Applying for leave for youth workers

Non residents

Residents

The purpose of leave for youth workers is to:

support the development of activities that benefit youth at the local, regional and national levels;
allow the organisers and supervisors of youth activities to participate in internships, study days or weeks, classes, meetings or camps and programs in Luxembourg and abroad.

Who is concerned

Leave for youth workers is designed for people working professionally in Luxembourg and wishing to support the development of activities that benefit youth – specifically:

employees (in the public or private sector);
self-employed workers registered for at least 2 years with the Luxembourg social security office and domiciled for professional purposes in Luxembourg;
freelancers who have been registered for at least 2 years with the Luxembourg social security office and who are domiciled for professional purposes in Luxembourg.

Prerequisites

Leave for youth workers is granted under the following conditions:

the interested party must normally be employed in Luxembourg – i.e. either:
- have an employment contract with a business or association legally established and active in Luxembourg;
- be self-employed or freelance;
the leave may not be combined with normal annual legal leave, or with a period of sickness where that would cause a continuous absence of more than 3 weeks;
leave may be deferred if the requested absence is likely to significantly impact the proper operation of the business or the planning of annual leave for the staff.

Deadlines

Leave for youth workers is limited to a total of 60 days. It cannot exceed 20 working days over a period of 2 years.

This leave may be split up. Each portion must last a minimum of 2 days, unless it is for a series of classes which each last for one day only.

How to proceed

Beneficiaries

Leave for youth workers is granted under certain conditions to people working professionally (employees, self-employed workers or freelancers) in Luxembourg and who use the leave to carry out one of the eligible activities (listed below).

Applications to obtain leave for youth workers are managed by the National Youth Service (Service national de la Jeunesse – SNJ).

Eligible activities to obtain leave for youth workers

The following activities may be considered to obtain leave as a youth worker:

training and higher-level training for youth activity workers;
training and further education of managers in youth movements or cultural and sports associations, provided the training and continuing education activities essentially target young people;
organisation and management of training internships or educational and cultural activities for youth.

The approved days of leave for youth workers correspond to the duration of the training course. However, an interested party who wishes to pursue training in the organisation and management of training programmes or educational activities for youth, and who is not the holder of an assistant (or standard) youth coordinator certificate or equivalent qualification, cannot seek to cover all of their training with days of leave for youth workers. In this case, only two thirds of the number of days invested in work with youth may be covered by leave for youth workers. Fractions of days considered are rounded to the next whole number.

For further information relating to activities and training eligible for leave for youth workers, consult the fact sheet on the SNJ website.

Duration of leave for youth workers

Beneficiaries of leave for youth workers may be granted 60 days of leave throughout their professional career. However, leave for youth workers must not exceed 20 days over a 2-year period.

Specific features regarding the leave for youth workers:

it may be split up into periods lasting a minimum of 2 days, unless there is a series of classes, each of which lasts one day only;
it may not count towards the normal leave established by law or by special agreement.

 For part-time workers, the days of leave for youth workers are calculated proportionally.

Procedure for obtaining leave for youth workers

In order to apply for leave for youth workers, the interested party must send the SNJ the application form to request leave for youth workers, 1 month prior to the start date of the leave.

The procedure for obtaining the leave is as follows:

the form should be completed by the applicant, and then by their employer (for public- or private-sector employees);
the applicant then submits the form to the organiser of the training session or activity. That organising party (association or federation) attests the applicant's participation by signing it;
the form should be sent to the SNJ at least 1 month prior to the start-date of the leave requested.

Compensatory benefits linked to leave for youth workers

Employees receiving leave for youth workers are entitled, for each day of the leave, to compensatory benefit equal to the daily average salary, paid by the employer, upon presentation of a certificate of participation, which is issued by the entity organising the training. This benefit cannot exceed 4 times the social minimum wage for unskilled workers; This benefit is paid to them by the employer, who is then reimbursed by the Government for both the compensation itself and the employer's share of the social security contributions. An application for a refund should be made using the preprinted form.

Self-employed or freelance people are also entitled to compensatory benefit paid directly by the Government. The amount is based on the previous tax year's income used to calculate the pension insurance contribution base for and may not exceed 4 times the social minimum wage for unskilled workers. An income statement must be attached to the application.

Impact of leave for youth workers on working relationships

The duration of leave for youth workers is treated as a period of actual work. Throughout the duration of the leave, the legal and regulatory provisions relating to social security and protection from dismissal continue to apply.

Forms / Online services

Demande d'octroi d'un congé-jeunesse - participation à une formation ou à un perfectionnement de cadres de mouvements de jeunesse ou d’associations culturelles et sportives

Télécharger le formulaire

Demande d'octroi d'un congé-jeunesse - participation à une formation ou à un perfectionnement d’animateurs de jeunesse

Télécharger le formulaire

Demande d'octroi d'un congé-jeunesse - organisation ou encadrement d’un stage de formation ou d’une activité éducative pour jeunes

Télécharger le formulaire

Congé jeunesse - déclaration de remboursement

Télécharger le formulaire

Who to contact

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National Youth Service

33, Rives de Clausen
L-2165 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Postal address :
B.P. 707 L-2017 Luxembourg

Phone : (+352) 247-86465

Fax : (+352) 46 41 86

(+352) 247-86465 info@snj.public.lu National Youth Service Path to National Youth Service
SNJ - Au Pair Reception Desk

33, Rives de Clausen
L-2165 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Postal address :
L-2926 Luxembourg

aupair@snj.lu Path to SNJ - Au Pair Reception Desk More information on SNJ - Au Pair Reception Desk
Environmental Voluntary Service

33, Rives de Clausen
L-2165 Luxembourg
Luxembourg

Phone : (+352) 247-86482

(+352) 247-86482 georges.zeimet@snj.lu Path to Environmental Voluntary Service More information on Environmental Voluntary Service
Work and Holiday Visa Service

33, Rives de Clausen
L-2165 Luxembourg
Luxembourg

workandtravel@snj.lu Path to Work and Holiday Visa Service More information on Work and Holiday Visa Service

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