Rules for employee talks about telework set in law

Companies and their employees now have a legal basis within which to negotiate the when and how workers can work remotely.

Luxembourg lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously approved changes to the country's labour law that enshrine an understanding already negotiated by unions and employers, a statement on the parliament's website said. 

The revised law now states that at companies with more than 150 employees managers and staff representatives must mutually agree on arrangements governing teleworking. At smaller companies, the employer is obliged to inform and consult staff representatives, but does not have to negotiate the details.

The decision falls short of the goal proposed by those who wanted a labour right to work remotely. Lawmakers discussed that idea in October 2020 after nearly 6,000 people signed a petition calling for legal recognition for teleworking.

Coming after a broad, three-month lockdown after the Covid-19 pandemic hit Luxembourg, advocates argued that remote working makes it easier to balance work and family life, reduces stress and traffic, and leads to less pollution.

In Luxembourg, working from home is regulated by a 2006 agreement between the Union des Entreprises Luxembourgeoises business lobby and the OGBL and LCGB trade unions that became law in 2016.

While Luxembourg's rules governing teleworking are outdated, neither the government nor labour unions wanted to create a legal right or an obligation for teleworking.

Extensive home-working could risk being perceived as encouraging so-called "letterbox" firms, which exist as little more than a mailing address in order to dodge tax liability, CSSF head Claude Marx told a parliamentary commission in 2020. Most lawmakers supported Marx's view, according to a statement on the parliament's website.

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