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Chambers T&D | Employment 2021

Evolution of the Legal and Regulatory Framework for Telework in Luxembourg

Introduction

In 2019, 11.6% of working people residing in Luxembourg declared that they were teleworking from home at least one day a week, placing Luxembourg in third position of the European countries where telework was most widespread (source: Eurostat). As of mid-March 2020, 69% of working people (excluding those benefiting from short-time working and leave for family reasons) switched to telework during the pandemic-related lockdown, and this generally outside the existing legal framework (source: Statec). The COVID-19 health crisis has therefore accelerated the government's revisions of the legal and regulatory framework for telework.

Based on the opinion issued by the Economic and Social Council on 11 September 2020 on teleworking in Luxembourg, on 20 October 2020 the social partners (LCGB, OGBL and UEL) signed a new cross-industry agreement governing teleworking (“New Agreement”) to replace the framework agreement of 21 February 2006 applicable in this area (“2006 Agreement”). Declared generally binding by the Grand-Ducal regulation of 22 January 2021, the New Agreement is applicable since 2 February 2021 to all companies established on the national territory.

On 9 April 2021, the Luxembourg financial markets' supervisory authority, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), published CSSF Circular 21/769 on governance and security requirements for supervised entities (as defined below) to perform tasks or activities through telework (“Circular 21/769”). Therefore, save for exceptional circumstances, as from 30 September 2021, employers in the financial sector will have to ensure compliance with Circular 21/769 in addition to the New Agreement.

Thus, in a timely and pragmatic way, the New Agreement and Circular 21/769 provide several clarifications on how telework should be implemented by employers and carried out in Luxembourg from 2021.

 

Read more in the Trends & Developments Luxembourg chapter in the latest Chambers Employment 2021 Global Practice Guide.

 

The new Employment 2021 guide covers 52 jurisdictions. The guide provides the latest legal information on the legislative initiatives to cope with the COVID-19 crisis, terms of employment, non-compete and non-solicitation clauses, data privacy law, foreign workers, the role of unions and employee representative bodies, termination of employment, employment disputes and dispute resolution.

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