Introduction of the right to disconnect

At a glance

• On 4 July 2023, the Law of 28 June 2023, amending the Labour Code to introduce a procedure to enforce the right to disconnect, came into force.

Until now, Luxembourg law indirectly regulated the concept of the right to disconnect by requiring employers to comply with rules aimed at protecting employees. These included governing working hours and ensuring the health and safety of all employees. However, the new law formally introduces a procedure to control the right to disconnect. 

Key provisions under the new law

The right to disconnect has been added to the list of subjects that must be covered by a collective bargaining agreement. A new section, (section 8, Respect for the right to disconnect) has been introduced into Book III, Title I, Chapter II of the Labour Code. The sections set out that: 

• Employers, whose employees use digital tools for professional purposes, must set up a system that ensures respect for the right to disconnect outside of working hours; and
• Arrangements must adapt to the particular circumstances, specific features and issues concerning the company or sector in which it operates. The arrangements should also cover, where appropriate:
  • The practical arrangements and technical measures for disconnecting from digital tools. 
  • Awareness-raising and training measures. 
  • Compensation arrangements in the event the right to disconnect is not respected. 
• The system ensuring the right to disconnect should be defined by means of a collective labour agreement or a subordinate agreement. In the absence of such agreements, the system must be defined at company level, with due regard for the responsibilities of the staff delegation, if any. The introduction and modification of this system is to be carried out after informing and consulting delegated staff or by mutual agreement between the employer and the delegated staff in companies with at least 150 employees. 

Failure to adopt the correct procedure

Employers who fail to implement the system will be liable to an administrative fine of between EUR 251 and EUR 25,000. The fine is to be imposed by the Director of the Labour and Mines Inspectorate. Before the penalty is applied, the circumstances, severity of the breach and the behaviour of the offender when an offence has been established shall be examined.

However, penalties will not come into force until three years after the date the new law is published in the Official Journal (i.e. 30 June 2026), giving employers time to adopt the necessary procedures and carry out any collective bargaining, as appropriate, in line with the new legislation.