On Friday, Luxembourg's Ministry of Family, Integration and the Greater Region announced, as part of government measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus, paid family support leave to assist workers in the private sector and the self-employed who are forced to stop working following the closure of an approved establishment for people with disabilities or for the elderly, in order to take care of a disabled adult or a dependent elderly person living in their household.
Most of the establishments for people with disabilities and for the elderly, other than live-in accommodation establishments, have had to close their doors as part of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. More specifically, these are reception and day care establishments, as well as training and work establishments.
These structures are frequented, on the one hand, by elderly people who suffer from a considerable loss of autonomy and who can no longer perform certain acts of daily life alone so that they can no longer remain alone at home; on the other hand, these structures are frequented by adults with disabilities, who are highly dependent on the assistance of a third person.
These people often live with a family member or loved one who has been forced to take recreational leave to care for them.
Until now, there has been no specific leave for those caring for an adult dependent person with whom they live.
In order to be able to benefit from the family support leave, the following conditions must be met:
1. the approved establishment, which normally takes care of the disabled person or the elderly person, has notified the Minister of the cessation of its activities or part of its activities in the context of the state of crisis;
2. the private sector employee or the self-employed person takes care of the adult person with a disability or the elderly person with whom he/she resides at home;
3. neither the private sector employee or the self-employed applicant, nor another member of the household in question, falls under the regime of partial unemployment during the period for which the leave is requested and no other means of care is available.
The duration of the leave for family support cannot exceed the duration of the state of crisis and ends before the end of the state of crisis if the approved structure notifies the Minister of the resumption of its activities or of part of its activities.
Leave can be split between members of a household but cannot be taken by them at the same time.
The measure is applicable retroactively from 18 March 2020.
Employees in the private sector or the self-employed must request a certificate from the Ministry of Families, Integration and the Greater Region attesting to the need for family support leave. This certificate constitutes a medical certificate in respect of the employer and the National Health Fund (CNS). The certificate must be sent immediately to the employer and to the CNS.
The certificate request can be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Families, Integration and the Greater Region www.mfamigr.gouvernement.lu or on guichet.lu.
Family support leave is limited to the self-employed and employees in the private sector. In the public and municipal sectors, employees and civil servants may be granted exceptional service exemption.
