Remote work in Luxembourg: employer rules and cross-border thresholds

Which rules govern remote work in Luxembourg?

Remote work is governed by the agreement of 20 October 2020, signed by the Union des entreprises luxembourgeoises (UEL), the employers' federation, and the OGBL and LCGB trade unions, and declared generally binding by the Grand-Ducal Regulation of 22 January 2021: it applies to every employer and every employee. The Labour Code has no chapter on remote work: it only mentions it for the role of the staff delegation (Articles L.414-3 and L.414-9). Concluded for 3 years, the agreement has been renewed indefinitely in the absence of termination, and the Inspectorate of Labour and Mines (Inspection du travail et des mines, ITM) still presents it as the applicable text.

• Definition: work that would normally have been done on the employer's premises, carried out elsewhere, usually with information technology.
• Occasional or regular: remote work is occasional when it meets an unforeseen need or represents less than 10% on average of normal annual working time; otherwise it is regular. The reference period is the calendar year.
• Outside the scope: postings abroad, transport, sales representatives, coworking spaces (the company's 'satellite office'), occasional work on a smartphone, services at clients' premises.
• Voluntary: employer and employee choose freely. The employee's refusal is not in itself a ground for dismissal, and the procedure for amending the contract (Article L.121-7 of the Labour Code) cannot be used to impose it.

The company may set its own policy (excluded categories, authorised locations, security, data, contacts) through a collective agreement, a subordinate agreement or at company level. The staff delegation is informed and consulted; in companies with at least 150 employees, the policy is decided jointly with it (Article L.414-9). The delegation is also kept regularly informed of the number of remote workers.

Written agreement, costs, right to disconnect: what must the employer do?

Regular remote work requires a written agreement, for example an amendment to the employment contract; occasional remote work, a simple written confirmation from the employer.

These items may also be settled by the company's remote work policy, where there is one. For regular remote work, the employer provides the necessary equipment and covers the costs directly incurred, especially communication costs, if need be through a monthly allowance agreed in writing. It bears the loss of or damage to equipment and data, the employee being liable only for damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence (Article L.121-9), and provides technical support on request.

The remote worker keeps the same rights as comparable colleagues (pay, training, promotion, collective rights) and an equivalent workload; overtime remains exceptional. The employer informs the remote worker of the data protection rules and of its health and safety policy, and takes steps against isolation. The Labour Code makes no exception to the working time register for remote workers: see time recording in Luxembourg.

The right to disconnect applies to remote workers too. Once employees use digital tools for work, the employer must define a policy on disconnecting outside working hours, including where relevant technical measures, awareness actions and compensation for exceptional derogations (Article L.312-9). It is set by collective agreement or subordinate agreement, otherwise by the company after informing and consulting the staff delegation, and jointly with it from 150 employees. The obligation dates from the Law of 28 June 2023. The penalty has applied since 4 July 2026 (Article 5 of that law): an employer without such a policy faces an administrative fine of €251 to €25,000, imposed by the director of the ITM after a formal notice (Article L.312-10).

Cross-border remote work: how does the 34-day tax threshold work?

A cross-border worker living in France, Belgium or Germany remains taxable in Luxembourg on the whole salary as long as their working days outside Luxembourg do not exceed 34 a year. Beyond that, Luxembourg loses the right to tax the pay for all work done outside its territory, not just for the days above the threshold. For a resident of France, the mutual agreement of 16 July 2020 specifies that France then taxes that working time from the first day. According to the Luxembourg Inland Revenue (Administration des contributions directes, ACD), the threshold covers any business stay outside Luxembourg: remote work, business trips, training.

Residents of France

• Any part of a day worked in France or in a third country counts as a full day, training included.
• Not counted: leave, rest days, public holidays not worked, sickness, force majeure.
• For part-time work or an incomplete year, the threshold is reduced pro rata and rounded down to a whole number.
• The burden of proof lies with the employee: time records, tickets, travel orders.

Residents of Germany

• Activity of less than 30 minutes in a country is not counted there.
• The threshold is never prorated: 34 days also for part-time work or for someone hired during the year.
• A shortened working day counts in full, as does paid on-call duty from home.

Worked example: the 2026 count for a cross-border worker living in France

A full-time employee who lives in France works at her employer's offices in Luxembourg. In 2026, her working days outside Luxembourg are counted as follows:

She has 5 days to spare: all her 2026 salary remains taxable in Luxembourg. If she works 6 more days from home in December, she reaches 35 days: the threshold is exceeded, and France taxes, from the first day, the pay for the time worked outside Luxembourg. Three variations on the same case:

• At 80%, her threshold falls to 27 days (34 × 80% = 27.2, rounded down to 27): with the same 29 days, it is exceeded.
• As a resident of Germany, she would keep 34 days even at 80%; her mornings would count, but not a quarter of an hour of emails read before leaving home.
• Social security: her work in France represents just over a tenth of her working time, far below 25%; she remains covered in Luxembourg, but her regular remote work must still be declared to the CCSS.

