Absenteeism among Luxembourg's public sector employees is a topic that often sparks debate and fuels speculation, with some people questioning whether the problem is as widespread as rumours suggest.
The issue was recently taken up in parliament, where Marc Goergen from the Pirate Party (Piratepartei) asked in a parliamentary question whether there are any regular or one-off analyses of absenteeism rates in the public sector that can be directly compared with data published by the Inspectorate General of Social Security (IGSS) for the private sector.
On Friday, Minister for the Civil Service Serge Wilmes responded, confirming that his ministry currently does not have access to centralised data that would provide a complete overview of absenteeism rates within Luxembourg's public service.
The reason, according to Minister Wilmes, is that ministries and government agencies still use different computer systems that are not compatible with each other.
This stands in stark contrast with the private sector, where absenteeism is regularly tracked and reported by the IGSS. For example, in February 2025, the monthly absenteeism rate among private sector employees reached 5.6%.
The government, however, insists that steps are being taken to clarify the situation. To address the lack of standardisation across IT systems in the public sector, a new module called MyRH-Time has been added to the state's staff portal, according to Wilmes.
This integrated system is designed to centralise the recording and management of working hours, with a particular focus on monitoring employee attendance and absences.
According to Wilmes, the Cabinet decided on 28 November 2025 that this centralised system would be introduced across all ministries and government departments by the end of 2027.
However, there will be some notable exceptions. According to the minister, the new platform will not yet be rolled out to the police, army, education sector, or certain divisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as further analysis will be needed to assess compatibility with their existing specialised systems and to preserve prior investments.
Starting from 1 January 2027, this centralised time management platform will be operational for 6,700 public employees. By the end of 2027, a further 8,000 state employees are expected to be included.
Until then, the true scale of absenteeism in Luxembourg's public sector, and how it compares with the private sector, will remain something of a mystery.
