Language training leave

General information

In order to obtain language training leave, employees of all nationalities of the private sector must:

• be habitually employed within the Grand Duchy,
• have had an employment contract for at least 6 months with the same employer that is legally based in Luxembourg.

Self-employed people and those pursuing liberal professions must have been affiliated with Luxembourg social security for at least 6 months.

This leave is also available to foreign employees who would like to obtain Luxembourgish nationality, for the purpose of obtaining the linguistic qualifications required by nationality legislation.

Eligible training

Eligible training in the Luxembourgish language can be delivered in Luxembourg or abroad, by:

• institutions with public or private school status recognised by the public authorities, and issuing certificates recognised by these same authorities,
• professional chambers,
• municipalities,
• associations and private individuals individually approved for such purpose by the ministry responsible for vocational training.

It must be held within normal working hours.

Training financed by other legal provisions is not eligible.

Procedure

Applications for obtaining language training leave should be sent to the Ministry of Labour and, for employees, they must be approved by the employer. The Ministry must receive applications prior to the start of the course.

Duration

Each recipient is entitled to a maximum of 200 hours of language training leave throughout his/her professional career, which must be divided into two instalments of 80 to 120 hours each.

Leave can be split. The minimum length is half an hour per day.

The second part of the leave may only be taken after having successfully completed a training course during the first part, as demonstrated by a diploma or other certificate showing successful completion or attendance.

For part-time employees, leave hours are calculated in proportion to the working time.

The legal provisions relating to social security and employment protection remain applicable for the duration of the language training leave.

Procedure

The same procedure is to be carried out for each instalment.

The employee must:

• download and fill in the request form,
• obtain his/her employer's opinion regarding his/her application, 
• send the duly completed form and the requested documents (employment contract, registration certificate, social security certificate, timetable and length of classes, etc.) to the Ministry of Labour.

The employee is informed by letter of the number of hours of leave granted. Following the training course he/she must submit the attendance certificates to the employer.

The employer must:

• give an opinion on the request submitted by the employee,
• download and complete the reimbursement form and attach the requested documents (attendance certificate(s) showing the attendance rate, payslip(s) for the period in question showing the actual leave taken, employer's statement showing the exact date(s) of the leave day(s) actually taken, serial number of the ministerial agreement etc.)
• send the duly completed form and the requested documents to the Ministry of Labour Economy.

The procedure for self-employed people and those pursuing liberal professions, is similar to the one described above. Only the form and the requested documents are different.

Employer's opinion

The leave may be:

• accepted by the employer,
• deferred by the employer if the absence may have a considerably harmful effect on company operations or the smooth running of annual paid leave of staff.

Compensatory allowance

For employees, each hour of leave granted entitles the person concerned to a compensatory allowance equal to his/her average hourly salary, which is paid by the employer. The employer advances the allowance and is reimbursed by the State in respect of 50% of the amount of the allowance and 50% of the employer's social contributions.

For self-employed people and those pursuing liberal professions the compensatory allowance paid by the State is fixed at 50% of the reference amount defined on the basis of the hourly income which was used during the last contributory year as contribution basis for the pension insurance scheme.

The compensatory allowance cannot exceed four times the hourly social minimum wage for unskilled workers (€59,4436 / index 944,43 on 1 January 2024).