Staff Representatives and Safety Committee in Luxembourg

1. Elections and voting method

Full and alternate delegates are elected by secret ballot. The voting method depends on company size (Art. L.413-1):

• Companies with 100 employees or more: proportional representation.
• Companies with fewer than 100 employees: relative majority.

The delegates' mandate runs for five years (Art. L.413-2).

2. Constituent meeting, bureau and ITM registration

Within one month of the elections, the employee who received the most votes convenes the constituent meeting. At this meeting, the delegation elects by secret ballot, on a relative majority basis:

• a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and a secretary;
• a bureau for day-to-day business, whose size varies with the size of the delegation: 1 member for 8 delegates, up to 4 members for 14 delegates or more (Art. L.416-1).

At this same constituent meeting, the delegation also designates the health and safety delegate (see section 3).

3. Designation and status of the DSS

The delegation designates a health and safety delegate (DSS) at the constituent meeting. This delegate may be chosen from among the elected members of the delegation or from among the company's other employees (Art. L.414-14).

If the DSS is not an elected member of the delegation, they attend its meetings with advisory capacity only — they have no voting rights on the delegation's general deliberations.

4. Missions and powers of the DSS

The DSS holds extensive powers to oversee the protection of workers in the workplace (Art. L.414-14):

Inspection rounds

The DSS carries out weekly inspection rounds accompanied by the employer. In administrative departments, these rounds are limited to two per year.

Special register

The DSS records findings in a special register kept at the company's office. This register provides a written record of the DSS's observations and may be consulted by the ITM.

Right to alert the ITM directly

In an emergency, the DSS may contact the ITM directly, provided the employer and the delegation are informed beforehand. This right of alert is a last resort when internal channels have failed to resolve a dangerous situation.

Mandatory consultation by the employer

The employer must compulsorily consult the DSS on the following matters:

• risk assessment and corresponding protective measures;
• declarations of serious accidents (Art. L.614-11);
• any action with a substantial effect on the health of employees (Art. L.414-14).

5. DSS training

The DSS is entitled to specific training leave:

• 40 hours per mandate;
• 10 additional hours for a first mandate.

This leave is granted without loss of pay. It is separate from the training leave granted to staff delegates for their general representative functions (Art. L.414-14): a DSS who is also an elected delegate is entitled to both.

6. Principle and procedure in the event of gross misconduct

Full and alternate members of the delegation, as well as the health and safety delegate, benefit from strict statutory protection. Any dismissal served on them is null and void, even where gross misconduct is invoked, if the special procedure has not been followed (Art. L.415-10).

Mandatory procedure in the event of gross misconduct

An employer wishing to terminate the contract for gross misconduct cannot dismiss directly. The following procedure must be strictly observed:

1. Notify a suspension setting out the alleged facts.
2. The delegate retains their salary for three months from the date of suspension.
3. The employer must refer the matter to the labour court to seek judicial termination of the contract within one month of the summons to appear (Art. L.415-10).

7. Temporal scope of the protection

The special protection is not limited to the duration of the mandate. It also covers (Art. L.415-11):