Leave & Absences

Salary Maintenance During Sick Leave in Luxembourg

When an employee is on sick leave, three questions arise immediately: will they be paid, by whom, and for how long? This guide answers in order: the formalities required to trigger the entitlement, the duration of salary maintenance, how it is calculated depending on the type of schedule, and what happens when the statutory period comes to an end.

Topic: Leave & Absences Sources: Art. L.121-6 · Art. L.233-11 · Labour Code Updated: 12 June 2026

Timeline of a sick leave period

Key steps and deadlines, from the first day of incapacity to the eventual end of coverage:

  • Day 1 Notify the employer (or their representative) of the incapacity, by any means that actually reaches them.
  • Day 1 to 3 Submit the medical certificate attesting to the incapacity and its likely duration. The third day is the hard deadline.
  • Until end of month of day 77 The employer maintains full salary and contractual benefits (period calculated over 18 rolling months).
  • For 26 weeks from day 1 Dismissal protection — provided the formalities have been met.
  • Up to 12 months from day 1 If the contract is not terminated after the protection period, the employer tops up the CNS benefit to reach the employee's net salary.

1. What formalities are required to receive salary maintenance?

Entitlement to salary maintenance is not automatic: it depends on the employee fulfilling two successive formalities.

Formality 1 — Notify the employer on the same day

The employee must inform the employer (or their representative) of their incapacity on the very day it arises (Art. L.121-6, para. 1). No specific form is required: oral, written, text, email or a message via a relative are all valid, provided the information actually reaches the employer on the same day.

Formality 2 — Submit the medical certificate within 3 days

The employee must provide the employer with a medical certificate attesting to the incapacity and its likely duration no later than the third day of absence (Art. L.121-6, para. 2).

Late certificate: if the 3-day deadline is not met, the employee loses the statutory protection under Article L.121-6 — including salary maintenance and dismissal protection — except in circumstances recognised by case law (emergency hospitalisation, force majeure). This is not an automatic and permanent loss of all rights, but a suspension of the statutory protection for the period in question.

2. How long is salary maintained?

The 77-day rule over 18 rolling months

The employer must maintain full salary and other contractual benefits until the end of the calendar month in which the 77th day of incapacity falls, calculated over a reference period of 18 consecutive calendar months (Art. L.121-6, para. 3).

This period is rolling: it does not reset at the start of each calendar year. Each new month, the counter looks back over the previous 18 months. Any days of incapacity accumulated in that window count towards the 77-day total.

Example — Day 77 falls mid-month
An employee reaches their 77th cumulative day of incapacity over the past 18 months on 14 September.
→ The employer maintains salary through to 30 September inclusive. From 1 October, the CNS (National Health Fund) takes over with its own benefit scheme.

Re-opening of entitlement

A new right to salary maintenance only opens at the start of the month following the one in which the cumulative 77-day threshold is no longer reached within the 18-month rolling window.

This mechanism is often misunderstood: an employee who has used up their 77 days does not automatically regain a full entitlement the next day. The oldest days must progressively fall out of the 18-month window for the counter to drop back below 77.

3. How is the maintained amount calculated?

The calculation depends on whether the work schedule is known at the time of the sick leave.

Case 1 — Schedule known at least until end of month

Maintenance covers (Art. L.121-6, para. 3):

  • the monthly base salary;
  • all regular bonuses and supplements (seniority, role, etc.);
  • the surcharges the employee would have received had they worked their planned schedule (scheduled overtime, planned night work, etc.).
Example — Employee on a fixed schedule
Gross monthly salary: €3,200. Monthly seniority bonus: €150. Schedule known for the full month.
The employee is on sick leave from 10 to 20 March.
→ The employer maintains the usual salary proportionally for the days of absence, including the seniority bonus and any surcharges normally scheduled for that period.

Case 2 — Schedule not known in advance (variable schedule)

The employee receives a daily allowance equal to their average daily salary over the six months preceding the illness, calculated on the basis of gross monthly salary (Art. L.121-6, para. 3).

For entirely variable pay (performance, commission, percentage…), the average is calculated over the preceding twelve months.

Example — Employee on variable pay
An employee paid on a commission basis earned an average of €2,600 gross per month over the past 12 months.
→ Their daily allowance is calculated from this monthly average (€2,600 ÷ number of working days in the reference month). The basis is the average gross monthly salary over 12 months.

4. Can the employee be dismissed during sick leave?

26-week protection

The employer may not notify termination of the contract, or summon the employee to a pre-dismissal meeting, during a period of up to 26 weeks from the first day of incapacity, provided the employer has been notified or holds the medical certificate (Art. L.121-6, para. 3).

This protection applies even where serious misconduct is invoked. Any dismissal notified during this period is deemed unfair.

Exceptions: the protection does not apply if the incapacity results from a crime in which the employee voluntarily participated, or if the notification or certificate formalities were completed after receiving the dismissal letter — except in cases of emergency hospitalisation (Art. L.121-6, para. 4).

After the 26-week period

Once 26 weeks have elapsed, the employer regains the right to terminate the employment contract, including for a reason that existed before or during the sick leave (Art. L.121-6, para. 5).

5. When does coverage end?

CNS refusal

The employer's salary maintenance obligation ceases if the CNS (National Health Fund) issues a refusal decision that is binding on the employer (Art. L.121-6, para. 3). In that case, the employer's obligation falls away as soon as the refusal decision is notified.

After the protection period: the top-up indemnity

If the employer does not terminate the contract after the 26-week protection period expires, they are required to top up the CNS sickness benefit so that the employee receives the equivalent of their net salary, up to the expiry of the 12 months following the month in which the incapacity arose (Art. L.121-6, para. 5).

In practice: after the 77 days of full maintenance, the CNS covers the employee under its own scheme (generally lower than net salary). As long as the employment contract remains in force, the employer must bridge the gap to ensure the employee receives their usual net income — up to 12 months from the start of incapacity.
Example — Top-up indemnity
Incapacity begins on 1 March. Day 77 falls at the end of May. The contract is not terminated after the 26-week protection period.
The employee receives a CNS benefit of €1,800 net, while their usual net salary is €2,200.
→ The employer pays a top-up of €400 per month to reach €2,200 net, up to 28 February of the following year (12 months from the month of onset).

Illness during annual leave

If the employee falls ill during their recreational annual leave, days of incapacity covered by a medical certificate are not counted as leave days (Art. L.233-11). The certificate must be submitted to the employer within 3 working days of the onset of illness.

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The information in this guide is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It may contain inaccuracies or may not reflect the latest legislative or case-law developments. For any specific situation, please consult a qualified legal professional.