Parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child

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Demande d'indemnité de congé parental (French, Pdf, 620 Kb)
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Parental leave enables the parents of a young child to take a break from their professional career or reduce their working time so that they can devote more time to bringing up their child. They are entitled to return to their previous jobs at the end of the leave.

The parent can request:

  • either the first parental leave: to be taken following the maternity or adoption leave;
  • or the second parental leave: to be taken before the child's 6th birthday (the 12th birthday for adopted children).

Parental leave is only granted once per child.

During parental leave, the parent is entitled to an allowance paid by the CAE as a replacement income.

Who is concerned

Each parent is entitled to parental leave for each of their children after the birth or the adoption of one or several children.

Parental leave is available to:

  • salaried workers, apprentices and self-employed workers;
  • civil servants, employees or workers (ouvriers) employed by the State, a commune or a public institution, and employees of the Luxembourg National Railway Company (Société nationale des chemins de fer luxembourgeois - CFL).

If one of the parents waives their right to parental leave, the leave cannot be transferred to their spouse to allow the latter to take 2 periods of parental leave.

Prerequisites

The (future) parent must:

  • have been registered with the Luxembourg social security services for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the start of the parental leave. If there are any interruptions in registration in the 12-month period preceding the leave, the combined duration of the interruptions in the 12-month period may not exceed 7 days;
  • if the parent is a salaried worker: have one or more employment contracts totalling at least 10 hours of paid work per week;
  • if the parent is a salaried worker or an apprentice: have a contract covering the full period of the parental leave.

Note: in the case of a cessation, merger or transfer of a business, the immediate transfer of an employee to another position is not considered to be a change of employer.

How to proceed

Types of parental leave

First or second parental leave

The parent can request either:

  • the first parental leave, which must be taken by one of the parents immediately after the maternity or adoption leave. Failing this, the right to take the first leave is lost and the other parent may take the second parental leave only;
  • or the second parental leave, which must be taken:
    • in the case of a birth, before the child's 6th birthday;
    • in the case of adoption:
      • within 6 years of the end of the adoption leave; or
      • if no adoption leave was taken, the second parental leave must be taken between the date of the adoption order and the child's 12th birthday.

If the maternity or adoption leave is not due or has not been taken, any parental leave that might be due must be taken from:

  • the first day of the 3rd week following the birth; or
  • in the case of adoption, from the date of the adoption order.

Special cases:

Salaried worker during the trial period

A salaried worker whose trial period ends after the maternity or adoption leave can only request the second parental leave. The second parental leave may only be requested after the end of the trial period.

Single-parent families

In the case of single-parent families, whether separated or divorced, the parent who has custody of the child may choose between the first and second parental leave. The parent does not lose the right to the first parental leave if it is not taken immediately after the maternity or adoption leave.

If both parents are applying for the parental leave at the same time, they must specify in their applications who will be taking the first parental leave and who will be taking the second parental leave. In the event of disagreement, the first parental leave will go to the person whose surname comes first (alphabetically).

If only one parent is entitled to parental leave because the other parent does not qualify for it, the parent who is entitled to the leave may choose between the first and the second parental leave.

Full-time, part-time or split leave

The first and second parental leaves can be taken on a full-time, part-time or split basis, depending on the number of hours shown in the parent's employment contract and their employment status:

  • 40 hours per week or self-employed:
    • 4 or 6 months' full-time leave;
    • 8 or 12 months' part-time leave at 50 % of their normal working hours, subject to their employer's approval;
    • split leave: 4 one-month periods within a period of no more than 20 months, subject to their employer's approval;
    • split leave: 1 or 2 half days per week within a period of no more than 20 months, subject to their employer's approval;
  • 20 hours per week or more:
    • 4 or 6 months' full-time leave;
    • 8 or 12 months' half time leave, subject to their employer's approval;
  • 10 or more hours per week: 4 or 6 months' full-time leave;
  • apprenticeship contract: 4 or 6 months' full-time leave;
  • parents with several employers or who are registered with the social security as salaried workers or self-employed: 4 or 6 months' full-time leave.

