Leave for family reasons is a special leave designed to enable parents to be present with their child in the event of serious illness or accident, as well as in the event of quarantine or isolation of the child.
Beneficiaries
Is entitled to leave for family reasons, every employed or self-employed person (self-employed intellectual worker) who is :
- responsible for a dependent child who has not reached 18 years of age, requiring the presence of a parent in case of serious illness, accident or other compelling health reason, may request a leave for family reasons.
- responsible for a dependent child under the age of 13 who is subject to a measure of quarantine, isolation, eviction, removal, isolation or home confinement, for imperative reasons of public health, decided or recommended by the competent national or foreign authority, in order to limit the spread of an epidemic.
A dependent child is a child born in or out of wedlock or an adopted child who needs the physical presence of one parent the moment the sickness occurs.
Formalities
In the first case (under 1.), the parent requesting a leave for family reasons must submit a medical certificate specifying:
- the illness, accident or other pressing health issue affecting the child;
- the mandatory presence of the parent with the ill child;
- the duration of their presence with the ill child.
In the second case (under 2.), the absence of the beneficiary is justified by a certificate from the competent national or foreign authority attesting to the decision or recommendation of the measure.
On the first day of absence, the beneficiary must inform their employer personally or via an intermediary of their absence, either verbally or in writing.
The certificate including the insurance numbers of both parent and child must be presented to the competent health insurance fund by the third day of leave at the latest.
The age limit of 18 years does not apply to children benefiting from the special additional allowance, as defined in article 274 of the Social Security Code.
Duration of leave
The duration of leave for family reasons depends on the age of the child. There are three different age groups:
- Age groupe 1: Child aged 0 to 3 inclusive
12 days of leave for this whole period and per child - Age groupe 2: Child aged 4 to 12 inclusive
18 days of leave for this whole period and per child - Age groupe 3: Child aged 13 to 17 inclusive and hospitalised
5 days of leave for this whole period and per child in the case of hospitalisation. For children benefiting from a special additional allowance (article 274 of the Social Security Code), the condition of hospitalisation does not apply.
For children benefiting from a special additional allowance (article 274 of the Social Security Code), the duration of leave for family reasons is doubled per age group and the condition of hospitalisation does not apply.
The leave for family reasons may be split. Time taken off for not more than four hours will not be counted as more than half a day's leave.
The number of days is the number over the whole period. This number will not be reset every year.
Two parents can request the same number of days of leave but not at the same time.
The duration may be extended in the following cases:
- children afflicted with a serious illness or suffering from an exceptionally grave disability, as defined by the Grand-Ducal regulation of 10.5.1999, i.e.:
-those in a progressive phase of cancer;
-illnesses requiring admission to an intensive care unit for a duration of at least two consecutive weeks. - the quarantine of a child or measures to isolate, evict or keep children at home for imperative reasons of public health decided or recommended by the competent authorities to face the spread of an epidemic (Law of 22.01.2021 ). In this case the person taking the leave must send the CNS the quarantine/isolation certificate from the competent health authority (Health Directorate for Luxembourg).
The balance of leave for family reasons can be consulted via MyGuichet.lu.
Only the insured person can consult their balance and inform their employer about it.
Terms of payment
In principle, private sector employees benefit from the continuation of pay by the employer. The allowance for leave for family reasons must be advanced by the employer and the employer is reimbursed for all the wage costs paid in connection with this leave by the Employers' Mutual Insurance Fund (Mutualité des employeurs), provided that the family leave has been declared with a medical certificate by the employee to the competent fund and by the employer to the Common Centre of Social Security (CCSS).
If the insured person is no longer entitled to continuation of pay by their employer, the cash benefits will be paid directly to them by the CNS.
Self-employed persons affiliated to the Employers' Mutual Insurance Fund must also declare a leave for family reasons to their competent fund by sending a medical certificate in order to benefit from the payment of the benefits by the Employers' Mutual Insurance Fund.