The purpose of employment support is to support and promote the employment of disabled workers and workers awaiting external redeployment in the mainstream labour market. This assistance takes the form of support that is tailored to the needs of each individual disabled worker.

The support may be provided either by a self-employed person or by a person working as an employee.

You must apply for accreditation to be able to engage in this activity. The accreditation is issued by the minister responsible for policies targeting people with disabilities (minister).

A list is published in the Official Journal of Luxembourg. Accredited assistants/assistance services are listed by their area of expertise.

Who is concerned

Any natural or legal person.

The:

• accredited natural person has the title accredited employment support assistant (assistant à l’inclusion dans l’emploi agréé);
• accredited legal person has the title accredited employment support service (service d’assistance à l’inclusion dans l’emploi agréé).

Prerequisites

Natural persons

Conditions for holders of a secondary school-leaving diploma

Persons who hold a secondary school-leaving diploma:

• in the fields of psychological and social welfare, education, social and educational welfare, health and social welfare, and social and family welfare must have:
  • at least 3 years' experience working with persons with a physical, mental, intellectual or sensory disability, or with an autism spectrum disorder;
    
• in another field must have:
  • at least 5 years' work experience in the fields listed above;
    
  • have completed at least 20 hours of continuous training in each of the following subjects:
    • national and international labour law and long-term care insurance;
    • the different types of disabilities.

Conditions for holders of a vocational aptitude diploma

Applicants who hold a vocational aptitude diploma (issued in Luxembourg, or a foreign diploma recognised as equivalent in Luxembourg) must:

• have at least 5 years' work experience in the fields listed above;
• have completed at least 100 hours of continuous training in psychological and social welfare, education, social and educational welfare, medical and social welfare, or social and family welfare, including at least 20 hours in each of the following subjects:
  • national and international labour law and long-term care insurance;
  • the different types of disabilities.

Common requirements

Applicants must also:

• understand and speak at least one of Luxembourg's 3 official languages (Luxembourgish, German, French);
• meet the conditions of good repute;
• be registered with the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale – CCSS).

Legal persons

Natural persons working as an employee of an accredited support service must themselves be accredited assistants.

Each member of the applicant's board of directors or management board must meet the conditions of good repute.

Preliminary steps

Applicants who have received their secondary school-leaving diploma abroad must have it officially recognised.

Costs

The application for accreditation is free of charge.

How to proceed

Submitting the application

Applicants must send the application for accreditation to the Ministry of Family Affairs, Integration and the Greater Region (Ministère de la Famille, de l'Intégration et à la Grande Région).

Supporting documents

Documentary proof of qualification

In order to provide proof of their professional qualifications, applicants must enclose the following with their application:

• a copy of their secondary school-leaving diploma;
• where applicable, a copy of the certificate of recognition of their diploma;
• in the event of previous work experience in another EU Member State, a certificate (EC certificate of experience or equivalent) issued by the competent authority or body in the country of origin (generally a professional association);
• in the event of previous work experience in Luxembourg, a certificate of registration with the CCSS.

Documents attesting to the applicant's good repute

Applicants must provide proof of their sound professional repute:

• if they have been residing in Luxembourg for more than 10 years: in the form of an extract from the criminal record (no. 3);
• applicants who do not reside in Luxembourg or have been residing in the country for less than 10 years: an extract from the criminal record (no. 3) or equivalent issued by the country or countries in which the applicant resided in the 10 years preceding the application.

Additional documents

Applicants must also enclose the following documents with their application:

• for citizens of Luxembourg, the European Union or the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland): a copy of their ID card or passport;
• for citizens of other countries: written confirmation by the Minister responsible for Immigration that the applicant satisfies all of the conditions for obtaining a residence permit.

Application processing time

Applications will usually be processed within 3 months from the receipt of the complete application.

Appeal

A negative decision in response to an application for a business permit is an administrative decision against which the usual courses of appeal (non-contentious appeal, judicial appeal) may be pursued, provided the legal deadlines are complied with.

A claim may also be filed with the Ombudsman.

Obligations

Continuous training

Accredited assistants must complete at least 20 hours per year of continuous training offered by a training institution:

• that is accredited to provide training in Luxembourg; or
• that is recognised as such in another EU Member State, the EEA or the Swiss Confederation.

Professional secrecy

Support assistants/services are bound to professional secrecy in respect of any personal data to which they may be privy.

Tasks

The assistant/service must:

• assess the employment situation and describe the problems and special needs of the worker receiving the services in their workplace;
• identify the needs of the employer and of the business's employees, especially regarding their preparedness for and awareness of the worker's disabling or health condition and special needs;
• draft and send to the director of the National Employment Agency (Agence pour le développement de l’emploi – ADEM):
  • the individualised inclusion plan or revised individualised inclusion plan within one month of receiving notification of the ADEM director's approval or rejection of the application for support;
  • quarterly statements and annual reports describing the changes in the worker's situation in their workplace and listing the actions undertaken;
  • the final report:
    • containing their conclusions and the actions they recommend once support has ended;
    • within 2 months of the end of the employment support.

Validity of the accreditation

The accreditation is valid for 5 years.

Anyone who has obtained accreditation may apply for its renewal as long as they fulfil the eligibility requirements.

The minister may check compliance with the requirements at any time.

Revocation of the accreditation

If the holder fails to satisfy any one of the accreditation requirements, the minister may revoke the accreditation.

Before putting the revocation into effect, the minister will send the accredited support assistant/service a formal notice requesting them to comply with the requirements within 3 months.

The accreditation may be revoked without formal notice and with immediate effect in the case of serious misconduct on the part of the support assistant/service. In that case, the assistant/service will have to cease providing the support services immediately.

Sanctions

Any support assistant/service that fails to uphold the obligation of professional secrecy may be held criminally liable and sentenced to imprisonment and/or a fine.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact