Individual training leave

You would like to complete your qualification to be more competitive ? You try to change your professional career and need to adapt or perfect your skills and knowledge?

Individual training leave will allow you to find the necessary free time to follow training courses while keeping your salary and your job. The law of 24 October 2007 introduced, for every person exercising an activity in the private sector, the right to benefit from 80 days of training leave during his or her professional career.

Here you will find further useful information about individual training leave.

What is training leave ?

Training leave is a special leave allowing employees and people exercising an independent or liberal profession to take part in courses, to prepare for and take exams, to write a thesis or to perform any other work in connection with an eligible training option.

What are the conditions to benefit from training leave ?

To benefit from training leave, employees must

  • work on a regular basis at a work place located on Luxembourg territory,
  • have an employment contract with a company or association legally established and active in the Grand Duchy and,
  • have an employment seniority of at least 6 months with their employer at the time the request for leave is submitted.

Persons exercising an independent or liberal profession must be affiliated since at least 2 years with the Luxembourg social security.

What are the modalities for submitting a training leave request ?

The applicant must submit a request to the Service de la formation professionnelle of the Ministry of National Education, Children and Youth. More specifically, this means:

  • filling out the application form to request training leave which can be downloaded below ;
  • request the employer to sign the form ;
  • send the duly filled out form together with the required documents to the following address :

Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l'Enfance et de la Jeunesse
Service de la formation professionnel / congé de formation
29, rue Aldringen
L – 1118 Luxembourg

What happens if the employer does not agree with the request ?

Should the employer not agree with the request, the leave can be postponed if the absence caused by the requested leave risks to have a major negative impact on the operation of the company or the way the other employees will be able to take their annual holidays.

What are the training options for which training leave is available?

Training leave may be granted for training provided both in Luxembourg and abroad by:

  • institutions having the status of public or private schools recognised by the public authorities and issuing qualifications that are recognised by these authorities ;
  • professional chambers ;
  • municipalities ;
  • foundations, persons and private associations individually approved for this purpose by the minister ;
  • ministries, administrations and public institutions.

Training subject to other legal provisions or co-financing is not eligible.

How is the number of training leave days calculated?

The total number of available training leave days depends on the number of hours required for the training. This number of hours is either determined by the training organism or on the basis of the schedule of the schools or training institutions.

The number of hours is converted into the number of work days. Eight hours of training are equivalent to one work day. The resulting amount is then divided by three to obtain the number of training leave days and is rounded down, if applicable.

Example for the calculation of a training covering 30 hours:

30 : 8 = 3.75 work days
3,75 : 3 = 1.25 training leave days
(rounded down)
Hence, 30 hours of training entitle to 1 day of training leave

What is the maximum and minimum duration of training leave?

The maximum duration of training leave is 80 days for each beneficiary during his or her professional career. Over a period of 2 years, the maximum amount of available training leave is 20 days with a minimum duration of 1 day.

For part-time employees, training leave days are calculated pro-rata to their work time.

Is the training leave beneficiary covered by social security?

 

Training leave is assimilated to actual work time. During the time of the leave, the legal provisions regarding social security remain applicable to the beneficiary.

 

Is the training leave beneficiary granted employment security?

The legal provisions on employment protection remain applicable to the beneficiary during training leave.

Will employees benefitting from training leave receive a remuneration?

Employees benefitting from training leave are entitled, for each day of training leave, to a compensation paid by the employer, which is equal to the average daily salary as defined in article L.233-14 of the Labour Code (Code du travail). This compensation may however not be higher than four times the social minimum wage for non-qualified workers.

Will the employer obtain a reimbursement for training leave?

The employer will receive the reimbursement of the compensation and the part of the social security paid by the employer. For this, the employer must submit a declaration using the form prepared by the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth.

 

Can persons exercising an independent or liberal profession benefit from a compensation?

Persons exercising an independent or liberal profession benefit from a compensation directly paid by the government. It is determined on the basis of the income declared during the last financial year for the calculation of the pension insurance. It may not be higher than four times the social minimum wage for non-qualified workers.

What are the sanctions if the beneficiary of training leave submitted incorrect or incomplete information?

The compensation granted must be immediately paid back if it was obtained based on information that the beneficiary knew to be incorrect. Furthermore, the beneficiary shall pay interests at the legal rate as of the date of the payment until the day of the reimbursement.

(Source : CEPL)

The various forms to apply for training leave can be downloaded here below.

Important note on data protection:

Data collected are subject to data processing in order to facilitate the management of individual training leave and the supervision of the rights and duties pertaining thereto in compliance with the applicable legal and regulatory provisions.

Your data will be stored for the sole use of the Service de la formation professionnelle of the MENJE and will not be disclosed to any third party.

Forms for downloading

Français :

Deutsch :

English :

Last update