Sunday work
Last update
Summary:
As a general rule, you are not permitted to make your employees work on Sundays. However, authorisation is granted in certain cases, provided that prior notification has been given to the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (Inspection du travail et des mines - ITM). Furthermore, depending on the nature of your business, you may be able to obtain an exemption from the Ministry of Labour to open on Sundays. Any of your employees who work on Sundays are entitled to compensatory time off as well as additional pay.
Sunday working (from midnight to midnight on Sunday) is, in principle, prohibited for all your employees, except:
- for certain categories of employees;
- in certain sectors;
- for certain specific tasks that cannot be carried out during the week.
In such cases, you must notify the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM) in advance.
If your business meets certain criteria, you may also apply to the Ministry of Labour for an exemption from this ban on Sunday working.
As a reminder, any employee who works on a Sunday is entitled to:
- compensatory rest; and
- a specific remuneration.
Who is concerned
Eligible employees
The following types of employees may work on Sundays by default:
- family members, if only your ascendants, descendants, siblings or relatives of the same degree work at your business;
- travelling sales representatives and sales representatives who work away from the office;
- anyone who holds a management position;
- senior managers whose presence is essential:
- for supervision; and
- for the company's operation.
Adolescents (from 15 to 18 years of age) benefit from special protection against Sunday work.
Sectors of activity concerned
Your company's staff are authorised to work on Sundays if you are:
- a household services company;
- a shop or craft business with a workforce of:
- 30 employees or fewer: for a maximum of 8 hours;
- more than 30 employees: for a maximum of 4 hours, unless a collective agreement or an agreement reached through cross-sectoral social dialogue extends this period to 8 hours;
- a hotel, restaurant, canteen, drinking establishment or other business serving drinks;
- a pharmacy, chemist’s and shop selling medical and surgical equipment;
- one of the following:
- fairground business;
- public entertainment establishment:
- transport company;
- company which uses water as its sole source of energy;
- company whose sector of activity is:
- related to agriculture and viticulture;
- related to the distribution of energy, electricity or water;
- related to healthcare or education;
- seasonal;
- carried out on Sundays to meet public demand;
- recognised as being in the public interest.
Works concerned
Your business has an authorisation to operate on Sundays:
- provided that it cannot be carried out on another day of the week:
- the security of your premises; or
- any work necessary:
- to ensure the smooth running of your business: cleaning, repairs and maintenance; or
- for work to resume on Monday, other than those in production; or
- to prevent the deterioration of raw materials or products; or
- urgent work which must be carried out immediately in order to:
- organise rescue measures; or
- avoid imminent accidents; or
- repair damages to equipment, installations or buildings.
In the event of urgent work, authorisation is granted for Sunday working not only for your employees but also for those of the company carrying out the repairs.
Businesses eligible for an exemption
You may be eligible for an exemption if your business:
- employs more than 30 staff and wishes to have its staff work on Sundays for a maximum of 8 hours, on no more than 6 Sundays per year;
- operates on a continuous basis (with production activities running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without interruption, often because the industrial process cannot be easily halted or because demand requires continuous production);
- is currently being developed.
Prerequisites
For shops and craft businesses with fewer than 30 employees, you must also ensure that you adhere to the opening hours during which customers are permitted to enter your shop and make purchases in person.
How to proceed
Informing the staff delegation
Before any work is carried out on a Sunday, you must inform the staff delegation and provide them with:
- a list of the employees working on Sundays;
- the number of hours they work and their work schedule;
- the nature of the work to be carried out;
In the event of emergency work, you must notify the staff committee and the ITM immediately upon the occurrence of the emergency.
Notifying the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines
If you fall into one of the categories that, in exceptional circumstances, permits Sunday working, you must first submit a notification regarding Sunday working to the ITM:
- online via MyGuichet.lu. This is a procedure with authentication that requires a LuxTrust product, an electronic identity card (eID) or an eIDAS product; or
- using the dedicated form (see under 'Online services and forms'), which must be sent by email to: contact@itm.etat.lu (please retain the original in case of a subsequent inspection by the ITM).
This form must be signed by:
- the president of the staff delegation or their representative;
- the managing director or their deputy.
You must also submit:
- a list of the employees working on Sundays; and
- the duration of their work; and
- the nature of the work carried out or to be carried out.
Permanent use of Sunday working
If you wish to make permanent use of Sunday working, you must:
- seek the prior opinion of the staff delegation;
- send a copy of this opinion to the ITM.
