In 2024, the calendar presents us with a truly unusual situation in Luxembourg. Because in May, there will not be one, but two public holidays... on the same day!
It’s a rare occurrence: The last time the calendar proposed this configuration was in 2008 when Ascension fell on 1 May, Labour Day.
But don’t worry, the government hasn’t neglected to notice the dilemma presented by this scenario. Deputies have prepared a law to ensure that you don’t lose a day off or compensation for this ‘double-day public holiday’, particularly as no regulation for this scenario exists in current legislative text.
For background: in Luxembourg, if any of the 11 legal public holidays in the calendar year coincide with a Sunday, employees and civil servants are usually entitled to one day of compensatory leave. However, a unique situation arises when two holidays converge on the same day.
To address this uncommon occurrence, a bill was introduced in June 2023 by the then-Minister of Labour, George Engel. This legislation aims to address the issue by proposing an extra compensatory leave day, to be utilised within three months following the specific public holiday in question.
The law will most likely be presented next week.
