Leave for personal reasons (special leave)
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If you have to take time off work for certain personal reasons, you are entitled to special leave if you are:
- an employee; or
- an apprentice.
You must take this leave as soon as the event occurs, except in 2 cases:
- the birth of a child; or
- the adoption of a child.
The duration of this special leave depends on the nature of the event (birth, marriage, death, etc.).
This leave may not be deducted from your ordinary annual leave days.
Who is concerned
All employers and all persons with an employment contract.
The employer of a worker who wishes to take leave for personal reasons must grant them this special leave.
How to proceed
Types of special leave
Leave for personal reasons:
- is regarded as a form of legal leave; and
- must be included in the register of legal leave entitlements kept by your employer.
The duration of leave for personal reasons granted to an employee depends on the event that gives rise to the leave.
| Event | Duration of leave |
|---|---|
| Marriage | 3 days |
| Declaration of civil partnership (PACS) | 1 day |
| Moving (leave granted once per 3-year period of employment with the same employer) | 2 days |
| Birth of a child (for the father or the person recognised as the 2nd parent – regardless of the number of children) | 10 days |
| Adoption of a child under the age of 16 (unless the employee is entitled to adoption leave, which may be taken from the day on which the child actually starts living in the employee's household or from the date on which the adoption takes effect) | 10 days |
| Death of a minor child | 5 days |
| Marriage of a child | 1 day |
| Death of a spouse or partner | 3 days |
| Death of an employee's or their spouse's/partner's first-degree relative (parents, parents-in-law, children, children-in-law) | 3 days |
| Death of an employee's or their spouse's/partner's second-degree relative (grandparents, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law) | 1 day |
| Urgent family reasons, such as illness or accident, which make the employee's immediate presence indispensable (leave granted once per 12-month period of employment with the same employer) | 1 day |
| Personal care or assistance provided for medical reasons to a family member or a person living in the same household as the employee (leave granted once per 12-month period of employment with the same employer) | 5 days |
The employee may be granted additional days of leave for personal reasons if provided for in:
- a collective agreement in force in their company; or
- their company's internal regulations; or
- their employment contract.
If you are a cross-border worker and have already registered a civil partnership abroad, you must have the partnership you have entered into in your country of residence added to the Luxembourg civil register in order to benefit from the leave for personal reasons to which the partnership entitles you.
If you wish to see a doctor during your working hours, please note that:
- there is no special legal leave that covers this; and
- only some collective agreements provide for this scenario.
If your company's collective agreement does not provide for it, you will have to request your employer's consent to take time off during working hours.
Your employer is entitled to:
- require that you schedule your appointments outside working hours; or
- require that you make up for the hours you miss while attending your doctor's appointment.
Exception: a pregnant woman who has to go to her prenatal examinations during working hours receives an exemption from work, without any loss of pay.
Permission to leave work to vote
You may obtain permission from your employer to leave work to exercise your civic rights and duties, such as voting in:
- communal elections;
- legislative elections;
- European elections.
Requesting leave for personal reasons
If you want to take leave for personal reasons, you must formally request it from your employer, who cannot deny it.
Unlike with paid annual leave, for which you have to observe a 3-month waiting period, you are entitled to leave for personal reasons as soon as you start work.
Taking leave for personal reasons
An employer must grant leave for personal reasons at the time the triggering event occurs.
With the exception of special leave for the birth of a child or the adoption of a child under the age of 16, this leave:
- cannot be deferred; and
- cannot give rise to a compensatory benefit if you could not take it on time.
You can apply for this type of leave more than once per year if the personal reasons are justified. However, unless you have to move house for professional reasons, the 2 days of special leave to which you are entitled for a personal move are only granted:
- once; and
- per 3-year period of employment with the same employer.
Special cases
If the triggering event occurs:
- while you are on sick leave, your entitlement to leave for personal reasons is lost;
- while you are on ordinary leave, the ordinary leave is interrupted and resumes at the end of the leave for personal reasons;
- on a Sunday, a legal public holiday, a working day observed as a holiday or a compensatory day off, the leave for personal reasons is carried over to the first working day following the event.
Example: You take a Monday off to move house. You are therefore entitled to 2 days of leave for personal reasons. However, the day after your move (Tuesday) is a public holiday. The second day of leave for personal reasons will be carried over to the Wednesday, and you will return to work on the Thursday.
Remuneration
Your employer must continue to pay your normal salary while you are on leave for personal reasons.
Good to know
On our 'Paternity leave' page you will find all the specific details on leave for personal reasons in the event of:
- the birth of a child; or
- fostering a child under 16 years of age with a view to adoption.
Online services and forms
Online services
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Further information
-
Special leave
on the website of the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM)
-
FAQ - Congés extraordinaires
sur le site de l’Inspection du travail et des mines (ITM)
