Long weekends, public holidays, ...Here's when to ask for time off in 2023

Long weekends, public holidays... There are quite a few extra long weekends to gain in 2023 if you take the time off work wisely.

In all, there are eleven statutory public holidays in Luxembourg, nine of which will offer you either a bridge or a three-day weekend.

Extended weekends

Thanks to six public holidays, your weekends will be extended by one day this year. These are:

Easter Monday (Monday 10 April), May Day (Monday 1 May) and Whit Monday (Monday 29 May). As luck would have it, National Day falls on a Friday (23 June) and will allow you to enjoy this festive weekend a little more. Finally, Christmas offers you a four-day weekend, as 25 and 26 December fall on a Monday and Tuesday.

Bridges: Use one vacation day, get a 4-day weekend

There are also a good few public holidays that are just one day out from the weekend, on a Tuesday or Thursday, which means if you use one day of your statutory time off, you can grab yourself a 4-day weekend.

First up is Europe Day (Tuesday 9 May), and then there is Ascension Day (Thursday 18 May), and finally Assumption Day on Tuesday 15 August.

Full list of Luxembourg’s public holidays in 2023

Below you’ll find a list of all the Luxembourgish public holidays in 2023:

New Year’s Day: Sunday 1 January
Easter Monday: Monday 10 April (extended weekend)
May Day: Monday 1 May (extended weekend)
Europe Day: Tuesday 9 May (possibility of a bridge)
Ascension Day: Thursday 18 May (possibility of a bridge)
Whit Monday: Monday 29 May (extended weekend)
National Day: Friday 23 June (extended weekend)
Assumption Day: Tuesday 15 August (possibility of a bridge)
All Saints’ Day: Wednesday 1 November
Christmas Day: Monday 25 December (extended weekend)
Second Christmas Day: Tuesday 26 December (extended weekend)

In addition, there are some sector-specific days, such as bank holidays (Good Friday and the afternoon of 24 December).

Finally, you should know that public holidays that fall on a day of rest aren’t “lost” as time off for employees. Indeed, the Luxembourgish Labour Code provides that employees are entitled to a day of compensatory leave that can be used within three months when a public holiday falls on a day that is not usually worked (during the week or at the weekend). This compensatory leave must be taken in kind and may not be reimbursed by financial compensation.