the employer so that he can check that the leave is in line with the event giving entitlement to it.

It should be noted that a registered union may have effect against third parties only from the time of its entry in the civil register, although it takes effect between the parties from the time the declaration is recorded by the civil registrar.

Are employees in a union under foreign law eligible for extraordinary leave?

Employees, and in particular cross-border workers in a civil union under foreign law, are entitled to one day’s extraordinary leave. However, they must complete the procedure for recognition of the union concluded in their country of residence.

Persons who have registered their union abroad may apply to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for registration in the civil register.