Social security: the 25% rule and the remote work framework agreement

For social security, what matters is the share of work done in the country of residence, not a number of days. In an overall assessment, a share of less than 25% (working time, pay) in that country indicates that the activity there is not 'substantial': the employee then remains subject to Luxembourg legislation (Article 13 of Regulation (EC) 883/2004 and Article 14(8) of Regulation (EC) 987/2009).

Since 1 July 2023, the European framework agreement on cross-border telework keeps Luxembourg cover for 25% to under 50% remote work, if all these conditions are met:

• remote work is done exclusively in the country of residence, a coworking space in that country being accepted by the CCSS;
• the employee has no other habitual activity outside Luxembourg;
• the employee is connected to the employer's IT system;
• both countries have signed the agreement, as Germany, Belgium, France and Luxembourg have.

The employer, or its authorised representative, declares any regular remote work by a non-resident employee to the CCSS, whatever its percentage, through SECUline (DEMDET procedure) or on a paper form:

• the percentage is a monthly average rounded to a whole number; working time includes sick days but not paid leave;
• since 1 July 2024, a declaration cannot be backdated by more than 3 months: a delay can cost the framework agreement for the earlier period;
• under the framework agreement, the A1 certificate is issued automatically for the declared period, up to 3 years; the CCSS advises declaring at least 12 months;
• a move, a new remote work rate or another activity requires a new declaration.

At 50% or more, or if a condition is missing (remote work also from a third country, for example), the framework agreement does not apply: from 25% of activity in the country of residence, the employee is in principle covered by that country's social security. The framework agreement runs for 5 years and is renewable.

Tax threshold exceeded: payroll, returns and evidence to keep

When a cross-border worker exceeds the threshold, the employer withholds Luxembourg tax only on the part of the salary taxable in Luxembourg:

• wage tax is withheld using the 'intermittent' method (méthode de l'intermittent) or the daily scale, on the Luxembourg part only;
• the annual wage certificate states 'taxable in Luxembourg: partially', the number of taxable and non-taxable days, and the exempt net income;
• for a resident of France not covered by French social security who works occasionally in France, an employer established in another EU Member State, such as Luxembourg, has no longer withheld French tax at source since 1 January 2023: the employee pays instalments, and the employer reports the pay taxable in France each year.

Record each cross-border worker's actual place of work every day (Luxembourg, country of residence, third country), including half-days, training and business trips, and keep proof of presence: time records, tickets, travel orders. Payroll records are kept for 10 years (Article 16 of the Commercial Code). An often-forgotten detail: meal vouchers can only be used with affiliated businesses established in Luxembourg (see expense claims in Luxembourg).

Common mistakes

• Counting as zero a half-day of remote work by a resident of France: any part of a day counts as a full day; for a resident of Germany, only activity of less than 30 minutes is ignored.
• Forgetting training, meetings and business trips outside Luxembourg: they use up the same 34-day counter as remote work.
• Prorating the threshold of a part-time resident of Germany (they keep 34 days) or forgetting the pro rata for a resident of France.
• Letting a cross-border worker work remotely from a third country, during extended holidays for example: those days count towards the tax threshold and take the employee out of the framework agreement.
• Declaring remote work to the CCSS late: backdating is limited to 3 months, and the framework agreement may be lost for the earlier period.
• Relying on the 2016 Guichet.lu pages on remote work: they describe the former agreement and a single 25% threshold.

Your checklist

• Define the right-to-disconnect policy and, if you wish, a remote work policy, after informing and consulting the staff delegation (joint decision from 150 employees).
• Sign a written agreement with each regular remote worker and confirm occasional remote work in writing.
• Provide the equipment and set the monthly communication allowance in writing.
• Record each cross-border worker's place of work every day, including half-days, training and business trips.
• Keep two counters per cross-border worker: tax days (34, pro rata for France) and social security percentage (25%, 50%).
• Declare regular remote work to the CCSS through SECUline (DEMDET procedure) within 3 months, then at every change.
• If the threshold is exceeded, withhold tax on the Luxembourg part only and report it in the annual certificate.
• Keep proof of presence and payroll records for 10 years.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Grand-Ducal Regulation of 22 January 2021 declaring the agreement of 20 October 2020 on remote work generally binding (Legilux)
• ITM, Remote work: applicable agreement
• Labour Code, consolidated version of 26 July 2026, Articles L.121-9, L.312-9, L.312-10 and L.414-9 (Legilux)
• ACD, FAQ for non-residents: 34-day tolerance thresholds
• France-Luxembourg mutual agreement on counting the threshold, to be read with 34 days (impots.gouv.fr)
• ACD, Circular L.G. Conv. D.I. No. 71 of 18 March 2024 (residents of Germany)
• ACD, Remote work: withholding tax for work in Luxembourg and abroad
• impots.gouv.fr, switch to instalments for certain employers established outside France
• Regulation (EC) No 987/2009, Article 14(8): 'substantial' activity and the 25% threshold (Publications Office of the European Union)
• CCSS, framework agreement on cross-border telework

This guide sets out the general rules in force on 5 October 2026. It is not legal advice for your situation (collective agreement, sector, employee status).