Some parents have reacted angrily, arguing that the state increase was meant to ease the financial burden on families. However, the Ministry of Education, Children, and Youth has offered insight into this new development.
According to the Ministry of Education, the rise in the state contribution from €6 to €7 per hour, which takes effect from 1 January 2026, is primarily intended to support childcare providers rather than families directly. Gilles Dhamen, Senior Government Adviser at the Ministry of Education, explained that the Chèque-service system also finances childcare structures, and that this hourly rate had not been adjusted since 2011.
For 14 years, the state contribution remained fixed at €6 per hour, despite sharply rising operating costs. Over time, private childcare providers were only able to pass on part of these additional expenses to parents through supplements, leaving some structures in a precarious financial position.
Dhamen said the situation had become unsustainable for many providers, who were struggling to cover their running costs. With the major reform of the Chèque-service not due to come into force until next year, Dhamen explained that they considered it urgent to raise the hourly rate now, as a temporary stabilising measure.
The aim, he stressed, is to maintain the quality of childcare and prevent crèches from closing, which would lead to a loss of places. Dhamen said that the government’s intention is to add one extra euro per hour for providers, without necessarily increasing the financial burden on parents.
In practice, however, providers must raise their contractual hourly rate by one euro in order to receive the higher state contribution. That increase should not be felt by parents in their final bill, as the additional state funding offsets it. Dhamen explained that the higher public contribution effectively neutralises the increase for families.
Importantly, the parental contribution scale has not changed. Parents still pay a maximum of €6 per hour.
Childcare providers are not required to increase their hourly rates. According to Paolo Fiorucci, president of the Luxembourg Federation of Child Education and Care Services (FELSEA), if a crèche raises its price by less than one euro, families benefit directly from part of the state increase. Only if a provider raises its rates by more than one euro, he said, would parents see an actual rise in their costs.
Fiorucci noted that many private providers have either not increased their rates at all, or only marginally. In those cases, families also benefit from the additional public support intended for the crèches.
According to Dhamen, meaningful financial relief for parents is expected to come with the comprehensive reform of the Chèque-service accueil, scheduled for 2027. He added that families are expected to benefit “significantly” from this overhaul.
Under the reform, uniform billing rules will apply. Childcare providers will no longer be allowed to charge flat rates, but only for the actual hours a child attends. Supplements will no longer be permitted, and the state is expected to cover around two thirds of the costs currently borne by parents. If the legislative process proceeds as planned, the reformed Chèque-service accueil will enter into force in 2027.