Exemptions for Sunday work
Shops and craft businesses
If you have more than 30 employees and there is no collective agreement or sector-wide agreement in place that extends Sunday working hours to 8 hours, you may still be granted authorisation to have your employees work for up to 8 hours on a maximum of 6 Sundays per year.
However, you will be required to apply for authorisation from the Minister of Labour.
The Sundays in question must be normal opening days for the retail sector.
Companies operating 24/7
If your company operates on a continuous shift system, you may be exempt from the ban on Sunday working, provided you sign a company-level agreement with the national trade unions represented on the staff delegation.
To be valid, this agreement must be:
- approved by the Minister;
- reached in the interests of:
- a more efficient use of production equipment;
- an increase in the number, or the consolidation of existing jobs.
If one or more trade unions object to this agreement, the Minister of Labour may grant an exemption following prior consultation with your company’s staff. This consultation is conducted by secret ballot under the supervision of the ITM.
Businesses in the process of being set up
If you are in the process of setting up a business, you can apply to the Ministry of Labour for an exemption from the ban on Sunday working, provided that this is in the interests of:
- a more efficient use of production equipment;
- job creation.
Remuneration of Sunday work
For every Sunday worked, your employee must receive:
- remuneration for work on a Sunday, comprising:
- their standard hourly wage;
- a 70% premium for each hour worked; or
- compensation and a percentage of their pay for a Sunday worked, such as:
- a compensatory day of rest; and
- the 70 % premium for each hour worked.
These pay supplements must be accumulated when hours are worked on Sundays:
- also count as overtime;
- fall on a public holiday;
Pay supplements are tax-free without any limit, regardless of the number of hours worked.
Duration of compensatory rest
Your employee’s compensatory rest time amounts to:
- a full day if the Sunday work exceeded 4 hours;
- half a day, if they worked 4 or fewer hours on Sunday. In such cases:
- you must grant them compensatory rest before 13.00 (in the morning) or after 13.00 (in the afternoon);
- on that day, working hours may not exceed 5 hours.
If you operate in the hospitality, agriculture or wine-growing sectors, any employees who work at least 20 Sundays a year are entitled, in addition to compensatory rest, to two days’ paid leave on top of their annual paid leave.
Keeping a special register
You must record the following in a special register or a specific file:
- any hours worked on Sundays;
- the corresponding payments.
This register must be presented in the event of an inspection by the ITM.
Protection of adolescents
Authorised instances of working on Sundays
Adolescents may not work on Sundays, except:
- for reasons of force majeure; or
- if the existence or safety of the company so requires.
This work is only permissible:
- to avoid a major disruption in the normal business operations of the company; and
- if it is legitimately not possible to call on adult employees.
In such cases, you must notify the ITM of the Sunday work without delay and state the reasons.
Extended authorisation for Sunday work
You can apply to the Ministry of Labour for extended authorisation for teenagers to work on Sundays in the following businesses:
- hotels, restaurants, cafés, tea rooms;
- clinics, health and day care establishments for older and/or dependent persons;
- children's homes and centres involved in the education and care of children.
The period of validity of the authorisation is stated on the document issued to you.
Remuneration and compensatory rest
Even if Sunday work has been authorised, adolescents must rest every second Sunday. This restriction applies to all sectors, except:
- in the restaurant and hotel sector; and
- during July and August.
For every Sunday worked, the adolescent is entitled to:
- the remuneration for any hours actually worked; and
- 100 % extra pay for each hour worked; and
- a paid compensatory day of rest within 12 days of the Sunday worked.
Time savings account
At the employee's written request, compensatory time off can be paid into the company's time savings account.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
-
Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (ITM)
- Address:
-
3, rue des Primeurs
L-2361
Strassen
B.P. 27, L-2010 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 76 100
- Fax:
- (+352) 247 96 100
- Email address:
- contact@itm.etat.lu
- Website:
- https://itm.public.lu/en.html
Closed ⋅ Opens at 8.30
- 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
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00 , 13.30 to 16.30
- Wednesday:
- 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
Closed ⋅ Opens at 8.30
- 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
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00, 13.30 to 16.30
- Wednesday:
- Closed
-
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
Closed ⋅ Opens at 8.30
- 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
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00, 13.30 to 16.30
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00, 13.30 to 16.30
-
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
Closed ⋅ Opens at 8.30
- 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
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00, 13.30 to 16.30
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00, 13.30 to 16.30
-
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 Wednesday at 8.30
- Thursday:
- Closed
- Friday:
- Closed
- Saturday:
- Closed
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- Closed
- Tuesday:
- Closed
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 12.00, 13.30 to 16.30
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