Protection of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Workers in Luxembourg

1. Notifying the employer: the prerequisite for protection

The statutory protection against dismissal only applies once the employer has been informed of the pregnancy. The law provides for the submission of a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy (Art. L.331-2).

Registered post is the transmission method specified in the legislation — primarily because it provides proof of the date of notification in the event of a dispute. In practice, many employers accept hand-delivery or email — but without a dated written record, it will be difficult for the employee to establish when the employer became aware of the pregnancy if a dispute arises.

The same notification obligation, by medical certificate, applies to an employee who wishes to benefit from the protections applicable to a breastfeeding worker after the postnatal leave period.

2. Dismissal ban: the protected period

The employer is strictly prohibited from giving notice of termination of contract or summoning the employee to a pre-dismissal interview as soon as her pregnancy is medically confirmed, until twelve weeks after the birth (Art. L.337-1).

This prohibition covers the entire period without interruption:

• throughout the pregnancy, from the date of medical confirmation;
• during maternity leave (8 weeks prenatal + 12 weeks postnatal);
• until the end of the twelve-week period following the birth.

3. Dismissal notified before the pregnancy was confirmed: the 8-day mechanism

If notice of dismissal is given before the pregnancy was medically confirmed — for example because the employee had not yet informed her employer — the law provides a catch-up mechanism (Art. L.337-1):

The employee has eight days from the date of receipt of the dismissal notice to provide proof of her pregnancy by medical certificate sent to the employer by registered post. In that case, the dismissal is deemed null and void and the protection applies retrospectively.

4. Serious misconduct: the sole exception

The dismissal protection is not absolute. In cases of serious misconduct, the employer may place the pregnant or breastfeeding employee on immediate suspension, pending the final decision of the labour court (Art. L.337-1).

This exception is, however, strictly circumscribed:

• The misconduct invoked must be genuine and sufficiently serious — the court scrutinises the facts alleged with particular care given the employee's pregnancy.
• The suspension does not constitute final termination: it is the labour court that rules on the merits.
• A minor fault or pretext cannot be used to circumvent the protection — attempts to do so are regularly sanctioned by the courts.

5. Breastfeeding time allowance

An employee who breastfeeds her child after postnatal leave is entitled, on request, to paid breastfeeding time, counted as working time (Art. L.336-3). This right is exercised as follows:

• Two periods of 45 minutes during the working day;
• or a single period of 90 minutes where the working day is only interrupted by a break of one hour or less.

The precise scheduling of these periods within the day is agreed with the employer, in keeping with the organisation of the work.

6. What this guide does not cover

The following aspects are addressed in the guide on working time for pregnant workers:

• Ban on overtime during pregnancy (Art. L.336-1)
• Night work: right to exemption on the occupational physician's advice (Art. L.333-1)
• Adjustment of working conditions in the event of an occupational risk — graduated hierarchy (Art. L.334-3)
• Prohibited work: hazardous agents listed in Annex 2, Section A (Art. L.334-4)
• Time off for antenatal check-ups (Art. L.336-2)
• Maternity leave: 8 weeks prenatal + 12 weeks postnatal (Art. L.332-1 and L.332-2)