Different types of parental leave in Luxembourg

Luxembourg is one of the most generous countries in the world when it comes to parental leave.

Both residents and cross-border workers are entitled to parental leave lasting several months upon the birth or adoption of a child, up to their sixth birthday, with the added bonus of generous compensation.

But be careful not to confuse parental leave with maternity leave or paternity leave, as they are completely different. Here are the different options of parental leave available, depending on the number of hours worked in the Grand Duchy.

Full-time (40 hours/week)

Full-time employees may choose from the following options for parental leave:

• full-time leave of 4 or 6 months;
• part-time leave of 8 or 12 months;
• split leave of 4 months for a maximum period of 20 months;
• split leave of one day per week for a maximum of 20 months.

In order to be eligible for split leave, employees only need to be working full-time at the time of submitting the request to their employer. However, average earnings from the 12 months preceding parental leave are taken into consideration in order to calculate the entitled allowance.

Part time (20 hours or more per week)

The following options are available to part-time employees:

• full-time leave of 4 or 6 months;
• part-time leave of 8 or 12 months.

Part time (10 hours or more per week)

Full-time leave of 4 or 6 months is available to employees working 10 or more hours per week.

Apprenticeships

As above, people on apprenticeship contracts are entitled to full-time parental leave of four or six months.

Useful information

• MULTIPLE EMPLOYERS: if you are employed by multiple workplaces, you can only apply for full-time parental leave lasting 4 or 6 months. This provision also applies to people who are jointly affiliated as an employee and self-employed person. (= 2 different employers).
• MULTIPLE CHILDREN : In the event of multiple births or multiple adoptions, the right to parental leave is available for each child belonging to the same birth or adoption process. Different models of parental leave can be taken for each child (e.g. full-time leave for child A and half-time leave for child B). Employees must submit an application per child. 

For more information and a handy calculater, visit the Children's Future Fund website.