Any parent with an employment affiliation in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg who meets the parental leave entitlement conditions, is entitled to parental leave for each of their own children.
They can choose their parental leave model according to the number of hours indicated in their employment contract at the time of notification of the leave to their employer.
One parent must take parental leave immediately after maternity leave or adoption leave (CP1), otherwise the right to parental leave and compensation will be forfeited.
The other parent may take leave at the same time as their spouse or partner or later, but parental leave must always start before the child reaches the age of 6 (CP2). In the case of an adopted child, the period is extended to 12 years (but no more than 6 years after the date of the adoption judgement).
There are, however, exceptions to the obligation to take parental leave immediately after maternity or adoption leave:
- In the case of a single-parent family, the parent with whom the child lives, who is entitled to only one parental leave, will not have to take the parental leave immediately after the maternity or adoption leave, but may take it later. Nevertheless, they must take their leave before the child's 6th birthday.
- If only one parent is entitled to parental leave, in particular because the other is not working, he or she may choose between 1st and 2nd parental leave, which may be taken from the first day of the third week after the birth or, in the case of adoption, from the date of the adoption judgment.
Please note: If you have an open-ended employment contract with a probationary period, the right to parental leave cannot take effect and you can only exercise it after the probationary period.