Public Holidays and Compensation in Luxembourg

1. The 11 legal public holidays

Article L.232-2 of the Labour Code sets out the list of legal public holidays in Luxembourg:

• New Year's Day (1 January)
• Easter Monday
• Labour Day (1 May)
• Europe Day (9 May)
• Ascension
• Whit Monday
• National Day — Grand Duke's birthday (23 June)
• Assumption (15 August)
• All Saints' Day (1 November)
• Christmas Day (25 December)
• Boxing Day (26 December)

2. Public holidays not worked: what the employer owes

When an employee does not work on a public holiday, their entitlements depend on whether that day falls on a day they would normally have worked under their contract.

Case 1 — The public holiday falls on a day normally worked

The employee is entitled to the salary corresponding to the hours that would normally have been worked (Art. L.232-6, para. 1). No action is required: their salary is paid as if the day had been worked.

Case 2 — The public holiday falls on a day the employee would not normally have worked under their contractual schedule

The employee is entitled to one day of compensatory leave to be taken within three months (Art. L.232-6, para. 2).

Case 3 — The public holiday falls on a day normally worked for 4 hours or less

The employee receives their normal salary for the day, plus a half-day of compensatory leave to be taken within three months (Art. L.232-6, para. 4).

Case 4 — Public holiday falling on a Sunday, or two public holidays on the same day

The employee is entitled to one day of compensatory leave to be taken within three months (Art. L.232-3). This rule applies regardless of the employee's contractual schedule: even if that Sunday would not have been worked, the employee receives compensation.

3. Actually working on a public holiday: pay and surcharges

When business requirements oblige an employee to work on a legal public holiday, surcharges apply in addition to ordinary entitlements (Art. L.232-7).

Hourly-paid employee

They receive:

• the salary for the hours worked, plus a 100% surcharge;
• plus the indemnity under Art. L.232-6, i.e. the public holiday pay as if the day had not been worked.

In practice, each hour worked on a public holiday is paid at double rate, on top of the maintained day's salary.

Monthly-paid employee

They receive:

• their normal monthly salary (which already includes the public holiday);
• plus their average hourly rate — calculated by dividing the monthly salary by 173 hours — increased by 100% for each hour actually worked.

Public holiday falling on a Sunday: cumulation of surcharges

When an employee works on a public holiday that falls on a Sunday, two sets of surcharges are combined (Art. L.232-7):

• the surcharges for the public holiday;
• the surcharges for Sunday work (Art. L.231-7, §2).

Double public holiday — two holidays on the same day

If two public holidays coincide and the employee works, they are entitled to (Art. L.232-7, para. 3 bis):

• the applicable pay and surcharges;
• plus one day of compensatory leave to be taken within three months.

4. Special cases and exceptions

Compensatory leave impossible due to service requirements

Where compensatory leave cannot be granted due to service requirements, the employee is entitled to the pay corresponding to the duration of that leave (Art. L.232-6, para. 6).

Employees of State-affiliated religions

Employees engaged by religions linked to the State by convention are excluded from the surcharges and compensations under Art. L.232-7 (Art. L.232-7, para. 4). The other provisions of the public holiday regime remain applicable to them.

5. Scope of application

This regime applies to all persons bound by an employment or apprenticeship contract in the private sector (Art. L.232-1).

More favourable collective or contractual provisions may apply instead. If the collective agreement or the individual contract provides a higher regime — for example a 150% surcharge instead of 100% — that higher regime prevails.