Luxembourg - Minimum Wages - 2011

4 October 2012

Communique of the the Ministry of Labour and Employment on the level of the minimum wage from 1 October 2012 (Communiqué du Ministère du Travail et de l’Emploi concernant le niveau du salaire social minimum à partir du 1er octobre 2012).

Act of 31 July 2006 to Establish a Labour Code, Official Journal of 29 August 2006, No. 149, pp.2456-2651, as amended up to 18 August 2012.

The website of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The website of the Government of Luxembourg (Gouvernement du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg).

The Luxembourg Business Portal (Guichet Entreprises).

"Employee" shall mean any person employed in the public or private sector and persons who receive a professional training.

"Salary" is a direct compensation for the work carried out by the employee for his employer. It may consist of different elements in cash or in kind.

"Minimum wage" shall mean the minimum level of payment that all male and female wage earners, without any disability in their intellectual and physical aptitudes, shall be entitled.

The national minimum wage rate is fixed by the government. The minimum wage rate is indexed to the consumer price index. In addition, a review takes place in the Chamber of Deputies following a government report every two years.
The legislation does not specify whether employers’ organisations and employees’ organisations are also consulted.

Wages set in collective agreements may not be lower than the national minimum wage. Moreover, collective agreements may not index wage rate adjustments to the national minimum wage rate.

Yes. Wages are adjusted in line with the evolution of the cost of living.

Yes. Minimum wage is adjusted taking into account the general economic conditions and incomes in the country and according to the evolution of the average wage level.

Yes. Wages are adjusted taking into account the general economic conditions and incomes in the country.

The minimum wage rate applies to all wage earners of at least 18 years old in the private sector.
The applicable minimum wage depends on the employee’s level of professional qualification. According to that, there is one minimum wage rate for unskilled wage earners, and a separate rate for skilled (qualified) wage earners.

If a company’s economic or financial situation is such that it is not currently in a position to pay the full minimum wage rate, a temporary order may be granted by the Minister of Labour, allowing the company to pay a rate that is lower than the national minimum wage rate.

No

No.

No

The minimum wage for workers under 18 years old is set as a percentage of the general minimum wage based on seniority:
- Workers of 17 to 18 years old are entitled to 80% of the general minimum wage,
- Workers of 15 to 17 years old are entitled to 75% of the general minimum wage.

Specifically, the last adjustment of the minimum wage provides the minimum rates of payment for this category of workers since 1 October 2012, as follows;
- 17 to 18 years old workers are entitled to earn at least 1.477,21€ per month or 8,5€ per hour, and
- 15 to 17 years old workers are entitled to earn at least 1.384,88€ per month or 8,0 per hour.

Persons younger than 30 years of age who have been registered as actively seeking employment for at least one month may be hired on a temporary auxiliary contract for a maximum period of nine months. These contracts are organised by the Workplace Administration Office and are designed to assist workers with the transition to the workplace. Employers must pay these workers at least 80% of the applicable national minimum wage rate if the worker is unskilled, up to 100% of the minimum wage rate for unskilled workers if the worker qualifies for the skilled rate, or up to 120% of the minimum wage rate for unskilled workers if the worker holds a Patent Technician Degree or a Bachelor’s or Master´s Degree.

An employer may apply to the Commission d’Orientation et de reclassement professionel for a lower minimum wage rate to apply to a worker whose physical or mental disability renders him or her unable to work with the same efficiency as a worker with no disability.

The minimum wage rate for skilled (qualified) wage earners is 20% higher than the rate for unskilled workers.

To be considered as qualified, the employee must:

- either have, for the profession undertaken, a recognised official certificate at least equivalent to a vocational skills certificate (certificat d’aptitude technique et professionnelle - CATP) or a vocational diploma (diplôme d’aptitude professionnelle - DAP) from a Luxembourg technical secondary school;

- or have a manual skills certificate (certificat de capacité manuelle - CCM) or a certificate of vocational ability (certificat de capacité professionnelle - CCP) and proof of at least two years’ experience in the trade in question;

- or have a vocational initiation certificate from a technical secondary school (certificat d’initiation technique et professionnelle - CITP) and proof of at least 5 years’ practical experience in the trade or profession;

- or, if he does not have a qualification, provide proof of at least 10 years’ practical professional experience (if a certificate exists for the required qualification);

- or provide proof of at least 6 years’ practical experience in a trade requiring a certain technical capacity and for which an official certificate is not issued for training.

Students working during the school vacation period are entitled to at least 80% of the relevant minimum wage rate applicable for their age.

The minimum wage rate was last set at 1.846,51€ per month or 10,6€ per hour for unskilled workers, and at 2.215,81€ per month for skilled workers.

1 October 2012

In-kind allowances are permitted as a part of the total remuneration of the worker. To this respect, the employer shall indicate the exact value of these allowances which under any circumstance may implicate a reduction in the amount of the minimum wage.

Yes. The Government provides an hourly minimum wage rate for unskilled workers.

Yes. The Government provides a monthly minimum wage rate for skilled workers and other for unskilled workers.

Minimum wages for qualified workers are 20% increased from the rate set for unskilled workers.

Minimum wage rates are subject to automatic indexation, in addition to the government and the Chamber of Deputies examining minimum wage levels on a bi-annual basis.

Labour Inspectors are responsible for ensuring that all legal provisions concerning conditions of work, including wages, are adhered to. Inspectors may enter workplaces and require the production of records when carrying out these duties.

Employers who fail to pay the specified minimum wage rate are liable to a fine of between EUR 251 and EUR 25,000. In the event of repeated offences, these fines may be doubled.