Maternity leave is one of those workplace situations where both employees and employers need to understand the rules clearly. 

Luxembourg's system is actually pretty well thought out it protects employees, gives employers clear guidelines to follow, and everyone gets paid properly. 

The challenge is just knowing what happens when, and who needs to do what.

Maternity leave in Luxembourg is 20 weeks. That's split into two parts, eight weeks before the baby's due (prenatal leave) and twelve weeks after the actual birth (postnatal leave).

This system is overall pretty flexible, and honestly, pretty sensible. If the baby arrives early, those unused prenatal days don't just vanish. They get added to the postnatal period. And if the baby decides to be fashionably late, the prenatal leave just extends until delivery happens, and you still get your full twelve weeks after. Either way, you're getting your 20 weeks.

To qualify, you need to have been affiliated with Luxembourg's health insurance for at least six months during the year before your leave starts. This applies to everyone: employees with permanent or fixed-term contracts, apprentices, even self-employed workers. Doesn't matter if you're a resident or a cross-border commuter.

The moment an employer receives a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy, the employee is protected from being fired. This protection lasts until 12 weeks after she's back from leave.

For the employee, you don't have to mention pregnancy during job interviews. That's your private business. But once you're working somewhere and you want that legal protection, you need to send your employer a medical certificate. Best to do it by registered mail or hand it over in person with a signature. 

For employers, once you've got that certificate, you can't fire this person. You can't even call them in for a dismissal meeting. The only exception is serious misconduct, and even then, you'd need to suspend them and ask a judge for permission. The bar for that is very high.

What if someone gets let go before mentioning the pregnancy? She's got eight days from receiving the dismissal notice to send medical proof. If she does that, the dismissal becomes void and she comes back to work. It's a safety net that helps everyone avoid messy situations that nobody wants to deal with.

During maternity leave, the employee gets paid by the CNS (Caisse Nationale de Santé), not by the employer. That's good news for your company's cash flow.

The amount is based on the highest salary she earned during the three months before her leave started. There's a floor (can't be less than minimum wage) and a ceiling (can't be more than five times minimum wage).

One thing to know: benefits in kind stop during leave. So if there are normally meal vouchers, company car, other perks, those pause. The CNS payment replaces all of it, but it's salary-based.

For employers, you stop paying salary and put zero on your monthly CCSS declarations. But keep the employee registered with social security. Don't deregister her. The system works smoothly when documents arrive on time, so timing matters here.

Let's talk about the practical steps, because this is where things can go sideways if you're not careful.

The employee should tell her employer about the pregnancy at least ten weeks before the due date, ideally earlier. That gives everyone time to plan. During the last twelve weeks of pregnancy, she needs to get a medical certificate from a doctor that includes the expected due date, and send that to the CNS. If you send it too early, before that 12-week window, they'll just send it back. So timing counts.

The employer acknowledges the pregnancy notification and keeps the certificate on file. When the CNS certificate comes through, make sure a copy gets to them or confirm the employee already sent it. During the actual leave, you declare zero salary but keep the CCSS registration active.

After the baby arrives, someone needs to send the birth certificate to the CNS. Either party can handle this. And employers, keep all this documentation for at least five years. If questions come up later, you'll need it.

Pregnant employees can say no to overtime and night work without any consequences. If night work is part of the job and can't be avoided, the employer needs to move her to day shifts. If that's genuinely impossible, you apply through the labour medicine service for a work exemption. She still gets paid during that time.

Time off for prenatal medical checkups is mandatory and paid. You can't deduct that time from anything. It's just part of how pregnancy works.

If the job involves heavy lifting (anything over 5kg), lots of standing, or exposure to chemicals or biological stuff, the working conditions need adjusting. Temporary reassignment to something safer is the first option. If that's really not possible, the employer applies for a work exemption through labour medicine. During an exemption, the CNS handles payment.

Also important, the maternity leave period counts as actual working time. For everything. Seniority, vacation rights, bonuses, whatever's tied to how long someone's been there. When she comes back, it's like the clock never stopped.

After maternity leave ends, the employee goes back to her job or an equivalent position with the same pay and conditions. Employers can't use the absence as a reason to change anything about the role.

If she's breastfeeding, she gets two 45-minute breaks each day (one at the start, one at the end) or a single 90-minute block during the day. This goes for up to a year after the baby's born. These breaks count as working time. They're paid, and if requested, they're mandatory.

If an employee decides to resign right after maternity leave specifically to focus on raising her child, there's no notice period required. No termination penalties. It's a special provision that recognizes how much life changes with a new baby. But this only works if she's leaving to care for the child, not if she's switching to another employer. And if she changes her mind and wants to come back within a year, the employer has to give her priority for positions she's qualified for.

After maternity leave wraps up, parents can tap into a completely separate system called parental leave, which is managed by the CAE (Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants). But there's a catch that trips up a lot of families.

If you want that first parental leave, the request has to reach the employer at least two months before maternity leave begins. That deadline is absolute. Miss it, and that first parental leave is gone. You can still take a second one later, but that first opportunity disappears. In 2024 alone, over 900 parental leave requests were refused, often because families missed critical deadlines or didn't meet the requirements.

This is something a lot of families don't find out about until it's too late. So if you're pregnant, put this on your calendar right away. And if you're an employer receiving a pregnancy notification, mentioning this deadline isn't required, but it's a kind gesture that people really appreciate.

Both sides need to stay on top of dates, send documentation on time, and communicate clearly. Employees should keep copies of everything they send and follow up to make sure the documents arrived. Employers should have systems to track important dates and keep good records.

This is  where a platform like Salary can help you out. We handle the payroll calculations correctly, manage the zero-salary declarations during leave, and our support team is available if you have questions about the process. It takes the guesswork out of getting everything right.

For employers, it means fewer errors that could delay payments or create legal headaches. For employees, it means smoother processing and less stress about whether everything's being handled correctly.

Maternity leave is a big deal for everyone involved. The Luxembourg system is protective and comprehensive, which is genuinely good. But it does require both sides to understand what they need to do.

Get it right, and you build trust and create a workplace where people feel supported during major life moments. Get it wrong, and you create unnecessary stress and complications that help nobody.

The rules aren't actually that complicated once you know them. They just require a bit of attention and usually the right tools to keep everything running smoothly. And that's exactly what we're here for.

Ready to handle maternity leave without the headaches?