Employers in the health and care sectors may request special permission from the Ministry of Labour to increase working hours for their employees until 31 December. Normal working hours are 8 hours per day, or 40 hours per week - the new bill will allow staff to work up to 12 hours a day, or 60 hours a week, as part of the emergency measures.
In order to keep essential sectors functioning, despite losing staff to illness or quarantine, the bill will cover all aspects of care and health, from hospitals to laboratories, and childcare facilities.
Minister of Labour Dan Kersch said the law was reluctantly granted, as it was forced into existence as the crisis worsened in Luxembourg. The LSAP MP explained the bill was purely preventative and to be used in cases when the situation became precarious. The bill was adopted by MPs from the DP, LSAP, Greens, ADR and Pirates.
In terms of education and teaching staff, more and more staff members have been placed in quarantine or isolation recently due to Covid. For this reason, MPs have voted for a bill which will allow changes to the recruitment of staff for primary and secondary schools, simplifying the hiring of replacements.
Substitutes will no longer necessarily have to do an internship or receive a certificate from a regional director. They may also be required to assist at the school during distance learning provided by teachers. These provisions will be in effect until mid-July.
Work shifts to be expanded to 12 hours per day in some sectors: Dan Kersch
