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Special Leave in Luxembourg

For some specific personal events such as a house move, a marriage or a death in the family, additional extraordinary days off can be claimed by employees or civil servants. Find out when this applies and how to arrange special leave from work.

An employee (or apprentice) or a civil servant who is absent from work for certain specific personal reasons is entitled to special paid leave (congés extraordinaires). This applies particularly to a leave of absence for a house move, a birth, marriage, or death of a family member, and the duration of special leave varies depending on the nature of the event.

Who the Special Leave Applies To

Any person bound by an employment contract is entitled to special leave for personal reasons. Special leave is not dependent on years of service and can be claimed on entry into service in a company; statutory leave's waiting period of three months is not applicable to special leave.

In principle, special leave must be taken when the event occurs and may not be deferred.

Leave time allocation

Time is allocated per event as follows:

Event	Employee	Civil Servant
Celebration of marriage	6 days	6 days
Partnership (PACS)	6 days	6 days
Death of spouse or partner	3 days	3 days
Death of a parent (first degree)	3 days	3 days
Death of a parent (second degree)	1 day	1 day
Marriage or PACS of a child	2 days	2 days
Moving house	2 days	2 days
Adoption of a child under 16	2 days	2 days
Birth of a child (birth father)	2 days	4 days
Enlistment for military service	1 day	1 day

PACS partnerships

Note that for PACS partners with a partnership signed under foreign law, the partners must undergo the procedure of recognition of their partnership in Luxembourg in order to be eligible for special leave.

Where special leave is requested for a PACS event, it is recommended to agree an "official" date with the employer in advance, as the date of the partnership is not known until it is registered in the partnership register by the administration.

Arranging Special Leave

Special leave must be specifically requested from the employer and can be taken only when the event giving entitlement to the leave occurs.

Special leave cannot be postponed and no financial indemnity can be claimed if it could not be taken in time.

However, special leave is postponed to the first working day following the event, should the event fall on a Sunday, public holiday or a rest day.

Claiming special leave

If the event occurs during the employee's ordinary annual leave, the ordinary leave is interrupted for the duration of special leave. The portion of annual leave replaced by special leave, can be taken later during the calendar year.

Special leave can be claimed more than once a year for the same type of reason (for example, a house move) if applicable.

Special leave cannot be claimed if the event giving rise to it happens during a leave period due to illness of the employee.