Applying for the disabled employee status

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The following persons may apply to be recognised as a disabled employee:

  • a disabled person carrying out a professional activity or who is registered as a job seeker;
  • a person seeking professional inclusion who but does not have a job or has not registered as a job seeker with the National Employment Agency (Agence pour le développement de l'emploi - ADEM).

They will benefit from job offers better suited to their disability on the job market or in a sheltered workshop, through the ADEM.

Please note that people registered as job seekers and unemployed applicants must contact the secretariat of ADEM's Medical Commission, which will set a date for them to attend a mandatory information workshop. During that workshop, the unemployed applicants may obtain information:

  • on the procedure for obtaining disabled employee status;
  • and on the associated rights and obligations.

The information workshops will be given in French, German and/or Luxembourgish. Applicants may be accompanied by a third party of their choice.

Who is concerned

Any disabled person may benefit from the disabled worker status provided that they:

  • work legally at a business that has been legally established in Luxembourg; or
  • are legally domiciled in Luxembourg and actually live there, are available for employment and meet the conditions to legally work in Luxembourg.

It should be noted that third-country nationals may also apply for disabled employee status.

The interested party must also:

  • have a working capacity decreased by at least 30 % occurring:
    • following a work accident while the employee was working at a business legally established in Luxembourg;
    • following events in a war or military occupation; or
    • following a physical, mental, sensory or psychological impairment, and/or due to psycho-social difficulties which aggravate that impairment;
  • be in a stable medical condition (no prolonged illness or ongoing disability proceedings). If the medical condition is not stable, the Medical Commission may:
    • acknowledge the status provisionally, if the person's condition allows professional reintegration or training measures to be taken immediately; or
    • defer its decision until the person's condition has stabilised.

How to proceed

Submitting the application

The special form for a disabled employee to apply for recognition of disabled status is only available upon request at the secretariat of the medical commission of ADEM's Disability and Redeployment Department (Service handicap et reclassement professionnel - SHRP).

The form will be issued to the applicant in person or by post in the event of an express request:

  • of an applicant employed at a company that is legally established in Luxembourg; or
  • of the person who attended the information workshop for job seekers.

Applicants must send the form to ADEM's Medical Commission, along with the following supporting documents:

  • if the person carries out a professional activity:
    • a copy of the employment contract;
    • a valid work permit indicated on the residence permit, approving their exercise of a professional and/or freelance activity;
    • a certificate of affiliation issued by the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS);
    • any document providing proof of the applicant's professional qualifications and status (certificates, diplomas, instructions regarding the tasks performed for the employer, etc.);
    • a copy of a valid medical fitness certificate issued by a competent occupational health practitioner;
  • if the person does not carry out any professional activity:
    • a certificate of residence dated less than 3 months previously, issued by the communal authority;
    • proof of a right of residence for a period of more than 3 months for nationals of the EU, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, and members of their family;
    • a valid residence permit authorising foreign nationals to conduct an employed or self-employed activity;
    • any document providing proof of the applicant's professional qualifications and status (certificates, diplomas, information on the tasks performed for the employer, etc.);
    • a certificate of affiliation issued by the CCSS.

All applicants must also provide:

  • a recent detailed medical report issued by the relevant medical practitioner indicating:
    •  the presumed causes of the decrease in working capacity;
    •  where applicable, the health status of the person seeking recognition;
    •  the foreseeable prognosis of their health condition (the medical report may be supplemented with an occupational psychologist's report upon request of the Medical Commission);
  • a recent and detailed medical assessment from the ADEM's occupational health practitioner, indicating the improvement in capacity for work and the applicant's ability to perform a job in the ordinary job market, or in a sheltered workshop if the applicant is a job seeker, along with a copy of their identity card or passport;
  • documents certifying the status of legal representative if the applicant needs representation in their legal actions. 

If the applicant is a protected adult, the capacity of the applicant's legal representative must be proven by submitting:

  • a copy of the judgment;
  • an extract from the civil register; or
  • an equivalent certificate.

All requests must be signed. Please note that in the case of a protected adult, the application must be signed by their legal representative or their legal administrator.

The Medical Commission may ask the applicant or an expert for any document they deem useful or essential to make a decision on whether to grant disabled employee status.

If the Medical Commission notices that the applicant has made a mistake on the type of application (application for recognition of disabled employee status or application for benefit for severely disabled persons), the Commission advises the applicant of:

  • the steps to be taken;
  • the documents to be sent for the application to be reassessed.

The starting of the procedures or the applicant's submission of the documents to the Medical Commission counts as the filing of a new application.

Analysis of the application

The Medical Commission determines the percentage decrease in the applicant's working capacity and makes a decision as to their work abilities and state of health. The Commission bases its decision on the working ability of an able-bodied person of the same age when determining a decrease in working capacity.

The Commission may question the applicant as to the facts and circumstances having purportedly resulted in the decrease in working capacity.

It may also take into consideration:

  • the existence of a decrease in individual working potential compared to the applicant's previous professional activity;
  • the degree of remaining work capacity in connection with the possibility of a return to work within the near future; or
  • the applicant's ability to benefit from retraining.

The applicant's condition must be sufficiently stable from a medical point of view before the Medical Commission makes a decision.

If it is not stable, the Commission may decide to rule on the applicant's status at a later time: it would then return to the matter when it sees fit. In some cases, though, the Commission may provisionally recognise an applicant as having disabled status, even if the medical condition has not yet stabilised.

The applicant must attend the medical examinations and inquiries deemed useful by the Commission within a period of 15 days of receipt of the summons to appear. If the applicant does not appear, the Commission may deny the request.

When the Medical Commission makes a decision, it notifies the applicant by registered letter within a period of 2 months of the application date.

In the event that the Commission refuses to grant the disabled status to the employee, an appeal may be brought before the Social Security Arbitration Tribunal (Conseil arbitral de la sécurité social - CASS), by registered letter, sent within 40 days of the date of notification of the decision.

The decision of the Medical Commission may then be amended:

  • following the periodic checks carried out at the Medical Commission's initiative; or
  • upon request of the disabled person, at least 6 months after the last ruling by the Medical Commission.

If the party concerned is recognised as having disabled status, they are asked to register as a job seeker with the ADEM.

Who to contact

Related procedures and links

Procedures

Links

Further information

Legal references

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