The mooted voucher scheme would have functioned like the current meal voucher system, which are deducted tax-free from employee pay cheques.

Telecommuters would have then been able to use the technology vouchers to purchase IT materials to facilitate remote working.

The idea for technology vouchers was proposed by María Catalán of the Spanish Financial Forum in Luxembourg in a Paperjam article published earlier this year.

On Wednesday, Dan Kersch, the deputy prime minister and labour minister (LSAP), said “currently, the introduction of a technology cheque is not being considered.”

Kersch was responding to a parliamentary question from the CSV MP Marc Spautz. In his reply, Kersch referred to the agreement on teleworking between the UEL employers federation and Luxembourg’s largest trade unions, the OGBL and LCGB, which puts the onus on bosses.

“It is,” Kersch stated, “clear from the provisions of that agreement that if the employer decides to place their employees on remote working, it is their responsibility to provide them with the necessary work equipment.”