Luxembourg

The labour market in Luxembourg

Each labour market has some peculiarities. It may be tricky for foreigners to fully understand the payment methods, the taxes and other benefits related to them. In TalentUp, we are starting a series of different blog articles, one for each country. This article analyses the labour market in Luxembourg.

General data about the Luxembourger labour market

In Luxembourg, it is customary to pay the 13th salary. 

Work on Sunday is prohibited unless under certain circumstances or for specific sectors; specific compensation should be paid.

Payroll taxes in Luxembourg

Social security contributions are made by the employer and the employee and are used for funding unemployment, pension, maternity/paternity leave, and sickness or injury.

Contributions can be up to a maximum of 11,284.77 EUR per month.

Once contributions are paid, employees need to pay an income tax that varies depending on their gross salaries. It depends on whether the taxpayer is married or single. There are many salary bands, and the tax is not a share but an established amount of euros.

Contingencies from self-employees

The self-employed have to pay communal business tax (6.32%), personal income tax and property tax. The withholding tax scheme does not apply to them.

Example of net salary in Luxembourg

As a reference, we use the average salary of a software engineer. In Luxembourg, on average, software engineers earn 53,700€ annually.

The employer contributes 6,562.14 to 8,216.1€ to social security, and the employee contributes 6,551.4 to 6,685.65€.

After paying the income tax, the employee has a net salary of 33,933.35 to 34,067.6€, coming from a gross salary of 53,700€.

Unemployment regulation in Luxembourg

For employers with more than 150 employees, a hearing must be conducted before the employee is dismissed. For employers with at least 15 employees, the employer must notify the economic committee of the dismissal.

The amount of notice is dependent on the length of service:

Notice begins on the 15th of the month if the dismissal letter is provided before or on the 1st of the month. Notice begins on the 1st day of the following month if the letter of dismissal was sent between the 15th and the last day of the month.

The amount of severance pay is dependent on the length of service:

*The long period is only if the employer has less than 20 employees.

The probationary period can be defined by various things:

• If an employee receives a monthly salary of at least 4,586.12 EUR, the maximum probation period is one year
• If an employee has a vocational skills certificate or equivalent, the maximum probation period is six months
• If the employee does not have a vocational skills certificate or equivalent, the maximum probation period is three months

Different kinds of leaves in Luxembourg

Employees receive a minimum of 26 working days of paid leave per year. Disabled persons or those who have suffered a work accident have an additional 6 days, and mining employees have an additional 3 days.

They have 11 public holidays.

The maximum duration for paid sick leave is 26 weeks. During the first 77 days of sickness leave within a 12-month consecutive period, employers provide full salary coverage, regardless of whether the leave is continuous or intermittent. Employers can seek reimbursement for 80% of this salary expense from their mutual fund insurance. After the 77th day, Social Security takes over the responsibility for covering additional sick leave.

Paid parental leave

Maternity leave in Luxembourg is 20 weeks and can begin 8 weeks before the expected due date. It is paid by social security, and it ranges from the minimum wage to 5 times the minimum wage.

Paternity leave lasts up to 10 days. To maintain the full duration, fathers must notify their employer at least two months in advance. Failing this notice, the leave can be limited to 2 days, and it can be taken non-consecutively within two months of the child’s birth.

Parental leave is also allowed. it depends on the hours worked by each parent, and it is unpaid.

Other common Luxembourger benefits

How to employ a Luxembourger worker

If you plan to hire employees, you’ll need to register as an employer with the Luxembourg Social Security and Tax Authorities. And you need to register your business for taxation purposes. You will obtain a business identification number (n° d’identification fiscale, NIF).