On Tuesday 27 June, a first meeting between the minister for employment Nicolas Schmit and the parliamentary employment committee found however that certain issues still needed to be resolved. The council of state (Conseil d’Etat) has issued a formal opposition, so amendments are almost certain.

Issues to be clarified: paternity leave, equality between different employment statuses, single parents

MPs debated the introduction of paternity leave. The current draft foresees 5 days' leave instead of the current 2. However, a European directive, which proposes to introduce a paternity leave of 10 days, is currently being discussed. Minister Schmit said that studies were being conducted to see whether Luxembourg could introduce such a paternity leave and how it could be financed.

MPs have noted that the number of holidays varies considerably according to employment status (employees, employees covered by collective agreements, civil servants, self-employed). The draft legislation proposes a minimum of 5 days of leave for fathers after the birth of their child, but regulations for the civil service foresees 4 days. On the other hand, civil servants get 6 days off when they get married, but a private sector employee only gets 3. The minister has promised to clarify this point.

For single parent families, the question is whether to come up with special proposals in case a child is sick. This issue raised a lot of discussions in the parliamentary committee. The minister and MPs were said to be largely in favour of additional days of leave for single parents to come to the same quota as a two-parent family would have. However, there are many complications resulting from recomposed families or custody problems. A pragmatic solution was needed, according to minister Schmit.