The petition asks for two mandatory days of work a week, arguing that it would be better for the environment, as workers wouldn’t drive to work, better for the economy, with a lesser need for office spaces and fuel, and more beneficial for the employee, as, according to the petitioner, people would be less stressed when working from home.

Though have since the start of the pandemic been taken to regulate occasional teleworking--like a right to adequate hardware and prohibiting employers from inspecting the home workspace of employees--for many of the staff active in Luxembourg, teleworking two days a week might not be possible.

Indeed, 211,698 cross-border workers from Belgium, France and Germany are employed in Luxembourg. And while the temporarily for them until the end of March 2022, a law towards teleworking twice a week would put them in danger of losing incurring double-taxes. So far, Belgian and French workers can work from home 34 days a year while those living in Germany can telework 19 days a year.

In addition, under EU rules employees cannot work more than 25% of their time away from their workplace or risk losing their social security affiliation in the country where their office is located.

The has until 20 January 2022 to reach the 4,500 necessary signatures to be debated in parliament, though the current agreement between businesses and social partners--which allows teleworking without a need for an amended contract--seems to satisfy the latter.

A previous petition demanding that the right to telework be enshrined in law reached 5,824 signatures but the government said it did not want to legislate on the topic, citing the deal signed between employee and employer groups.

Other petitions announced on 10 December concerned the procurement of a Luxembourg ID card for non-Luxembourgish residents, a prohibition to smoke around train stations, platforms or bus stops, as well as a better adapted system for users of the on-demand Adapto bus service for persons with a disability.