The new types of leave will benefit same-sex couples after the birth of a child, people who must care for family or household members and anybody experiencing difficulties related to urgent and unforeseen circumstances. Photos: Shutterstock

The new types of leave will benefit same-sex couples after the birth of a child, people who must care for family or household members and anybody experiencing difficulties related to urgent and unforeseen circumstances. Photos: Shutterstock

Luxembourg MPs have approved two bills introducing three new types of leave for employees.

Soon, three new reasons justifying days off for employees will be enshrined in law. This is what members of parliament approved on 11 July. Specifically, they adopted bills 8016 and 8017.

Bill 8016--with 59 votes in favour--allows employees to benefit from two new types of leave designed “to better reconcile professional and personal life,| in the words of the explanatory memorandum. Members of the labour committee had already examined the bill on 1 June ahead of the final vote.

Bill 8017--with 56 votes in favour and three abstentions from ADR MPs--deals specifically with extraordinary leave following the birth of a child.

One day for force majeure

Per bill 8016, one day of leave may be taken, once yearly, in cases of “force majeure.” Labour minister (LSAP) defined this term in June as “an urgent and unforeseen situation.”

Five days for carers

Bill 8016 also introduces extraordinary leave for carers, i.e., somebody who must help or support a family member or household member. Five days a year can be taken for this reason. To qualify, employees will have to prove either a family relationship or co-residence with the person in need. The chamber specifies that “a legitimate medical reason must be provided to justify the need for care or assistance.”

The new provisions also introduce more flexible working arrangements for employees with at least six months’ seniority and whose children are under nine years of age.

Childbirth leave for same-sex parents

The other bill--bill 8017--introduces leave following the birth of child for the second equivalent parent in a same-sex couple. Until now, this leave was reserved only for the father of a newborn child in a two-sex couple.

Another new feature is that childbirth leave, for all parents, has been extended to the self-employed. Previously, it only pertained to employees.

It is likely that employers will see all of the above changes as obstacles to competitiveness. When the chambers of commerce and skilled trades/crafts issued their opinions on the text, they stated their position clearly, referencing “certain measures that are harmful to businesses in organisational terms and questionable in legal terms.”

This article in French in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.

Related articles