Overtime
Last update
The standard (or normal) working time for employees is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.
Each hour of work in excess of this standard working time is considered to be overtime.
The maximum amount of working time including overtime is:
- 10 hours per day; or
- 48 hours per week.
In some sectors or professions, and during certain periods of the year, the Minister of Labour (the 'minister') can authorise a maximum working time of 12 hours per day, provided that the weekly working time does not exceed 40 hours.
To increase employees' standard working time, so they can work overtime, the employer must file a substantiated application with the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (Inspection du Travail et des Mines – ITM), along with the staff delegation's or the concerned employees' opinion on the matter.
Overtime hours may either be paid as such, or taken as compensatory time off by the employee. The payment of overtime hours is exempt from taxes and partially exempt from social security contributions.
Who is concerned
The following are concerned:
- the employer;
- the employees working overtime;
- The staff delegation, which must state its opinion on the application for approval of overtime.
Employers can only impose overtime within reasonable limits. The systematic use of overtime by employers can be considered an abuse of rights. In this case, employees are legally entitled to refuse to work overtime.
Special cases
Employers cannot oblige pregnant or breastfeeding women to work overtime. On the other hand, pregnant or breastfeeding women may work overtime if they choose to do so.
Employers are prohibited from having adolescents work overtime, except in special cases, such as an instance of force majeure, to ensure the smooth operation or the security of the business.
For part-time workers, overtime:
- is only possible on a voluntary basis;
- may not exceed a full-time employee's normal working time;
- must be governed by the employment contract.
The conditions governing compensatory time off and the payment of overtime do not apply to senior managers (managerial positions with no fixed working hours in return for a significantly higher salary).
Prerequisites
As a general rule, overtime is only permitted under the following conditions:
- to allow for special or preliminary/additional work to be carried out (inventories, liquidations, etc.);
- to prevent the loss of perishable materials, or the results of work;
- to deal with an instance of force majeure that:
- affects the public interest; or
- poses a threat to national interests.
How to proceed
What is overtime?
Limits which must be complied with
Overtime is the difference between the normal working time and the maximum working time.
Normal working time and maximum working time are set as shown in the table below. The maximum limits may not be exceeded under any circumstances.
A collective agreement may, however, set lower or higher limits, provided they do not exceed 10 hours per day and 48 hours per week.
Working time for full-time employees |
Normal working time |
Maximum working time |
|---|---|---|
per day |
8 |
10 |
per week |
40 |
48 |
Rest periods
In principle, the daily working time may only be interrupted by one unpaid rest period.
All workers must be entitled to the following:
- during each 24-hour period: one rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours; and
- during each 7-day period: one rest period of at least 44 consecutive hours.
Notification of overtime
Mandatory notification by the employer
Before your employees can work overtime, you must:
- consult with the staff delegation or, alternatively, the employees who will be working overtime;
- file a substantiated application with the ITM:
- online using MyGuichet.lu: this is a procedure with authentication that requires:
- a LuxTrust product;
- an electronic card (eID); or
- an eIDAS-compliant solution;
- by fax to: (+352) 247 96 100; or
- by email to: contact@itm.etat.lu (make sure to keep the original in case the ITM performs an audit later).
- online using MyGuichet.lu: this is a procedure with authentication that requires:
The application must be accompanied by the staff delegation's or the affected employees' opinion on the matter:
- if their opinion is favourable, the application may be considered approved, without having to wait for the ITM's decision;
- if their opinion is unfavourable or ambiguous:
- the application alone will not suffice for approval; and
- the overtime will require the minister's approval, which will be based on reports prepared by the ITM and the National Employment Agency (ADEM).
The application form must be reviewed and signed by:
- the staff delegation or, failing this, the employees concerned;
- the managing director or their deputy.
Exemption from applying for overtime in the event of an incident, emergency or force majeure
Employers are exempted from having to apply for overtime work in the following 2 cases:
- work undertaken in response to an accident that has already occurred or is about to occur;
- emergency work on machinery and equipment, or work required due to a force majeure event, but only to the extent necessary to prevent a serious disruption of the establishment's normal operations.
In these cases, the employer simply has to inform the ITM, stating the reasons why overtime was worked.
However, should overtime work be required on more than 3 days per month, the employer must submit an application in advance.
Overtime register
In addition to applying for overtime in advance, employers must record the following information in a special register or file:
- all hours worked that exceeded the normal working time;
- all hours worked on Sundays, public holidays or at night;
- remuneration for the hours mentioned above.
This register or file must be presented during ITM inspections.
Compensation of overtime with rest periods
In principle, employers must compensate all employees who work overtime by granting them 1.5 hours of time off per hour of overtime worked.
This time off may be:
- taken as paid compensatory time off; or
- put into a time savings account.
Employers are free to choose between these 2 types of compensation, except during a notice period for which they have granted exemption from work. In that case, employers may only choose compensatory time off if the employee agrees to it. If the employee does not agree, a financial indemnity must be paid.
