The loi du 28 juin 2023 portant modification du Code du travail en vue d’introduire un dispositif relatif au droit à la déconnexion will come into force on on 4 July 2023 (however, the provision regarding sanctions will come into force three years after the date on which the law is published in the Journal officiel du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg).

• Employer’s obligation to define a specific system to make sure the right to disconnect is respected

Companies in which employees use digital devices for their work must define a system for the company or sector in question to make sure that the right to disconnect outside working hours is respected.

• Content of the specific system

This system must be adapted to the specific situation and the features and issues of the company or sector in question, and must cover, where applicable:

• The practical arrangements and technical measures for disconnecting from digital devices;
• Awareness-raising and training measures;
• Compensation arrangements in the event of one-off exceptions from the right to disconnect.

• Implementation of the specific system

This system may be defined by way of a collective bargaining agreement or a subordinate agreement.

If there is no collective bargaining agreement or subordinate agreement, the system must be defined at company level, in accordance with the remit of the staff representative group, if there is one.

In this case, the specific system will be introduced and modified after the staff representative committee has been informed and consulted for companies with fewer than 150 employees. For companies with at least 150 employees, the system will be introduced and modified by mutual agreement between the employer and the staff representative group.

• Compulsory collective negotiation of the right to disconnect system

The arrangements in place for the system to make sure that the right to disconnect outside working hours is respected are now included in the list of subjects for compulsory collective negotiations, the result of which is recorded in the collective bargaining agreement or subordinated agreements.

• Sanctions

If an employer whose employees use digital devices for their work does not implement the system, they are liable to an administrative fine of between 251 and 25,000 euros imposed by the director of the Inspection du travail et des mines (Inspectorate of Labour and Mines). The application of this sanction will take into account the circumstances and gravity of the breach, as well as the behaviour of the employer after the offence has been committed.

However, this measure will only come into force three years after the date on which the law is published in the Journal officiel du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.