Updated on
01/07/2025
Legal Leave
What is legal leave? – This leave is meant for personal rest and recreation.
How many days of legal leave is a full-time worker entitled to working 8h a day? – Every employee in Luxembourg is entitled to at least 26 days of paid annual leave per year. These are referred to as working days, which are generally understood to mean weekdays from Monday to Saturday, excluding public holidays. However, if your usual work schedule does not include Saturdays (e.g. you work Monday to Friday), your leave is calculated based on your actual working pattern. This means you cannot be asked to take leave on a day you do not normally work.
In some sectors or under collective agreements, employees may be entitled to additional days of leave.
How many days of legal leave is a part-time worker entitled to? - In Luxembourg, part-time employees are entitled to a proportional amount of legal leave, calculated in hours, based on their weekly working time compared to a full-time employee.
The legal reference for full-time leave is 26 working days per year, each normally representing 8 hours, for a total of 208 hours of annual leave (26 × 8 = 208).
To calculate a part-time employee’s entitlement, two formulas are commonly used:
- Formula 1:
26 × (weekly working hours ÷ 5)
Example: An employee working 20 hours per week:
26 × (20 ÷ 5) = 104 hours of annual leave- Formula 2:
(26 × 8 × weekly working hours) ÷ 40
Example: An employee working 24 hours per week:
(26 × 8 × 24) ÷ 40 = 124.8 hours of annual leaveBoth methods lead to equivalent results and ensure fair treatment between part-time and full-time employees. Employers may choose which method to apply but must use it consistently.
Leave is calculated in hours, not days, to better reflect flexible or non-standard work schedules.
Leave is calculated in hours, not days, to better reflect flexible or non-standard work schedules.
What happens if I fall ill during my legal leave? - If you become sick during your legal leave, the days affected can be converted into sick leave, provided that you submit a valid medical certificate. This allows you to preserve your unused vacation days.
If the illness occurs while you are abroad, the same rule applies but you must ensure that:
- The medical certificate is issued by a local doctor in the country you are in.
- You notify your employer immediately and send the certificate without delay, ideally within 3 days, just like you would if you were in Luxembourg.
This rule is valid as long as the certificate meets legal requirements and confirms your unfitness to work.
Are fractions of working months taken into account when calculating legal leave days? - In Luxembourg, if an employee works more than 15 calendar days in a month, this period is considered a full working month under certain conditions:
- During the first year of employment: If you start a job mid-month and work more than 15 calendar days, that month counts as a full month for leave purposes.
- When leaving a job: If your contract ends mid-month and you've worked more than 15 calendar days in your final month, it is also considered a full working month.
How must employees apply for legal leave? - The Labour Code does not provide for a specific form for employees to apply for legal leave. In practice, various employers provide for the introduction of specific rules and a form for application in the company rules.
Can the employer reject an employee’s request for legal leave? - In certain cases, the employer may refuse to grant the legal leave requested by the employee.
A refusal is justified if:
- the authorisation conflicts with operational requirements
- it conflicts with the legitimate wishes of other employees
- the employee has unexcused absences for the part of the year that has already elapsed that amount to more than 10% of his/her regular working time.
Can one’s leave be split over multiple periods? - The previous obligation, according to the Labour Code, to take legal leave in one go has been replaced by a choice, as this obligation did not meet the wishes of employees and the needs of companies.
Can one pursue another paid occupation during legal leave? - During the legal leave, the employee may not engage in any paid employment, as otherwise the holiday pay may be cancelled.
Can a temporary worker with a 3-month-contract request legal leave? - An employee is only entitled to legal leave after 3 months of continuous employment with the same employer, unless the employment contract ends during the year. In this case, the employee is entitled to one-twelfth of their legal leave for each full month of work, irrespective of the statutory or contractual provisions on notice periods.
This means that employees with a fixed-term contract of no more than 3 months can take their legal leave from the first day of work.
What happens when an employee takes a legal leave that was denied by the employer? - If an employee goes on legal leave despite the employer's refusal, this is considered insubordination and the employee would also be absent without permission. Depending on the circumstances, the employee could be dismissed, possibly for gross misconduct.
Synonyms : holiday, paid vacation leave