The monthly work time is that which is shown in the parent's employment contract on the date on which the application for parental leave is submitted to the employer.

If the monthly work time changes in the 12 months preceding the parental leave, the average work time for the year in question is taken into account. However, if the number of working hours changes after the application for parental leave has been submitted, the new working hours will not be taken into account when calculating the duration of the parental leave.

For example: if a parent applies for parental leave on 1 August 2022 and their working hours changed from 70 % to 100 % on 1 March 2022, the time frame that will be taken into account to calculate the average number of monthly working hours will be the period from 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2022. As such, since the parent is now working full-time, they could, for example, apply for a split leave. The result obtained from calculating the average work time will be used for establishing the parental leave allowance.

Note, however, that once the parental leave has begun, the type of leave cannot be changed.

Employer's approval/refusal to grant part-time or split leave

A salaried parent who wishes to take part-time or split parental leave must draw up and sign a parental leave plan that must approved by their employer.

The parental leave plan:

  • specifies the actual parental leave periods;
  • must be drawn up within 4 weeks of the parent's application for leave.

After that, the only changes that may be made to the parental leave plan are those impacting the work schedule or the calendar month, and any such changes may only be made with the employer's approval.

If the employer refuses to grant this type of parental leave, they must:

  • inform the employee by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt within 2 weeks of the employee's application for leave;
  • invite the employee to attend a meeting within 2 weeks of the date on which they informed the employee of their refusal.

The purpose of this meeting is to:

  • explain to the employee why their application was refused;
  • propose, in writing, an alternative form of parental leave, or a parental leave plan that is different to the one submitted by the parent.

If no agreement is reached and no parental leave plan is signed within 2 weeks of the interview, the employee will be entitled to full-time parental leave for either 4 or 6 months.

First parental leave

Form of application and deadlines

Parents who are employees or apprentices may submit their parental leave application to their employer:

  • on plain paper;
  • by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt;
  • at the latest 2 months before the start of the maternity leave or adoption leave.

The application must mention:

  • the phrase 'parental leave taken immediately after maternity or adoption leave (first parental leave)';
  • the type of leave requested:
    • full-time parental leave; or
    • split parental leave (in this case, the employee can suggest the working time arrangements that suits them best); or
    • part-time parental leave (in this case, the employee can suggest the working time arrangements that suits them best).

Employer's approval

If the application for leave is submitted in accordance with the formal requirements and within the legal time frames, the employer may neither refuse nor postpone the first parental leave.

However, they can refuse parental leave if it is requested in the form of part-time or split leave. In this case, the employer must inform the employee by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt at the latest within 2 weeks of the request and invite them to an interview within 2 weeks of this notification.

The employee must then take full-time parental leave or waive their leave.

Second parental leave

Form of application and deadlines

Parents who are employees or apprentices may submit their parental leave application to their employer:

  • on plain paper; or
  • by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt;

at the latest 4 months before the date on which they wish to start their parental leave.

The employee must therefore submit the application on time, given that the employer can postpone the start of the second parental leave.

The parent's application for leave must mention:

  • the phrase 'parental leave to be taken before the child's 6th / 12th birthday (second parental leave)';
  • the type of leave requested:
    • full-time parental leave; or
    • split parental leave (in this case, the employee can suggest the working time arrangements that suits them best); or
    • part-time parental leave (in this case, the employee can suggest the working time arrangements that suits them best).

Employer's approval

Employers cannot refuse the second parental leave if taken on a full-time basis.

They may, however:

  • refuse the second parental leave if it is requested in the form of part-time or split leave. In this case, the employer must inform the employee by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt at the latest within 2 weeks of the request and invite them to an interview within 2 weeks of this notification. The employee must then take full-time parental leave or waive their leave; or
  • request that it be postponed under certain conditions. In this case, the employer must inform the employee of their decision by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt within no more than 4 weeks of receiving the employee's request.