Payment of overtime
Calculating the payment of overtime
If it is not possible to compensate overtime with time off (because of business operations, or if the employee in question is leaving the company, etc.), the employer must pay every hour of overtime at the rate of at least 140% of the hourly wage. Employers may not specify in an employment contract that overtime is already included in the monthly salary, unless the employee is a senior manager (cadre supérieur).
When an employee works overtime on a public holiday, the employer must aggregate the overtime premiums. Therefore, they must:
- calculate the remuneration to be paid for work carried out on public holidays;
- and apply the premiums due for overtime worked.
The hourly wage is obtained by dividing the monthly compensation by the standard rate of 173 hours.
The share before premiums of overtime hours (the first 100%) is exempt from income tax and social contributions, with the exception of:
- contributions for benefits in kind (health insurance – healthcare);
- long-term care contributions.
The premium share (40% or more) is exempt from income tax and social contributions. This exemption from social contributions applies to both the employee's share and the employer's share of social contributions.
Example:
An employee does 8 hours of overtime in one month. The hourly rate is EUR 18.50.
Due to the work arrangements in the business, this employee cannot take time off as compensation. The employer must therefore pay the overtime hours worked:
| Hours before premiums (100%): | 8 x 18.50 = EUR 148.00 |
| + long-term care contributions (1.4%) | EUR 2.07 |
| + health insurance contributions (2.8%) | EUR 4.14 |
| The base is exempt from income tax | ___________ |
| Total base 100 (base + contributions) | EUR 154.21 |
| Premium (40% in this case): | 148 x 40% = EUR 59.20 |
| The premium is exempt from contributions and tax | ___________ |
| Total premium | EUR 59.20 |
| Total cost (Total base 100 + Total premium) | 154.21 + 59.20 = EUR 213.41 |
| Of which net total to be paid to the employee | 213.41 – 6.21 = EUR 207.20 |
For the payment of overtime worked, the employer therefore has to pay EUR 207.20 to the employee with a total cost of EUR 213.41 for the employer.
In the case where a special provision, collective agreement or contract stipulates that overtime must be paid at a premium rate exceeding 40%, the excess premium is also exempt from taxes.
Reporting overtime payments
Employers must report the remuneration for overtime hours before premiums (100 %) and the corresponding number of hours separately from the gross salary.
Therefore, the number of overtime hours before premiums does not appear under the 'Gross salary' heading (salaire brut), but under the heading 'Amount of overtime' (montant des heures supplémentaires).
The corresponding number of hours is to be stated under the heading 'Overtime' (heures supplémentaires).
Note that overtime premiums and overtime compensated by time off are not to be reported.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
-
Ministry of Labour
- Address:
-
26, rue Sainte-Zithe
L-2763
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
L-2939 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 86 100
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 86 194
- Fax:
- (+352) 247 86 108
- Email address:
- info@mte.public.lu
-
Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM)
- Address:
-
3, rue des Primeurs
L-2361
Strassen
Luxembourg
B.P. 27, L-2010 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 76 100
- Fax:
- (+352) 247 96 100
- Email address:
- contact@itm.etat.lu
- Website:
- http://www.itm.lu/home.html
Open Closes at 16.30
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.30
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.30
- Thursday:
- 8.30 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.30
- Friday:
- 8.30 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.30
- Saturday:
- Closed
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- 8.30 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.30
-
Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM) Regional Office Diekirch
- Address:
-
2, rue Clairefontaine
L-9220
Diekirch
Luxembourg
B.P. 27, L-2010 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 76 100
- Fax:
- (+352) 247 96 100
Open Closes at 17.00
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Wednesday:
- Closed
- Thursday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Friday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Saturday:
- Closed
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
-
Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM) Regional Office Esch-sur-Alzette
- Address:
-
1, boulevard de la Porte de France
L-4360
Esch-sur-Alzette
Luxembourg
B.P. 27, L-2010 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 76 100
- Fax:
- (+352) 247 96 100
Open Closes at 17.00
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Thursday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Friday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Saturday:
- Closed
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
-
Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM) Regional Office Strassen
- Address:
-
3, rue des Primeurs
L-2361
Strassen
Luxembourg
B.P. 27, L-2010 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 76 100
- Fax:
- (+352) 247 96 100
Open Closes at 17.00
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Thursday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Friday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Saturday:
- Closed
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
-
Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM) Regional Office Wiltz
- Address:
-
20, route de Winseler
L-9577
Wiltz
Luxembourg
B.P. 27, L-2010 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 76 100
- Fax:
- (+352) 247 96 100
Closed ⋅ Opens tomorrow at 8.30
- Tuesday:
- Closed
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 11.30, 14.00 to 17.00
- Thursday:
- Closed
- Friday:
- Closed
- Saturday:
- Closed
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- Closed
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Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Further information
sur le site de l’Inspection du travail et des mines (ITM)
