3-Week Collective Summer Leave for Building Sector to Start on 25 July

Luxembourg's Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (Inspection du travail et des mines - ITM) has announced the 2025 collective summer leave agreement for the employees of Luxembourg or foreign construction and civil engineering companies as well as sanitary installation, heating and air conditioning companies working in Luxembourg.

The relevant collective labour agreements define the rules that apply to this mandatory collective leave.

The collective summer holiday for construction and civil engineering firms will run from Friday 25 July 2025 to Sunday 17 August 2025, inclusive.

The ITM noted that certain types of work may qualify for an exemption from the collective leave, such as maintenance in schools, factory work carried out during production shutdowns, or urgent works approved by the ad hoc committee for construction and civil engineering. Authority to grant such exemptions lies with a committee which includes two union representatives, two employer representatives and one member from the Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM).

The ITM is responsible for the committee’s secretarial duties and prepares any decisions made.

According to the ITM, as of 22 July 2025, companies submitted 195 exemption requests via the form provided by the ITM. These requests mainly involve repairs in schools and secondary schools, renovations or maintenance in factories and urgent interventions for essential infrastructure, such as municipal networks. 157 of these requests came from construction and civil engineering companies. The ad hoc committee approved 145 applications and rejected twelve. 

Five requests were submitted by plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration businesses. However, neither the ITM nor the construction and civil engineering committee has the power to approve exemptions for those sectors.

Additionally, the ITM received 33 requests from companies that do not operate in either the construction sector or the installation sector. These companies do not fall under any mandatory collective holiday rules. These businesses specialise in metal joinery, industrial technologies, modular structures, asbestos removal, and interior fittings.

Based on approved requests, around 1,050 employees in the construction and civil engineering sector are expected to take collective leave this summer.

Inspections by the ITM, the Customs and Excise Administration and the Grand Ducal Police will take place this summer. These control authorities can at any time stop the work of companies that do not have an authorisation issued by the ad hoc commission for building and civil engineering.