Employer's request to postpone

The employer can request that the leave be postponed:

  • for up to 2 months:
    • if it is likely to cause a disruption in the company's operations due to simultaneous requests from several employees;
    • if it is impossible to arrange a replacement for the employee during the 4-month notice period, due to the specific nature of the employee's job or a staff shortage in the business's sector of activity;
    • if the employee belongs to senior management and actively participates in the management of the business;
  • for up to 6 months if the company employs fewer than 15 employees;
  • until the end of the season, in case of seasonal activity, if the requested leave falls within a period of high seasonal activity.

The leave cannot be postponed if:

  • the child's health (attested to by a medical certificate), problems at school, or a behavioural disorder (attested to by a certificate issued by the competent school authorities) requires the parents' presence;
  • the employer has already approved the leave;
  • the employee has not received a reply to their application for leave within 4 weeks of submitting the application;
  • the parent works for several employers who fail to reach agreement.

If the second parental leave is postponed, the employer must inform the employee of their decision:

  • by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt;
  • within no more than 4 weeks of receiving the employee's application. Failing this, the requested leave will be automatically considered to be approved;
  • and propose a new start date for the parental leave;
  • and mention the reason for the postponement.

The employer must also inform the staff representatives.

Once an agreement has been reached on the new terms of the leave, the employer must then complete and sign the application for the parental leave allowance submitted by their employee or apprentice.

If the postponement cannot be agreed upon, the case may be referred to the labour tribunal.

Only then can the employee or the apprentice submit the application to the CAE.

Parental leave allowance

During paid parental leave, the parent is entitled to a monthly parental leave allowance, which is paid by the CAE to replace the parent's earned income.

The allowance is subject to social security contributions and taxes based on the data shown on the employee's tax card, on which the CAE appears as the employer.

The Luxembourg Inland Revenue (Administration des contributions directes – ACD) will automatically update the employee's tax card (no action is required by the employee) within 30 working days, on average.

The parental leave allowance can be claimed for up to 2 years from the end of the month for which it is due.

Amount of the parental leave allowance

The amount of the allowance is calculated based on the average monthly income earned in the 12 months preceding the start of the parental leave.

If the earned income changes after the start of the parental leave, the allowance will be recalculated.

The CAE provides a tool for calculating the amount of the parental leave allowance on its website.

Each monthly payment is paid by the CAE in the month for which it is due, provided that the application and supporting documents were submitted on time.

If the parent becomes pregnant or adopts a child during the parental leave and, as such, is entitled to maternity or adoption leave, the new maternity allowance will replace the parental leave allowance. In that case, the maternity allowance will be calculated based on the data appearing in the employee's initial employment contract.

Applications for parents who are employees

To qualify for the parental leave allowance, a parent who has been granted parental leave must submit an application for parental leave allowance to the CAE. The application must be duly certified by the parent's employer and accompanied by the parental leave plan.

This application must be:

  • submitted to the CAE within no more than 15 days of submitting the application for leave to the employer (for the first parental leave);
  • submitted to the CAE within 15 days of receiving the letter informing them of the employer's decision or, failing that, within 15 days of the expiry of the 4-week period that applies when the employer decides to postpone the leave (second parental leave);
  • for cross-border workers: accompanied by a document showing the worker's foreign bank account or postal account (CCP) number, as well as a bank account identification document (RIB);
  • for the adoption of a child under the age of 12: accompanied by a certificate issued by the court with jurisdiction for the worker's place of residence, attesting that adoption proceedings are under way.

The CAE may request additional documents to complete the application. These documents can be submitted:

  • by post; or
  • via MyGuichet.lu.

Applications for self-employed parents

To qualify for parental leave, self-employed parents must submit their application for parental leave directly to the CAE by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt:

  • no later than 2 months before the start of maternity or adoption leave, when applying for the first parental leave;
  • at least 4 months before the start of the parental leave, when applying for the second parental leave;

They must also enclose a declaration on honour with their application.

The CAE may request additional documents to complete the application. These documents can be submitted:

  • by post; or
  • via MyGuichet.lu.

