Types of parental leave

Leave for the birth of a child

Maternity leave

There are a multitude of privacy circumstances under which leave can be taken. In the case of pregnancy, every pregnant woman who is in employment (employee, self-employed, apprentice) is entitled to prenatal maternity leave of 8 weeks before the presumed date of delivery and postnatal leave of 12 weeks after the date of delivery.

Consult the procedure "Applying for maternity leave" on Guichet.lu.

The Luxembourg Chamber of Employees provides detailed  information on maternity leave.

Paternity leave

Every father (employee, apprentice, person in adult apprenticeship or self-employed) is entitled to 10 days paternity leave after the birth of a child. In the event of multiple births, the father is entitled to a full paternity leave for each child.

A person with an employment contract has to inform his employer in writing 2 months before the foreseeable dates on which he intends to take his leave. Once granted, future fathers are required to take advantage of these ten days of leave within two months after the birth of the child.

For more details of the procedure for paternity leave, please consult Guichet.lu.

Leave for the adoption of a child

Adoption leave

Employees are entitled to 12 weeks adoption leave when one or more children under the age of 12 are adopted. Adoption leave will enable one of the partners to stay at home in order to take care of the child(ren) who has/have recently arrived in the family.

For details of the procedure for "Applying for adoption leave", please consult Guichet.lu.

Special leave for personal reasons

A person who has to be absent from work for personal reasons (moving house, death of spouse/partner, marriage of a child, ...) is entitled to special leave with full income preservation. The duration of this type of leave varies according to the nature of the event, in particular in the case of the reception of a child under the age of 16 with a view to adoption (except in the case of benefiting from adoption leave).

For details of the procedure for "Applying for special leave for personal reasons", please consult Guichet.lu.

Parental leave

Parental leave is not to be confused with paternity leave.

Parental leave enables the parents of a young child to interrupt their careers or shorten their work hours in order to accompany the child at key moments in its development, while retaining the certainty of returning to their jobs at the end of the leave. Parental leave may be requested whether the child is legitimate, illegitimate, or legitimated. It may also be requested in case of an adoption procedure.

The reform of parental leave, introduced on 1 December 2016, accepts a flexibilisation of leave periods. It allows parents to choose among flexible leave models adapted to their professional situations (full-time, part-time, split), while benefiting from a replacement income.

The first parental leave always has to be taken following maternity leave. The second parental leave, however, can now be taken up to 6 years of age of the child. It is now possible for both parents to take parental leave at the same time if they wish. If the parents had twins, then they're entitled to 2 times 6 months, that's 12 months.

All the detailed information is available on the website  www.reforme-famille.public.lu (in French or German).

Find the practical guide  'Labor Law - Parental Leave 2017'  of the Chamber of Employees  here. 

For details of the procedure for "Applying for parental leave in case of birth or adoption of a child", please consult Guichet.lu.

Leave for family reasons in the event of a child's illness

Leave for family reasons enables the parents of a child under the age of 18 years to stay with the child in the event of serious illness, accident or other health-related problem with no loss of income. The duration of this kind of leave depends on the age of the child:

• 12 days if the child is under 4 years old;
• 18 days if the child has reached his or her 4th birthday, but is under 13 years old;
• 5 days if the child has reached his or her 13th birthday, but is under 18 years old and has to be admitted to a hospital.

For details of the procedure for "Applying for leave for family reasons", please consult Guichet.lu.

The Luxembourg Chamber of Employees provides detailed information  on leave for family reasons.

Leave to accompany a dying person

Leave to accompany a dying person is a special type of paid leave which enables a worker (employed or self-employed) with a relative in the terminal stage of a serious illness to take leave of absence to be able to stay at their bedside. This leave is organised much in the same way as leave taken for family reasons.

For details of the procedure for "Applying for leave to accompany a dying person", please consult Guichet.lu.

The Luxembourg Chamber of Employees provides detailed information on leave to accompany a dying person.