Luxembourg: New provisions regarding internships

Under Luxembourg law, 3 options exist for the organisation of internships:

• Pupil/student contract during vacation periods;
• Internship contracts; and
• Fixed-term employment contracts

While pupil/student contracts during vacation periods as well as fixed-term employment contracts are strongly regulated, pure internship contracts are often misused, given that these contracts are not at all regulated in terms of salary, vacation, etc.

Therefore, a new proposal for a draft bill aims at imposing minimum conditions on employers choosing an internship contract:

• Maximum duration of 12 months within a reference period of 24 months;
• Mandatory provisions for the internship contract (social protection, absences, etc.);
• Internships exceeding a duration of 1 month (up to 3 months) must be compensated by 1/3 of the statutory social minimum salary for unqualified workers; contracts exceeding 3 months must be compensated with 50 % of the statutory social minimum salary for unqualified workers.