Summer holidays in Luxembourg

An employee working in Luxembourg is entitled to 26 days’ leave per year.

If the contract starts during the year, leave is calculated on a pro rata basis: 2.17 days per full month worked. A month is counted as complete if the employee has worked more than 15 calendar days.

Finally, a week’s leave can only count as 5 days, even if the employee works more than 5 days a week.

When an employee is newly recruited, he or she acquires the right to holiday after having worked for the same employer for three uninterrupted months, with certain exceptions, in particular if the contract ends during the year.

However, it is possible to derogate from this rule, particularly with the employer’s agreement.

In principle, leave dates are set according to the employee’s preferences. However, the needs of the department or the justified wishes of other employees in the company may prevent this, which may limit the employee’s freedom to choose the dates of leave.

Example: in some companies, priority is given to employees with dependent children.

If the employee so requests, annual leave must be scheduled at least 1 month in advance to ensure that it can be properly organised.

In principle, the employer must grant annual leave and the employee is obliged to take it in full during the calendar year.

However, annual leave may be postponed in various cases:

Where the leave was earned during the first year of employment and could not be taken in full, the employee may carry it forward until 31 December of the following year.

If, for reasons connected with the requirements of the service or justified requests from other employees, the employee has not been able to take his leave, it may be carried over until 31 March of the following year.

Unused leave at the time of departure on maternity leave, fostering leave or parental leave may also be carried over until the end of the carry-over period. This carry-over may be extended beyond this deadline if the employee is unable to take his leave before the end of the said period.

In the event of incapacity for work (illness, accident at work, occupational illness) preventing leave from being taken, leave may be postponed until the employee has resumed work. However, this deferral is not unlimited: in principle, leave must be taken before 31 March of the year following the year in which it was earned.

Employers can also offer greater flexibility when it comes to carrying over leave.

For example, it can allow unused days to be carried over from one year to the next without limit, or offer a system such as a time savings account.

When the company closes for collective annual leave, the period of such leave must be defined in consultation with the staff delegation or, failing that, directly with the employees concerned.

The employer must inform the employees of the period chosen by the end of the first quarter of the year at the latest.

Where the period of collective leave exceeds the amount of paid annual leave to which the employee is entitled, the excess is granted in the form of statutory leave. In other words, these days are counted as part of the statutory paid leave, even if the employee has not yet acquired sufficient days at that time.

In addition, certain fields and professions are subject to collective summer and/or winter annual leave. This is particularly the case for the building and civil engineering sector, plasterers and drywallers, as well as sanitary fitters, heating and air-conditioning installers and refrigeration engineers.

During their period of paid annual leave, employees continue to receive their remuneration.

The allowance paid during the leave is based on an average of the employee’s usual salary, generally the income received during the three months preceding the leave. This calculation takes into account not only the basic salary, but also overtime and regular bonuses.

Continued entitlement to holiday during sick leave

Days during which an employee is absent due to illness are treated as days actually worked for the purposes of entitlement to leave. This means that even if an employee is off sick, they continue to earn their annual leave entitlement.

The case of an employee who falls ill during his annual leave period

When an employee falls ill during their annual leave period, it is imperative that they inform their employer of the situation as soon as possible. This notification must be accompanied by a medical certificate justifying the employee’s inability to work. If the employee is at home or in France, this document must be sent within three working days. On the other hand, if they are travelling abroad, they must send this certificate as soon as possible, given the constraints associated with their location.

Days when the employee is off sick (supported by a medical certificate) are not counted as days of leave. In other words, they do not reduce the number of days’ leave to which they are entitled.

Once cured, the employee must return to work on the date originally planned before the sick leave.

The employee and his employer must then agree on a new period for taking the leave that he was unable to use because of his illness. This new date must be set by mutual agreement, taking into account both the needs of the company and the wishes of the employee.