Intermittent workers in the entertainment industry (entertainment workers without regular employment, also, casual workers) alternate between periods of employment and periods of inactivity.

To deal with this situation, the State has implemented a system of social welfare benefits—known as benefits for out-of-work intermittent workers in the entertainment industry—that intermittent workers in the entertainment industry are entitled to, provided they satisfy certain conditions.

To be eligible for benefits when they are out of work through no fault of their own, intermittent workers in the entertainment industry must apply to the Ministry of Culture.

Who is concerned

Intermittent workers in the entertainment industry are artists or stage technicians who work on a temporary basis within the framework of individual projects that are limited in time.

As such, they alternate between periods of work and periods when they are out of work.

Intermittent workers in the entertainment industry may work:

• either for businesses, or for any type of entertainment organiser;
• or as part of a cinematographic, audiovisual, musical or theatrical production;
• and are paid a wage, salary, or fees under a fixed-term employment contract or a job contract.

Intermittent workers in the entertainment industry may also carry out a secondary, non-artistic activity, provided that the number of days devoted to the secondary activity is less than the number of days devoted to their intermittent activity per 365-day period.

Prerequisites

Benefits during involuntary out-of-work periods may only be awarded to intermittent workers in the entertainment industry who:

• can prove that they have worked for at least 80 days over the course of the 365 calendar days prior to the application, and that during that time they worked:
  • either for businesses, or for any type of entertainment organiser;
  • or in the context of a production – in particular a cinematographic, audiovisual, theatrical or musical production;
• have earned income that is at least equal to 4 times the monthly social minimum wage for unskilled workers in the aforementioned activity during the year prior to the application;
• have been registered with a pension insurance scheme for the aforementioned activity;
• have been registered with the social security services in Luxembourg for at least 6 months continuously prior to the date of application, and can prove involvement in the Luxembourg artistic and cultural scene;
• are not entitled to the benefit for freelance professional artists;
• are not entitled to unemployment benefit;
• are not entitled to the social inclusion income (REVIS).

For a given year, if there is a period of incapacity for work, covered by at least one month's sick leave, maternity leave, adoption leave or parental leave, the period of work considered for that year is suspended for a duration equal to that of the period of incapacity for work.

Preliminary steps

Before they can apply for benefits during an out-of-work period, the applicant must be in possession of a logbook for intermittent workers in the entertainment industry.

That book is used to record the days worked by the intermittent worker. It is mandatory in order to be able to claim benefit for out-of-work periods.

To obtain it, the applicant must file an application for the intermittent worker's logbook with the Ministry of Culture.

To ensure their logbook remains valid, the intermittent worker in the entertainment industry must record the following information in it:

• the name or company name of the employer, their address or registered office, and the address of the main place of work;
• the nature of the activities performed for the employer;
• the project/production for which the intermittent worker is providing services;
• the start date of the contract for artistic services, the planned duration and the actual duration of the artistic service contract;
• the daily working hours if they are fixed, and the specific details of the working time if not;
• the fee, signature, or signature of the employer's representative, along with the end date of the working relationship.

How to proceed

Filing the application for entitlement to aid

One they have obtained the logbook from the Ministry of Culture, intermittent workers in the entertainment industry can submit their application for benefits to the Ministry of Culture, accompanied by the following supporting documents:

• a copy of the employment contract and payslips must be attached;
• a copy of their job contract and copies of their receipted invoices or bank statements establishing the payment of the sums specified in the contract during the relevant insurance periods;
• the original counterfoil from the intermittent entertainment-industry worker's logbook;
• a recent and complete social security certificate, issued by the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS);
• a declaration bearing, amongst other things, the following wording: 'Je déclare ne pas percevoir de revenu de remplacement au titre de la législation luxembourgeoise ou étrangère' (I hereby declare that I do not collect any replacement income under Luxembourg or foreign legislation - for example: unemployment benefits, REVIS, etc.);
• a list of the worker's contracts and corresponding working days;
• any other document or exhibit that the applicant deems useful for supporting their application.

Once submitted, the application is reviewed by a committee responsible for advising the Ministry of Culture.

The applicant will receive a response within 3 months of the receipt of the duly filled in application for benefit.

Amount of allowance

If the application is accepted, the intermittent worker in the entertainment industry is entitled to a daily benefit corresponding to the per-day amount of the social minimum wage for skilled workers, and to 121 daily benefit payments at most over a period of 365 days from the date the application was submitted.

The benefits are paid on a monthly basis and upon request only. The Ministry provides a form (declaration of honour) to be sent by post or email to: declaration-aide@mc.etat.lu.

No daily benefit is due:

• for days when the intermittent worker is not contributing to a pension insurance scheme;
• for days when the worker is engaged in work (paid or otherwise);
• for days when the worker receives a replacement income (e.g. unemployment benefits) as provided for under Luxembourg or foreign law.

Intermittent performers must therefore ensure that they remain registered with the insurance scheme even if they are not working or if a fixed-term employment contract expires.

Duration and deadlines

The declaration of honour for the purpose of receiving compensation for involuntary inactivity must be received by the Ministry of Culture during the month following the month for which financial aid is applied for.

End of rights

At the end of a period of 365 days following the day of submission of the application for benefits, the intermittent worker in the entertainment industry must file a new application for benefits if they are out of work through no fault of their own.

The renewal must be applied for and is not automatic.

Tax provisions

Artistic and academic prizes awarded by Luxembourg or foreign public bodies, or by bodies to which the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg belongs, are exempt from income tax since they are not derived from the delivery of an economic service.

Intermittent workers in the entertainment industry who engage in work on a self-employed basis are entitled to a flat-rate deduction of 25 % of the income generated by their activity, but that deduction may not exceed EUR 12,500 per year.

If the profit from their artistic activity exceeds the average of the profits of the year under consideration and of the previous 3 full years, this profit can be considered as extraordinary income. This income is taxed at a specific, more favourable rate.

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