Loss of entitlement to the parental leave allowance

Entitlement to the parental leave allowance will be lost if the qualifying conditions are no longer met.

Beneficiary parents must inform the CAE, within one month, of any event that may lead to a reduction in the parental leave allowance or the loss of their entitlement to the allowance.

If an employee tenders their resignation, or if the employee's employment contract is terminated by mutual agreement, before the parental leave has ended, the termination of the employment contract will result in the termination of the parental leave. The employee must then reimburse the entire amount of the allowances received from the CAE.

Registration of salaried parents with the social security services

During the full-time parental leave, the employer must:

  • stop paying the employee's salary;
  • stop providing meal tickets and any other benefits in kind to which the employee was entitled to before the leave.

During part-time or split parental leave, the employer must:

  • submit a new declaration of entry to the CCSS to inform them of the change in the number of working hours;
  • continue to pay the employee in proportion to the number of hours worked.

When an employee returns to work after the parental leave, the employer must submit a new declaration of entry to the CCSS.

Multiple births or adoptions

In the event of multiple births (e.g. twins) or multiple adoptions, the parental leave is granted in full for each child.

For each child, the parents:

  • must submit a separate application for parental leave;
  • may choose different forms of parental leave.

New births or adoptions during parental leave

Parental leave is interrupted if a new maternity or adoption leave is granted. In this case, the maternity/adoption leave will replace the parental leave, and the remaining duration of the parental leave will be carried over to the new maternity or adoption leave.

If, for their new child, the parent decides to take parental leave right after their maternity/adoption leave, the new parental leave will be postponed automatically until the end of the part of the initial parental leave that was added to the maternity or adoption leave.

For example: A mother is on parental leave for their first child from 1 January to 30 June. The maternity leave for their second child starts on 1 May. The parental leave for their first child will be interrupted and the 2 remaining months will have to be taken at the end of the maternity leave for their second child, i.e., from 1 October to 30 November.

Implementation of the parental leave

Replacing an employee on parental leave

An employer may replace an employee on parental leave with a new employee hired on a fixed-term employment contract.

The new employee can be employed:

  • either in the same position as the absent employee;
  • or in another position than that of the employee on parental leave, depending on how staffing is reorganised in the business due to the absence of the employee on parental leave.

In any event, the replacement employee's employment contract:

  • must start, at the earliest, 3 months before the start of the parental or maternity leave, provided the parental leave is taken right after the maternity leave;
  • must end, at the latest, 3 months after the end of the replaced employee's parental leave.

Measures to facilitate the reincorporation of employees returning from parental leave

To facilitate their reincorporation on returning from parental leave, and to ensure that they are still employable, employees may:

  • take advantage of any continuous-training opportunities offered by the employer during their parental leave;
  • attend meetings or events organised during their parental leave.

These measures must be mutually agreed upon by the employee and employer at the latest one month before the start of the parental leave through an addendum to the employee's employment contract. However, the employee may put an end to these measures at any time without any negative consequences for themselves.

Protection against dismissal

Employees on parental leave are protected against any form of dismissal with notice:

  • from the last day of the notice period that applies for submitting the application for leave;
  • for the entire duration of the parental leave.

This protection is guaranteed from:

  • 2 months plus 1 day preceding the start of the maternity/adoption leave, in the case of the first parental leave;
  • 4 months plus 1 day preceding the start of the parental leave, in the case of the second parental leave.

However, the employee is not protected against dismissal with immediate effect for serious misconduct. In that case, the termination of the employee's employment contract will result in the termination of the parental leave, and the employee will then have to refund any parental-leave allowances they had already received.

Annual leave and length of service

Employers are required to:

  • take parental leave into account when calculating the employee's length of service and any associated benefits;
  • defer, in full and within the legal time limits, any annual leave that has not yet been taken at the beginning of the full-time parental leave until the employee returns to work.

On the other hand, during full-time parental leave, an employee will not accrue any new annual leave, whereas during part-time parental leave (leave granted in proportion to the weekly working time) and maternity/adoption leave, they will. During full-time parental leave, the employee's employment contract is put on hold.

