Labour Minister Marc Spautz recently presented a series of proposals concerning the reorganisation of working hours, unveiling them to the Standing Committee on Labor and Employment (CPTE), a forum bringing together Luxembourg’s social partners.
Among the suggested changes is the option for a compressed working week, allowing employees to complete their 40-hour week over four days of 10 hours each, instead of the traditional five days of eight hours.
This idea has found favour with many, especially those who say they already routinely work more than eight hours per day.
However, employees themselves would not be able to adopt such a schedule unilaterally. The choice between different working time models would not rest with individuals, at least not directly.
All the proposed reforms put forward last week would only be possible within the framework of a collective agreement. In other words, whether an employee could condense their working week into four days would depend entirely on the details negotiated in their sector’s collective bargaining agreement.
Current legislation already permits up to nine hours of work per day if stipulated in a collective agreement, but this option has seen little uptake, possibly because it tends to result in a four-and-a-half-day week rather than a full four days.
Regarding rest periods, current law requires a minimum uninterrupted weekend break of 44 hours. Under Spautz’s proposals, this could be reduced to 35 hours, but again only by way of a collective agreement.
Any reduction would likely be met with demands for compensation from trade unions during negotiations.
Another proposed change concerns workday breaks: the new framework would allow for two breaks per day instead of the current single break.
However, trade unions have expressed reservations about this, as increasing the number of breaks can extend the overall span of the working day.
This means employees might have to start earlier or finish later, a development that is particularly unpopular if those breaks are not paid, as it could disadvantage certain workers.
A further proposal addresses the issue of part-time work. Currently, part-time employees are expected to work a fixed number of hours each week.
The suggested reforms would introduce greater flexibility, for instance allowing a worker with a half-time contract (20 hours per week) to work 10 hours one week and 30 the next, as long as the average workload is maintained.
As with other measures, this would only be possible if included in a collective agreement, meaning arrangements could vary significantly between sectors or individual companies.
It is important to note that all of these ideas remain at the discussion stage. The social partners will now review the proposals within their respective organisations before returning to the negotiating table at the CPTE.
Only after consultation and further deliberation will a formal draft law be prepared to begin the legislative process.
