On 7 February 2023, draft law No. 8147 amending Article 211-4 of the Labour Code (hereinafter the “Draft Law”) has been submitted to the Luxembourg Parliament (Chambre des Députés).
The Draft Law aims at prohibiting the practice of so-called "zero-hour contracts”.
Zero-hour contracts are defined as employment contracts in which the working time may vary from one week to another potentially reaching a minimum which of zero hours on a weekly basis, i.e. such contracts include a clause that provides for a minimum working time of zero hours and the payment of a salary on an hourly basis.
The employee is consequently only required to work upon request of the employer and will only be paid if he is able to perform the services under the contract. The employee will not be paid and no social security contributions will be payable, should the employee not be requested to work.
This type of employment contract places the employees in a precarious situation.
The Draft Law proposes to include explicit provisions in the Labour Code where:
- It would be prohibited to set a minimum working time at zero hours, and
- If the working time is expressed in time intervals which may vary from one week to another, the minimum working time may not be less than 10 hours.
The purpose of the prohibition of "zero-hour contracts” is to expressly clarify that this type of contract has never fallen within the scope of the Labour Code and that the Government does not wish to support recourse to this type of contract. It is crucial for social cohesion to strengthen the rights of employees by offering them employment contracts that give them a minimum degree of security as to their working time as well as fixed and guaranteed wages.
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