Luxembourg: Amendments to the legal provisions regarding long-term sickness

The Law of 25 July 2018 (publication in the Official Gazette pending) will amend the regime of continued absence for health reasons.

The main amendments, which should be applicable from 1^st January 2019, are as follows:

• Employees will now be able to get sickness allowances for 78 weeks maximum during a reference period of 104 weeks, instead of the current 52 weeks. This has a direct and important impact on the employment relationship since the employment contract is automatically considered as ended when the employee reaches this threshold.
• The employer must continue to pay the remuneration of the employee on sickness leave until the end of the month during which occurs the 77^thday of sickness, and this calculation will now be made based on a reference period of 18 months instead of 12 months.
• The Law has also introduced the possibility of a “gradual return to work” with the employer’s approval.