Right to Disconnect and Burn-out Prevention in Luxembourg

1. The statutory employer obligation

Article L.312-9 imposes an obligation of result: the employer must define a scheme ensuring the right to disconnect whenever employees use digital tools for professional purposes. There is no headcount threshold: the obligation applies to every company, regardless of size, as soon as it falls within this situation.

The right to disconnect is intended to protect employees against the blurring between professional and private life caused by digital tools — work email, mobile applications, remote access to information systems. The ITM presents this scheme as a tool for preventing stress and workload overload linked to permanent connectivity.

2. Content of the scheme

The law does not prescribe a standard form: the scheme must be tailored to the particular situation of the company or sector. It may cover three areas:

• practical arrangements and technical measures for disconnection (disconnection windows, disabling notifications, setting up automatic out-of-office replies);
• awareness-raising and training measures for employees and management;
• compensation arrangements in the event of justified exceptional exceptions.

3. Source hierarchy: collective agreement or company agreement

The disconnection scheme follows this hierarchy:

1. Via a collective labour agreement or a subordinate agreement — this is the preferred source.
2. Failing that, at company level, in compliance with the powers of the staff delegation.

In the absence of an applicable collective agreement, the employer must therefore define this scheme internally, involving the staff delegation according to the procedures described below.

4. Procedure by company size

The introduction or modification of the scheme follows distinct rules depending on headcount:

5. Penalties for non-compliance

Failure to implement a disconnection scheme exposes the employer to an administrative fine of between €251 and €25,000 (Art. L.312-10). This fine is imposed by the Director of the Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM), under the injunction procedure set out in Article L.614-13.

The injunction procedure means that the ITM first formally orders the employer to comply before, if necessary, imposing the financial penalty. The amount of the fine is set taking into account the seriousness of the breaches and the situation of the company.

6. Remote work, daily rest and burn-out prevention

Remote work

According to the ITM's published position, remote workers also benefit from the right to disconnect. An employer who implements remote work must therefore ensure that the disconnection scheme expressly covers employees working remotely. Having a remote work addendum is not enough — a formalised disconnection scheme remains necessary.

Daily rest: the statutory floor

Article L.211-16 sets the daily rest period at a minimum of 11 consecutive hours in every 24-hour period. This rule is of public order under Article L.010-1: no agreement, company arrangement or disconnection scheme may derogate from it. The disconnection scheme must therefore, as a minimum, ensure that employees are not contacted during these 11 hours.

Burn-out and psychosocial risks

The term "burn-out" does not appear explicitly in the statutory articles on the right to disconnect. Nonetheless, the ITM presents this scheme as a measure for preventing psychosocial risks linked to professional hyperconnectivity — chronic stress, mental overload, intrusion into private life. An employer who implements a disconnection scheme is acting within their broader duty to prevent occupational risks under Article L.312-1.