Summer's coming, and if you're like many business owners in Luxembourg, you're probably thinking about hiring students to help with the extra work. It's a great idea because students are eager to work and can really help during busy times. But here's the thing: managing their payroll is trickier than you might think.

Luxembourg has special rules for student workers, and getting the payroll wrong can lead to headaches down the road. Let's break down what you need to know and how to make it easier.

In Luxembourg, you can hire students aged 15 to 26 who are either still studying or just finished school (within the last four months). There are two main ways to do this:

Holiday contracts are for when school's out. Students can work full-time during summer break or other school holidays. They can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, even on weekends. The catch? They can only work a total of 346 hours per year for the same employer.

Academic year contracts are for part-time work while students are in school. These are more limited, just 15 hours per week or about 60 hours per month. The same 346-hour yearly limit applies here too.

Here's where it gets tricky. Each type of contract has different payroll rules, and mixing them up can cost you.

With holiday contracts, you pay students at least 80% of minimum wage based on their age. The good news is you only need to cover accident insurance, no health or pension contributions. If you keep their hourly rate under 16€ and file the right paperwork, their wages might not even be taxed.

Academic contracts are different. You still pay at least 80% of minimum wage, but now you have to pay full social security contributions. That means health insurance, pension contributions, the works. Plus, their wages are always taxed, and they get paid time off and sick leave.

Then there's all the paperwork. You need to send contracts to the Labour Inspectorate within 7 days, make declarations to different government offices, and keep track of working hours to make sure you don't go over the limits.

Getting student payroll wrong isn't just about paying a fine. It can mess up your cash flow, create problems with the authorities, and eat up tons of your time. Plus, students talk to each other. Mess up one person's pay, and word gets around.

Many business owners try to handle this themselves with spreadsheets or basic accounting software. But Luxembourg's rules are specific, and they change. What worked last year might not work this year.

This is why a lot of business owners use Salary.lu. Instead of trying to figure out all these rules yourself, the platform does the heavy lifting.

It automatically calculates the right wages based on the student's age and contract type. It knows which social security contributions to apply and which ones to skip. It handles the tax calculations and can even manage those tax exemptions for holiday workers.

The platform also takes care of all CCSS declarations. Instead of remembering different deadlines and filing requirements, everything gets submitted automatically to the right places at the right times.

Using a proper payroll system isn't just about following rules. It's about making your life easier. You get instant payslips for your students, everything's documented properly, and you can access it all from your phone or computer.

Most importantly, you know it's done right. No more wondering if you calculated something wrong or forgot to file a declaration. The platform stays up to date with Luxembourg's rules so you don't have to.

Hiring students can be great for your business. They bring energy, they're flexible, and they can really help during busy periods. But only if you handle the payroll correctly.

The time you save by not dealing with payroll headaches is time you can spend on actually running your business. And the peace of mind knowing everything's compliant? That's worth a lot.

If you're thinking about hiring students, or if you already have them but payroll is giving you grief, it might be time to look at a solution like Salary.lu. It's designed specifically for Luxembourg businesses and handles all the tricky bits so you don't have to.

Ready to make student payroll simple? Check out how Salary.lu can help your business. Book a call or Sign up now to get started.