Labor law in Luxembourg

An employer must provide a written employment contract no later than the start of work and give both parties a copy. An oral agreement can still create a valid employment relationship, generally treated as a CDI, meaning an open-ended employment contract. The contract should identify the parties, start date, workplace, duties, working hours, schedule, salary and indexation, paid leave, notice periods, trial period and applicable collective agreement. Contract clauses may not reduce statutory protection, although they can improve the employee's position. A CDD, or fixed-term contract, may last up to 24 months including renewals and may normally be renewed no more than twice. A trial period must be agreed in writing and last at least two weeks. Its maximum length is three months without a CATP or DAP qualification, six months with a CATP, DAP or higher qualification, and 12 months when gross monthly pay reaches EUR 5,188.69. One employment relationship generally permits only one trial period. Illness or family leave can suspend the trial period, with an extension of up to one month. Normal working time is eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. Overtime can raise the limit to 10 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Employees generally receive at least 11 hours of daily rest and 44 hours of weekly rest. Average night work may not exceed eight hours in 24 hours over a seven-day period. Overtime is compensated by 1.5 hours of compensatory leave per hour or by pay of at least 140 percent. Luxembourg recognizes 11 legal public holidays, with special compensation or compensatory leave rules for work performed on those days. Salary is generally agreed freely, but it cannot fall below the applicable statutory or collective minimum. From 1 June 2026 at index 992.24, the salary social minimum (SSM) is EUR 2,771.33 gross per month for employees aged at least 18 without a qualification and EUR 3,325.59 for qualified employees. The rates for employees aged 17 to 18 and 15 to 17 are 80 percent and 75 percent of the adult unqualified rate, respectively, corresponding to EUR 2,217.06 and EUR 2,078.49. Employers must provide a monthly payslip and declare wages and working hours to the CCSS, the social security administration. The employer affiliates employees with the CCSS. Social protection includes sickness and maternity coverage through the CNS, pension insurance through the CNAP, work-accident insurance through the AAA and dependency insurance. An employee must inform the employer on the first day of illness and provide the required certificate no later than the third day. The CNS certificate must reach the CNS by the third working day. The employer normally continues paying wages through the calendar month containing the 77th day of incapacity, calculated within an 18-month reference period. Compliant sick leave can protect an employee from dismissal for up to 26 weeks. Annual paid leave is generally 26 working days per year. During the first year, leave accrues at one twelfth for each full month; a fraction of more than 15 days counts as a full month. Leave can generally be taken after three months of service. Unused leave must be paid when the employment relationship ends. Maternity, parental and family-reasons leave have separate eligibility rules and protection periods. Maternity protection begins when the employee proves the pregnancy and continues for 12 weeks after birth. Parental leave generally requires at least 12 consecutive months of CCSS affiliation. Employers must prevent occupational risks, provide suitable health and safety information and training, and address discrimination. Equal pay applies to men and women performing the same work or work of equal value. Moral harassment involves repeated or systematic conduct that harms a worker's dignity or physical or mental integrity. The employer must take steps to stop it, investigate the situation and protect the affected employee. ITM, the labour inspectorate, supervises compliance and may also assist with mediation. A staff delegation is generally mandatory when an establishment has had at least 15 employees during the preceding 12 months. Social elections normally take place every five years. In establishments with 15 to 99 employees, delegates are elected by relative majority; establishments with at least 100 employees use proportional representation. Delegates receive paid time credit, confidentiality protection, consultation and participation rights, and special protection against dismissal. Collective agreements can add sector-specific rules in areas such as banking, construction, transport, care and security. For an employee's resignation from a CDI, the notice period is one month with less than five years of service, two months from five to fewer than 10 years, and three months from 10 years onward. An employer's dismissal with notice normally requires two months for less than five years of service, four months from five to fewer than 10 years, and six months from 10 years onward. The employer must provide genuine and serious reasons when the employee requests them. The request must be made within one month, and the employer normally has one month to respond. Severance becomes relevant from five years of service and ranges from half a month's pay to 12 months' pay at service thresholds of five, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years. Companies with fewer than 20 employees may replace severance with an extended notice period. Serious misconduct can justify immediate dismissal; the employer must generally act within one month after learning of the conduct. Employers with at least 150 employees normally must hold a pre-dismissal interview. Immediate dismissal for serious misconduct does not create a severance entitlement. A mutual termination generally does not create unemployment-benefit entitlement. An unpaid-wage claim can begin with a formal registered notice allowing eight working days or 15 calendar days, depending on the applicable procedure. An employee can complain to ITM or seek interim relief and a substantive claim. Wage claims generally have a three-year limitation period. A dismissal challenge must normally reach the Tribunal du travail in Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette or Diekirch within three months. A written employer response can restart a one-year period for the claim. The petition should state the facts, amounts, legal grounds and evidence. The procedure is formally oral. Appeals normally have a 40-day deadline, opposition to a default judgment 15 days and cassation two months. Court costs and attorney fees depend on the case, so no fixed result can be assumed.