Is employee leave interrupted if an employee is ill?

If an employee becomes ill during his leave so that he can no longer enjoy his leave, the days of illness recognized as such by a medical certificate shall not be considered as days of leave.

The leave must then be rescheduled by mutual agreement between the employer and the employee.

If an employee spends leave time in Luxembourg, he must notify his employer by medical certificate within three days. If he is abroad, he must take all necessary steps to ensure that the certificate reaches the employer as soon as possible.

Can leave not taken due to illness be carried over to the following year?

A judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities dated 20 January 2009 ruled that national legislation which provides that the right to annual leave expires at the end of the reference period or of a carry-over period without the employee having had the opportunity to exercise that right, is contrary to Directive 2003/88/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time, a directive which Luxembourg has transposed by the law dated 19 May 2006.

This leads to the following conclusions:

• Illness constitutes a reason to postpone a current year’s leave not only until the end of the postponement period, which corresponds either to the period until the end of the following year in the case of the pro-rated leave of the first year of employment, or to the period until 31 March of the following year in the normal case of annual leave not yet taken, but even beyond, until the end of the postponement period, if an employee was unable to take his leave.
• If the leave could not be taken at a later date because the employment contract has been terminated, either through termination of the employment contract or because the contract’s end date has arrived, then financial compensation for the remaining leave not taken shall be due.

National courts have since applied this case law.

Is the employee entitled to special leave to visit the doctor during working hours?

None of the provisions of the law provide for special hours or days of leave for medical examinations, except in the case of pregnant women, who are exempted from work in order to attend the prenatal examinations required by law, provided that they are carried out during working hours. 

These include the following examinations: 

• the dental examination which takes place as soon as the pregnant woman is aware of her condition and at the latest before the end of the fifth month of pregnancy;
• the first medical examination which takes place before the end of the third month of pregnancy;
• the second medical examination which must take place at the latest in the second fortnight of the fourth month of pregnancy;
• the third medical examination to be performed during the sixth month of pregnancy;
• the fourth medical examination which takes place in the first two weeks of the eighth month;
• the fifth and last examination which must take place in the first two weeks of the ninth month of pregnancy.

There are collective agreements that provide for special leave or leave of absence for medical examinations. 

ATTENTION: The concepts of annual leave and exemption from work must not be confused. 

Annual leave (paid vacation) is defined as a period of rest granted to the employee during which they are released from all work duties while retaining their usual remuneration. 

During this period, the employee may not perform any paid work. 

Exemption from work is equivalent to an authorized absence granted to the employee in order to carry out another activity, while ensuring that they retain their full salary. 

All employees are entitled to ordinary annual leave, whereas the law reserves the benefit of exemption from work to certain categories of employees. 

Thus, the law grants employees exemption from work in order to fulfill their civic rights and duties. 

Periods of exemption from work are not counted in the calculation of ordinary or, where applicable, special leave granted to the employees concerned. 

(Last update 26 March 2026)