MPs are set to examine and vote on two bills on Thursday that could significantly alter working conditions for thousands in Luxembourg, focusing on extended shop hours and Sunday work.
The scheduled votes on 18 December will cover several key pieces of legislation. In addition to a session on pension reform in the afternoon, MPs will attend to these two contentious labour market proposals. The first would allow shops to open from 5am to 9pm on weekdays. The second would permit certain retail and craft businesses to schedule employees for up to eight hours of work on a Sunday, doubling the previous four-hour limit.
The proposed changes have faced significant criticism from trade unions and the Chamber of Employees. These groups have uniformly denounced what they term a “liberalisation” of Sunday work, arguing it will disproportionately impact some of the country’s “most vulnerable” employees. They contend that extending the Sunday workday would directly harm work-life balance.
In reaction to earlier criticism from the Council of State – which argued the matter should be settled by social partners – the government amended its proposal. Under the revised text, the eight-hour Sunday rule will apply automatically only to companies with 30 or fewer employees. Businesses with 31 or more staff members must implement the change through a collective bargaining agreement with employees.
This compromise has failed to appease union representatives, who remain opposed to the core reform. If passed, the law on Sunday work is slated to take effect on 1 January 2026.
The proposed extension of shop opening hours – a government promise – has similarly exposed a clear divide between employer and union positions.
The bill would give businesses the option, not the obligation, to open from 5am to 9pm on weekdays and from 5am to 7pm on Sundays. Employer groups, the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts, and the Competition Authority champion the reform as a necessary flexibility. They argue it allows businesses to better adapt to customer habits and remain competitive.
Trade unions and the Chamber of Employees, however, uniformly oppose the plan. They frame it as a direct threat to workers’ well-being, foreseeing a significant deterioration of work-life balance due to more unpredictable and extended schedules.
Accompanying this change is an administrative simplification for businesses that wish to open continuously for 24 hours, which they would be permitted to do twice per year.
If passed, the law on shop opening hours is scheduled to come into force six months after its publication in the Official Journal, which would place its implementation sometime in 2026.
Opening hours, pensions, Sunday work: What you need to know ahead of resuming reform talks
