Corona Virus: Implications for Staff in Luxembourg

The Corona virus raises many questions and uncertainties. What consequences does the COVID-19 have for my Luxembourgers staff? At EuroDev we are dealing with European HR matters every day. With our experience, we try to answer your questions as clear as we can. Every country has their own measures regarding the Corona virus. We monitor the situation and have put all information together per country. If you employ people in Luxembourg, the information below might help you with managing your staff.

*The information in the blog has the purpose to help the reader with gaining more knowledge and insights on the measures taken by the government. Please keep in mind that we have outlined basic rules. There might be specific terms, rules and regulations to each measure. As a result, EuroDev cannot guarantee any reimbursements or liabilities. For more detailed information, please contact our experts.

Recent developments 19 March 2020 - Restriction on movement for general public

Traffic on the public highway by natural persons is restricted to the following activities exclusively:

• buying food, pharmaceutical products, and absolutely necessary items
• travelling to a health structure
• travelling to the workplace to carry out professional or commercial work
• assisting and providing care for the elderly, minors, or dependent, disabled, and particularly vulnerable people
• travelling to a bank or insurance company in an emergency
• because of force majeure or necessity
• leisure activities (walking, jogging, etc.) on condition that you maintain a distance of two meters from any other person

All commercial activities (including shops in shopping malls) and craft activities (including driving schools, beauty salons, hairdressers) normally open to public access remain closed.

Measurements for businesses

It is recommended that companies should make maximum use of home office as far as possible and reduce their activities to those tasks which are essential for the functioning of the company.

Q&A for Businesses

How can redundancies be avoided if there is a seatback in activity?

In order to protect jobs and thus prevent redundancies, the Luxembourg Labour Code allows businesses to resort to various types of short-time work under certain conditions and depending on the nature of the difficulties encountered.

The scheme for short-time work in the event of force majeure may be applied to employees who are not covered by an attestation of their inability to work and can no longer be employed either at all or full-time when the business is no longer able to ensure the normal functioning of its activity because its supplier of raw materials is no longer able to deliver or supply the full volume required as a result of the coronavirus or if there is a substantial drop in orders from customers or users as a result of the coronavirus.

This scheme for short-time work may also be applied to employees who are not covered by an attestation of their inability to work and can no longer be employed either at all or full-time because the business is no longer able to ensure the normal functioning of its activity because of staff absences as a result of external decisions in respect of the coronavirus or if one or more of the  departments of the business are at a standstill.

It applies in principle to all the sectors of the economy if the causes invoked are directly related to the coronavirus.

If an application is approved, the Employment Fund (Fonds pour l'Emploi) pays 80% of normal salaries, subject to a maximum of 250% of the minimum social wage for an unskilled employee, for a maximum of 1,022 hours per employee per year.

In addition to these questions, you might have questions specific to your case and company. If you are looking for answers, we are happy to help. Schedule a 15-minute call with Monique Ramondt, VP of HR Outsourcing via the image below:

About EuroDev

EuroDev, established in 1996 with offices in The Netherlands and France, has a single, defined purpose to help mid-sized North American companies expand their business in Europe. We have created a proven, successful business development model and since our founding, have partnered with over 300 companies to help them define and meet their European business goals. Services provided include Sales Outsourcing, HR Outsourcing and Digital Marketing. EuroDev is home to 75 professionals from 24 nationalities, covering a total of 21 languages between them.