End of parental leave

Returning to work at the end of parental leave

At the end of parental leave, an employee must be reinstated into their job or a similar job (in terms of pay and qualifications).

An employee who returns to their initial job after their parental leave has the right to a meeting with their employer. The purpose of this meeting is to give the employee the opportunity to ask for a different work schedule and/or work rhythm for a specific period of time which may not exceed one year from the day that has been set for their return to work.

If the employee's request is refused, the employer must justify their decision.

If the employer does not fulfil these obligations, the employee can lodge a claim for compensation for damages with the labour tribunal, which will determine the amount of damages.

Returning to work before the end of the parental leave

The employee can keep any allowances they had already received if they return to work before the end of their parental leave as a result of a change of employer.

In the event of an early return to work with the same employer, with an interruption of parental leave, any compensation received must be reimbursed in full, unless the interruption is justified by reasons beyond the employee's control.

The employee's right to leave will then end on the day they return to work, and any remaining months of parental leave will be lost.

On the other hand, the new employer may also allow the employee to continue the parental leave that began under the previous employer.

In all events, the employee must first inform the CAE.

Resignation of the employee at the end of parental leave

At the end of their parental leave, employees are required to return to their jobs, unless they decide to terminate their employment contract.

If the employee does not wish to return to work at the end of their parental leave, they must inform their employer by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, with the same notice that would apply in case of resignation.

Termination of labour relations by mutual agreement after parental leave is, of course, always possible.

If the employee does not give their employer notice of their resignation by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, and does not return to work at the end of their parental leave, this could be considered as a case of serious misconduct warranting dismissal with immediate effect.

Resignation before the parental leave has ended

If an employee tenders their resignation or if their employment contract is terminated by mutual agreement, before the parental leave has ended, the termination of the employment contract will result in the termination of the parental leave. The employee will then be required to reimburse the entire amount of the allowances received from the CAE.

Death of the child or rejection of the adoption application

A parent must return to work at the latest one month after the death of a child or the refusal of an adoption application. If the employer has hired someone to replace the parent on parental leave and is unable to offer the parent a job matching their qualifications and their compensation, the parental leave will continue uninterrupted, but cannot run beyond its original end date.

Change of employer during parental leave

If a parent changes employer during their parental leave, the leave may be continued without interruption, provided that:

  • the new employer gives their approval;
  • the new employment contract contains the same number of working hours as the initial contract entitling the applicant to parental leave.

In this case, the parent must send the following to the CAE:

  • a statement from the new employer attesting that the employee can continue the parental leave;
  • a copy of the new employment contract.

If the employee decides to return to work with the new employer before the end of their parental leave, they can keep the allowances they have received up until the date of their return.

Disputes and appeals

Disputes can be referred to:

  • the labour tribunal, in the case of disputes between employers and employees (e.g. in the event of disagreement on the postponement of the parental leave);
  • the Board of Directors of the CAE, in the case of objections to refusals;
  • the Social Security Arbitration Tribunal (Conseil arbitral de la sécurité sociale) – the first recourse after the Board of Directors' decision – then the High Council of Social Security (Conseil supérieur de la sécurité sociale) for appeals, for disputes between the CAE and those claiming compensation.

Online services and forms

Downloadable forms

Note: view tips for using PDF forms.

Demande d’indemnité de congé parental

Last update 18.10.2023

PDF620 Kb

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Online services

Submitting or changing bank details of parental leave beneficiaries

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Request for a payment certificate

on the website of the Children's Future Fund (CAE)

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Send documents to the the Children’s Future Fund (CAE) via MyGuichet.lu

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My data

Parental leave – eDelivery inbox

Activate the eDelivery function in your private eSpace on MyGuichet.lu to receive certain parental leave documents in electronic form.

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Parental leave – Bank details

In your private eSpace on MyGuichet.lu, you can consult the bank details you have provided to the CAE for the payment of parental leave benefits.

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Health insurance - My situation

Access your health insurance data

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Who to contact

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